Doug Trumm
Doug Trumm is publisher of The Urbanist. An Urbanist writer since 2015, he dreams of pedestrian streets, bus lanes, and a mass-timber building spree to end our housing crisis. He graduated from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington in 2019. He lives in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood and loves to explore the city by foot and by bike.
On Thursday, the Washington State Senate took the leap and approved a rent stabilization bill, but first senators gutted it with provisions that quickly earned the ire of tenant advocates. An original 7% cap on annual rent increases could instead rise to 20% or more.
Seattle bikeshare and scootershare companies clocked 6.3 million rides in 2024, up 28% over 2023 and a record high. The momentum has continued in the first quarter of 2025, with ridership up 76% over the first quarter of 2024. If this pace is maintained, Seattle is on track to exceed 10 million rides in 2025.
Expectations are high for longtime board member Dow Constantine's new job as Sound Transit CEO. Here's what The Urbanist's newsroom has at top-of-mind in the months ahead.
Seattle City Council's District 2 race just got a little more crowded, as Protec17 union steward Jamie Fackler announced his candidacy today. Fackler brings the strongest union ties to the race, and he also is the most unabashed proponent of social housing.
Acting King County Executive Shannon Braddock was sworn in on April 1, but the King County Council is still deciding on whether they will appoint her through November. Filling in as her former boss departed to take the Sound Transit CEO job, Braddock emphasized continuity.
Dow Constantine will leave his post as King County Executive and take over as Sound Transit's CEO on April 1, after the agency's board of directors approved the hiring in a unanimous vote Thursday. Constantine takes over at a tenuous time, with projects budgets bursting at the seams.
The Sound Transit Board of Directors revealed today its CEO pick is King County Executive Dow Constantine, who has served on the board for 16 years. Constantine has been a controversial candidate, with some observers seeing a seasoned executive who helped build the agency and others a borderline case of nepotism.
Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections Director Nathan Torgelson announced his resignation in an email to staff today. Torgelson and Mayor Bruce Harrell said the decision was mutual and pledged a smooth transition. Much work is on the department's plate in coming months.