Politics and Government

Mayor Harrell's contract would make Seattle police the highest paid in the region, but no more accountable. The long-awaited new proposed contract between the City...

Shaun Scott sat down with The Urbanist to make his case for the 43rd Legislative District seat and lay out his top priorities in office, which included funding affordable housing, grappling with Long Covid, and advancing civilian emergency response alternatives.

2023 was a banner year for union organizing nationwide and locally, but much work remains in 2024 to sustain gains and expand on them. And corporate bosses are not taking this without a fight.

The "Year of Housing 2.0" at the state legislature yielded less progress than expected. Our March 26 virtual event will conduct an autopsy.

Mayor Harrell and the city council are contemplating budget cuts and raiding JumpStart payroll tax revenue to address a $230 million budget deficit. But nonprofit leaders are warning of the impact of reducing affordable housing funding.

The state's 60-day legislative session wrapped on March 7 with only a few housing bills headed to Governor Inslee's desk. Rent stabilization, transit-oriented development, lot-splitting, and a builder's remedy all failed to pass.

Seattle's Republican City Attorney is disqualifying a progressive Municipal Court judge in a deeply undemocratic move, given that judges are elected and meant to be a check on executive power.

A bill pushed by Bothell Rep. Davina Duerr and approved by the Washington legislature this week would prioritize trees when retention policies come into conflict with local parking mandates.