Affordable Housing
As defined by the city “Affordable Housing” is defined as 30% of 70% of Median Income. This means that, according to the City of Tacoma, if median income is $81,100) a studio apartment is deemed “Affordable” if it rents at or below $1,419 per month (81100 * 0.3 * 0.7 / 12). The City of Tacoma currently relies on Multi-Family Tax Exemptions to entice builders to build more apartments, in the hope of bringing the cost of housing down. These MFTEs will grant an 8, 12, or 20 year tax exemption to a new apartment project, as long as it contains at least four of these “affordable” units, the rest of the units in that project have no such limit.
https://www.cityoftacoma.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_6/File/CEDD/2024%20Rent%20and%20Income.pdf
I do not believe that this will ever result in actual affordable housing. Instead, I would like to see a shift to building houses, townhomes, and condominiums that are priced at two times the median income (between $150,000 and $200,000) and sold at cost, exclusively to current Tacoma renters, taking the profit motive completely out of the equation. I would also like to see priority given to purchase these units given to those that were directly discriminated against by Tacoma’s disgusting and unconstitutional redlining policies. We could also give priority status to seniors wishing to downsize, which would free up bigger homes for growing families. This would provide renters an entry point into the housing market, housing cost stabilization, and the ability to build generational wealth. If we cannot entice the current builders to participate, I would like to work directly with the trade unions to build/renovate these housing units.
Homelessness
I think that our current efforts to deal with homelessness are wasteful and ineffective. I would like to see Tacoma divert all funds earmarked to deal with homelessness into shelter capacity, drug treatment, and mental health services. Because it would be immoral to criminalize homelessness, we must ensure that we have adequate shelter space available before an encampment is cleared. This was the decision in the 9th circuit district court, and even though it was overturned by the Supreme Court, I still believe that this is the correct approach.
We also need to make sure that some of these shelter spaces are pet friendly, because that bond is incredibly powerful, it may be the only reason why someone may refuse to give up. These spaces also must be safe. Many of the refusals for service, that I have heard, is because of the fear of rampant theft at these facilities. We must also be able to preserve people’s possessions. Another reason for refusal is because the shelter cannot accommodate everything that a person has at an encampment, so ensuring that we have a way to store these belongings is necessary.
After arriving at the shelter, we can assess everyone on whether or not they need drug treatment services or mental health services, so that those issues can be addressed. I would also like to work with the trade unions to provide apprenticeship opportunities, so that they can get back onto the path of self-sufficiency. We can also provide work or volunteering opportunities, so that we ensure that everyone can meet the federal SNAP work requirements.
Public Safety
My number 1 priority for public safety is police priority 1 911 response times. The most recent numbers that we have access to are for 2021-22 (the most recent budget did not include the 2023-24 Departmental Outcomes section) and that put the average priority 1 (immediate risk of loss of life) response times at 10 minutes. This is far too high. My expectation would be around a 5 minute average. By the time you get to priority 4 (routine) calls, the average is sitting at an upwards of 2 hours. This is a long time for someone who has requested law enforcement services to have to wait, and eventually leads to people just giving up.
Hopefully the 2023-24 numbers have come down, but this would be a metric that I would watch very closely and make publicly available. I would also like to petition the legislature to give us the ability to run advisory votes on the ballot. One such recurring vote I would like to see is whether you would like to see more or fewer police patrols in your neighborhood. Since we have voting data down to the precinct level, we could easily use that data to inform how patrol officers plan their routes.
Tenants Bill of Rights 2023 Initiative 1
I did not support the Tenants Bill of Rights, and I personally voted against it. However, I would not vote to alter or dismantle an initiative that was voted in by the people. I would see that as an attack on democracy. If the Tenants Bill of Rights is to be altered or repealed, I believe that should also be via voter initiative.
Proposition 1
I personally voted for Proposition 1, because I do get fairly passionate about infrastructure, particularly roads and alleys. I believe that there are two main reasons that Prop 1 failed.
First, because we have been paying these levies for 10 years now, and our roads just seem to keep getting worse. I don’t think people believed that refunding the program would actually improve our roads at all.
Second, we are all being made poorer every day, by the federal government, by the Washington State government, and by all the increased prices on store shelves. I believe that our neighbors saw this proposition on the ballot, seeing it as perhaps the one time that they can actually have control over some external costs in their lives, and took it.
I believe that the City of Tacoma needs to work within the budget it has. Roads are one of those basic functions of a city, right up there with our utilities and emergency services, and should be prioritized as such. In the city, we should expect at least as good of roads as they have in unincorporated Pierce County, which we do not, even though they pay less in taxes than we do. The one constant has been increasing taxes and decreasing services. I want to reverse that trend. I want to do more with less, so that our city can re-earn the trust of the electorate.