Seattle Forward

Our Tax System: The Worst in the Country

The special session of the Washington State legislature will end today with no resolution to our state’s budget dilemma. Yet another special 30-day session will begin immediately.

What a mess.

The facts about the need for a complete top-to-bottom overhaul of our tax structure are very clear and persuasive.  Yet our Republican and Democratic legislators live in opposing realities about the current state budget; no conclusion to this impasse is in sight. Further, the solutions being offered dance around the core issue: an unjust and increasingly inadequate tax system, from top to bottom.

Local economist Dick Conway appeared before my City Council committee last week and presented a report with sobering findings: Washington’s tax system is the worst in the country. He grades the state an F in the categories of fairness (ranked 51^st out of 51 states and DC), adequacy (50^th), stability (47^th), and transparency (50^th).

Transportation Progress

Two separate efforts by the Seattle Department of Transportation that have received attention recently should be celebrated.

First, the Council received an update earlier this month about the School Zone Traffic Safety Cameras. Nine Seattle schools currently have these cameras in place and six more schools will receive them this year. In 2013, I sponsored legislation dedicating money from school zone speed violators to safety improvements around schools. At that time, the City had a long list of physical improvements awaiting funding that could make our children safer on their way to and from school like signals, crosswalks and speed humps. This program has been able to fund 30 projects so far, with many more in the pipeline.

Not only that, but enforcement has reduced speeding dramatically. Citations decreased 34% from 2013 to 2014 for the four school zones where cameras were installed late in 2012. SDOT reports that “this equates to around 10,000 fewer speeding cars per year across all four school zones.”

Second, news articles this week reported that the first “smart” parking pay stations are being installed in Pioneer Square.

January City Inside/Out: Council Edition

Earlier this month I joined Councilmembers Bagshaw and O'Brien and host Brian Callanan on the Seattle Channel to talk about Bertha, encampments and public safety issues. You can watch the video below.

The Rapid Evolution of Transportation

New technologies are revolutionizing transportation in Seattle and elsewhere. It is becoming easier and easier to live, work, shop, learn and play in the city without owning a car, a change that makes Seattle more affordable as car ownership carries many obvious (and not-so-obvious) costs. Nearly 17% of Seattle households do not own a vehicle, according to a recent study. Seattle ranks 10^th in the nation in the percentage of non-vehicle households.

Of course, a critical piece of this dramatic change is ensuring a functional and flourishing public transit system. On Thursday, councilmembers will review funding proposals to lessen cuts to Metro bus service throughout the city next year.

This past Monday afternoon, the Council voted 8-1 to advance the transportation evolution by approving a 117-page bill that contains many solid improvements for the City’s regulation of the “for hire” industry, including companies like Uber, Lyft and Sidecar.

Public Campaign Finance Statement

Consistent with my earlier blog post on this topic, I shared the following statement at the Full Council meeting this afternoon explaining my vote to not move forward a public campaign finance system this year:

We face a tough choice today as we consider this motion, but that’s what we are called to do.

We gather facts. We listen to various perspectives. We weigh the pros and cons of various arguments and then we decide. Sometimes our decisions are simple. Other times, like today, they are not easy; they’re complicated and require a balancing of various interests.

In the end, we make our decisions based on what’s best for the common good; what will benefit our city and region; and, in Seattle, with a special emphasis on what’s best for the most vulnerable among us.

Seattle has a strong and well-regulated campaign finance system, with individual contribution limits less than half those for King County and the State of Washington. Public financing of elections is a solid, progressive and important policy to pursue. We studied this issue extensively last year and asked the voters of Seattle to approve public financing of City Council campaigns. The voters said “no.”

Now we’re being asked to do a repeat this year. The easiest decision would be to put it back on the ballot and say, “let the voters decide again.” But, at what cost and at what risk? That’s where the decision gets difficult.

Public Campaign Finance: Right Idea, Wrong Time

There has been news coverage recently about how as City Council President I won’t introduce legislation that would send a measure to establish public financing of political campaigns back again to the voters in November.* The Stranger has a story about this in this week’s edition.

Public financing of campaigns is a good idea. Seattle established a system for partial public financing of campaigns in 1978. I helped oversee the later years of that program as a commissioner on the City’s Ethics and Elections Commission. In 1992 a statewide initiative put an end to this practice, but in 2008 the State Legislature allowed local jurisdictions to establish programs through a public vote.

Last year I voted to let Seattle decide if they wanted public campaign financing. The proposed system would have incentivized candidates to reach out to a wider segment of the population by providing matching public funds to small campaign donations; a property tax provided the funds. The voters said “no” by a narrow margin.

This November’s election ballot will have many candidates, issues, and multiple tax measures (including a resurrection of a tax for the monorail!). There’s always risk, however slight, that voters will experience “tax fatigue” and overreact by voting no on measures they might have otherwise supported, such as universal preschool or public transit funding.

At a time when frustration with government is running so high, I want the City to show voters that local government is focused on what’s most important. Maintaining and improving transit service and expanding high-quality preschool for our children top my list of priorities.

*In case you’re wondering, the Council President decides what legislation will be put before the Council and when, but this power is by no means absolute. Any councilmember can make a motion to introduce legislation during a Full Council meeting; councilmembers who favor placing a public finance tax measure on this November’s ballot have not done so. If a majority of the Council wanted to hold further discussions on public campaign finance legislation, that motion would succeed and the legislation would be introduced and referred to committee.

Why I’m Sponsoring the Minimum Wage Legislation

I am cosponsoring Mayor Murray’s minimum wage legislation because it’s time for cities to demonstrate bold and necessary leadership to address the stagnation of wages that has plagued our country for decades.

Why does this matter?

An economy where the wealthiest grow exceedingly richer while the poor and middle class experience a real decline in earning power rips apart our social fabric. The growing income and wealth inequality in our country is a dangerous trend.

As someone who started and grew a business for 20 years, I want to see individuals and businesses achieve success, provide meaningful work to their employees and produce goods and services that benefit their communities. I cringe at some of the rhetoric that demeans and disparages those who have achieved such success. But I also believe everyone should have a shot at that success and, today, for many reasons, a lot of people are being left out.

West Seattle Alley Vacation Decision

The City Council has heard from many residents, businesses, labor groups and advocates in favor and opposed to a proposed development at 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW in West Seattle. At the intersection of SW Alaska Street and Fauntleroy Way SW, this corner is considered by many to be the gateway to West Seattle as drivers arriving into the area from the West Seattle Bridge will see the building on this block directly in front of them.

The Council’s Transportation Committee voted 5-3 this morning to grant conceptual approval to the vacation of a city-owned alley as long as specific conditions are met. The full Council will vote on Monday, April 21. I voted in support of approving the alley vacation and would like to explain why.

Final Vote on Taxis, TNCs

Today the Full Council voted to pass a bill that places new regulations on emerging app-based transportation network companies (TNCs) like UberX, Lyft and Sidecar. The legislation places important and necessary safety regulations around these new services, including insurance requirements equivalent to those in the taxi industry. The Council was unified on this issue: safety and consumer protection must come first.

The legislation also places a cap of 150 on the number of vehicles that can be logged into a TNC app at any one time. I do not favor a cap. I voted for an amendment to remove the cap three weeks ago and again this afternoon, but that amendment failed 3 to 6. We will be monitoring the impact of the cap – and the broader changes in the industry – closely over the coming year.

The legislation also calls for 200 new taxi licenses to be issued over the next two years and allows flat-rate for-hire vehicles to pick up passengers who flag them down.

You can read more of my thoughts on this issue or my description of the committee vote in earlier blog posts.

Vote on Taxis, Caps for App-Based Transportation Network Companies

Update: the Full Council vote has been rescheduled for Monday, March 17.

This evening the City Council voted in committee to expand the number of licensed drivers who can drive for app-based transportation network companies (TNCs) like UberX and Lyft. The latest version of the legislation had capped the total number of TNC driver endorsements at 300, but the committee changed the limitation to 150 drivers active on a single TNC system at any one time. This approach allows for unlimited TNC driver endorsements to be issued, but limits the number of vehicles on the road for a TNC.

Two weeks ago I wrote to explain why I do not favor a cap. I voted for no caps today; when that measure failed to garner a majority of votes I supported this compromise proposal.

This debate has layered complex policy choices with the recognition that the City’s regulatory function will directly affect people’s livelihoods. I know none of my colleagues made this decision lightly and we will monitor its impacts closely.