Rent Control Rally: Will We Have Rent Control in a Year?

It was exactly four years ago this week that I took the stage with Councilmember Kshama Sawant. to debate rent control. What have we learned as a city in that interval? Not much. This weekend Sawant will rally rent control supporters. Her followers have already been gathering signatures on a petition. For anyone who knows […]

I Had a Dream: What if Seattle Actually Made Good Housing Policy?

A Dream Once a dream did weave a shade O’er my angel-guarded bed, That an emmet lost its way Where on grass methought I lay. Troubled, wildered, and forlorn, Dark, benighted, travel-worn, Over many a tangle spray, All heart-broke, I heard her say: ‘Oh my children! do they cry, Do they hear their father sigh? […]

Seattle Times: What’s Next With Socialism in Seattle?

It’s worth reflecting that not that long ago, President Obama had to deny charges that he was a socialist. In fact, the term, along with communist, was considered an epithet, and insult. It was a way of saying, “You’re way too extreme to be taken seriously.” This norm about socialism has disappeared, and now, in […]