Dems: "Proposition 1B is an assault on the Party Platform"
VOTE TODAY
The “Let’s Build Social Housing: Yes on Proposition 1 A Campaign” held a press conference on Friday alongside labor leaders and Democratic Party officials. These leaders—representing hundreds of thousands of workers and Democrats in the region—slammed Amazon and the Chamber’s misinformation campaign.
Labor leaders emphasized that working families stand to benefit the most from social housing, pushing back against the fear mongering narratives promoted by corporate-backed interests. Katie Garrow, the Executive Treasurer of MLK Labor, AFL-CIO, representing 220,000 workers said:
Jeff Bezos already bought one Washington election, we’re not going to let him buy this one, too. At a time when tech billionaires are bending the knee to President Trump and turning DC into an oligarchy, Seattle is the last stand. We cannot let them hoard all power, wealth, and resources. They are not everyday people like us; they’re not even mainstream. They are a malignant political force who are keeping us house and rent poor and they are the same assholes who bust our unions, deport the people we rely on to grow our food, and are coming after our trans kids.
Follow the money. It will tell you everything you need to know.
Democratic Party leadership echoed these sentiments, stressing that every housing is a fundamental right, that every local Democratic Party organization supports Proposition 1A, and urging voters to reject the influence of wealthy special interests. Mary Scanlon, the Chair of the 37th District Dems excoriated Amazon and the Chamber for trying to deceive voters and made it clear that Proposition 1B is incompatible with the State and National Democratic Party Platforms:
Proposition 1B - and Amazon trying to buy the election are textbook assaults on the national and state Democratic party platforms. Our state party is a big tent–that flexes for districts that are more and less conservative. But as big as our tent is, it has no room for big companies trying to buy our elections to keep their taxes low, while preventing new funding of affordable housing.
This is an affront to the Democratic party platform, both at the national and the state level. The big money interests are trying to buy their way into everything in this country. Our local party organizations have taken a unified stand on this issue. Please join them in saying “NO” to big money interests and vote Yes on Proposition 1A.
Tiffani McCoy, of House our Neighbors, pointed to the alarming impact of the corporate money and misinformation:
Amazon and other big corporations have decided they don’t want to pay, and they are playing dirty and dishonest. Proposition 1A was extremely popular, but after the pack of lies Amazon and the chamber have sent us in the mail…the race is neck and neck.
I also spoke, highlighting Amazon’s $40M Trump bribe and the ways the Mayor and the Council are aiding Amazon’s efforts in Seattle:
If Seattle voters are aware that Amazon is bankrolling Donald Trump’s family with $40M and is now trying to buy our election, they will never tolerate it.
Bruce Harrell and the majority on the city council knew Seattle would support 1A because they know we are a city of Democrats. So they invented 1B to daze and confuse voters into voting for a trojan horse that raises zero new revenue for housing. Then pushed us to a February election, with a small electorate, so that it would be easy for corporations like Amazon to buy their way to a win with dishonest mailers.
I also addressed the misinformation in the mailers. Among other items, I pointed to the crass hypocrisy of one of the claims:
Amazon’s mailers complain that 1A doesn’t do enough for people making $30,000 or less. But if they are so worried about people making $30,000, why are they supporting 1B, which robs $10M year from housing providers who serve those making $30,000 or less?
The last day to vote is today.
Vote Proposition 1A and vote today.
Need more info?
I recently address the specifics of the lies put out by the Amazon and Chamber campaign in a piece I wrote at the Stranger, with more detail in a piece in the Urbanist. For folks that have friends that aren’t really readers, here is a five minute video (2.5 min if you listen sped up!) that addresses the questions that most often come up after seeing the BS-filled mailers from Amazon.