Last year, my visionary architect friend Rex Hohlbein and his architect daughter Jenn LaFreniere left their jobs and created the Block Project.  Thanks to their vision, Seattle homeowners are now saying, “YES in my backyard!” to solve homelessness. The BLOCK Project is more than your typical low income housing effort to move people out of […]

We all need a second chance at some point in our lives. Many of us have done something in our past we regret. That said, our mistakes should not define us, especially when we’ve paid the price for what we’ve done. Council Member Herbold has been championing in her Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and […]

I frequently meet with neighborhoods to talk  about what we are doing to end homelessness.  This post — albeit lengthy — offers  updates you can share with your neighbors.  If you read this to the end and follow the hyperlinks, you may be surprised at how much is really happening and the scope of the efforts to […]

Eight years ago Seattle Police Detective Kim Bogucki received a stack of essays from Renata, an inmate at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW at Purdy). With these essays as a foundation, Kim and Renata created the If Project, a program with a mission of preventing future crime, supporting former inmates in re-entry, and […]

Thank you so much for helping make 2014 such a powerful year.  It is no secret how much I love this city and my job, and I am proud of the work and accomplishments we are achieving together.  It is an enormous privilege to represent you on City Council. I would like to share with […]

Even though we provide millions of dollars for supportive housing, according to the One Night Count last January 3,123 people remain on our streets county-wide, without permanent shelter. This is a public health and public safety crisis–for those who are unsheltered and for everyone in the community. I heard powerful testimony from those who attended […]

Last spring I visited Quixote Village in Olympia and suggested we should build 1,000 small houses region-wide for those who want to live in compact affordable homes or to bring people who are homeless in from out of the rain. You can read my views here. Panza, a faith-based non profit working with the City […]

I believe that everyone in our city has a right to safe and healthy housing. The facts are that while most of the rental housing stock in Seattle is sound and habitable, we know there is a significant percentage that is not. That which is not habitable tends to disproportionately impact low income people and […]

At the upcoming special November 20, 11 a.m. Parks and Neighborhoods Committee meeting, we will discuss proposed legislation – a council bill and a resolution – that address the Sand Point Overlay. While the legislation is specific to Subarea C (see map), Building 9 will be discussed because it falls within this area. Building 9’s […]

I want to commend the efforts of the Roosevelt neighborhood. At a time when we hear “NIMBY” tossed about so flippantly, these neighbors did exactly what we wanted of them, and what we asked of them. They created a Neighborhood Plan, accepting–even enhancing–growth and density in Roosevelt, not fighting it. I extend a genuine and […]