Fact vs Fiction
Right before the primary election, a PAC supporting my opponent sent an attack mailer with false claims about my record to 65,000 households. It cost $60,000 which is a lot. For scale, that’s about 25% of the spending limit for candidates using democracy vouchers (so much for getting big money out of campaigns!).
I’m talking about this now because the same themes will undoubtedly surface again — that I’m anti-worker, anti-housing, blah, blah, blah — and I want to correct the record. Because I’m a fighter. And armed with actual facts to counter the special interests’ fiction in this mailer, you you’ll be able to perceive their patterns of deception going forward. Here are the mailer’s claims, supposedly originating in online news reports but not really, and my responses to them:
"Permits for new housing have sunk 81% and Sara Nelson is part of the problem."
This is laughable. Housing permits have dropped everywhere – Seattle, Bellevue, across the nation – because of high interest rates and regulatory delays. The fact is that since taking office, I’ve been fighting to eliminate barriers that impede housing construction and I just transmitted two Council Bills to fix onerous permitting problems. Learn more here.
"Failed to renew Seattle's Comprehensive Plan"
The Comprehensive Plan was delivered to Council a year behind schedule and Council’s deliberating on it now, led by Councilmember Hollingsworth, Chair of the Select Committee on the Comprehensive Plan. This has to be done right, and yes, that takes time. The fact is, I’ve been engaged in extensive outreach with constituents because this plan will shape our city's future for decades and I’m doing the due diligence needed to add capacity for desperately needed housing. We’ll begin voting on the Comp Plan renewal in the third week of September and we’ll finish in early 2026.
"Fought to block new corporate taxes that fund tens of millions of dollars for affordable housing."
The article cited makes no such claim. It contains a link to a piece on social housing and the fact is that I supported an alternative social housing measure with required accountability measures.* While voters chose a different approach, my record shows where I stand – I helped deliver record investments in affordable housing and I fought entrenched interests to allow the construction of workforce housing in the Stadium District (which my opponent opposes).
What's outrageous is that we have $600 million in existing housing funds sitting in the Office of Housing’s cash balance while people are living in tents. Since last year I've been pushing OH to get that money out the door faster to actually get affordable housing built.
*This article indicates why requiring accountability is a good thing and what can happen without it.
"Rolled back the minimum wage for delivery drivers."
When the previous Council’s “PayUp” law went into effect in January 2024, delivery workers came to Council demanding that we repeal it because PayUp made deliveries so expensive that people stopped ordering, resulting in workers’ wages plummeting.
Rather than repeal the law, I tried to fix it. My reform legislation did not “roll back” the minimum wage, it required that workers be paid it – plus tips. While this complex issue ultimately wasn't resolved, my commitment to workers is why I'm endorsed by unions across the city.
"Giving tax breaks to big businesses at the expense of affordable housing."
Again, this is a gross misrepresentation of the article cited. I stand by my vote to use JumpStart revenues to maintain essential city services rather than laying off city workers and cutting services. Fact is, the choice was between using existing tax revenue or making deep cuts that would hurt working families and I chose the former.
More broadly, I have never voted to reduce existing taxes with the very recent exception of raising the B&O threshold for small businesses.
"Weakening ethics rules for council members."
This never happened. My job as Council President is to refer legislation to the proper committee for consideration and that’s what I did. This proposal was withdrawn by the sponsor before any vote.
