Endorsement: Vote YES on Prop 1A to fund social housing in Seattle

I am beyond tired of people acknowledging that Seattle needs more affordable housing and then not doing anything about it. Seattle voters have an opportunity to take action by voting YES on Proposition 1A by February 11.

Ballots are in the mail. If you have moved since the November election, you can change your address or register to vote online up to 8 days before election day. After that, you will need to register in-person at a county vote center. People interested in volunteering can join one of the campaign's many doorknocking efforts across the city.

Seattle voters in 2023 passed a citizens' initiative to create the Seattle Social Housing Developer by a 57-43 margin. We endorsed I-135, saying, This is a chance for Seattle to be a leader." However, due to the way the state's initiative process works, funding the new social housing authority had to be a separate action from creating it. The Seattle City Council could have done this themselves at any time since February 2023, but they have chosen not to. So it has once again fallen to the people to act where the Council has failed.

Failed" is perhaps too kind. The Council actively impeded this process by delaying the vote until a February special election in order to keep it off the high-turnout November 2024 ballot where it might have had an easier time passing. In a city where high housing prices have led to high rates of homelessness and displacement, the Council has done everything they can to not act on this effort to provide rent stability to more Seattle residents. The 1B alternative the Council and mayor have proposed is pathetic. It would further raid the city's existing JumpStart tax, which was intended primarily for other important affordable housing work, in order to fund the new social housing developer for only 5 years at less than 1/5 the rate proposed in the citizens' 1A option. 1B is not a serious plan to create a viable and lasting social housing developer, but it does threaten further cuts to other necessary affordable housing projects in our city. It's the exact opposite of what the people of Seattle want our city to do.

Seattle voters should make it clear that we expect our leaders to address this problem with the urgency and seriousness it deserves. We expect our city to be national leaders by pursuing all solutions the available to get rent prices under control so everyone has a stable place to live. We want to pursue an all of the above" strategy to getting housing prices under control, and social housing is one part of the all."

Proposition 1A would levy a 5% tax on any employee compensation that exceeds $1 million in a year, and the tax is to be paid by the employer rather than the employee. At least 95% of this excess compensation payroll tax" revenue would go to the Seattle Social Housing Developer, which would be responsible for buying and building housing units as well as renting them to residents. The Let's Build Social Housing campaign estimates that the tax would raise $52 million per year, and this revenue source alone would allow the authority to build or acquire 2,000 units in the first decade. It would also give the authority a financial foundation to get up and running, which will in turn help it seek out a mix of additional funding sources to add to its budget. As a public entity, the developer would have access to the public bond market based, for example.

The long list of endorsing organizations include Seattle Neighborhood Greenways as well as several neighborhood-level safe streets groups.

Social housing is very common in many parts of the world, but not so much in the U.S. Social housing provides homes for people of all income levels, including low-income households. The Social Housing Developer can set rent prices based on its own finances and mission, not the whims of the speculative market (or a landlord collusion app). The organization's charter, approved by voters in 2023, notes that rents should not exceed 30% of a renter's income, and renters should be chosen based on a lottery system with a minimal barrier application process." The organization would be governed by a 13-member board that includes renters of all income levels.

Passing Proposition 1A will not be a panacea for Seattle's housing affordability crisis, but it is one more tool we can use. Public ownership of housing protects more of the city's homes from the wild speculation that has fueled so much of the housing cost increases in the city, and it provides Seattle with more flexibility and autonomy from the Federally-led (and chronically under-funded) low-income housing efforts. This sets it apart from the Seattle Housing Authority, which is also important but is not enough to get housing prices under control. Especially with Donald Trump taking office, Seattle needs more ways to control its own destiny when addressing our biggest issues. We can't sit on our hands hoping the Trump administration will graciously increase HUD funding for Seattle.

Getting housing prices under control involved all kinds of short-term and long-term strategies, and people are beyond frustrated with the government's lack of action. We need to make it easier and cheaper to build more housing in more of the city more quickly. We need to increase funding from all levels of government to address to address the severe low-income housing shortage. We need emergency shelters and permanent supportive housing. We need food security support and better access to affordable transportation options like walking, biking and transit. And we need a social housing developer working to liberate homes from the for-profit speculative market and make them available to people of all income levels at stable rates they can afford.