Governance

Burien Leaders Stunned Late Monday evening, Mayor Kevin Schilling, Deputy Mayor Stephanie Mora, CM Linda Akey, and CM Alex Andrade saw the tent protest for the first time outside City Hall. Mora and Akey say former Burien City Councilmember Cydney Moore is using the homeless as political pawns after her failed venture trying to run the temporary encampment behind Oasis Home Church. She’s also being called out for orchestrating this stunt from the comfort of her living room. I have never seen someone’s reputation and credibility get smashed in such a short amount of time. Moore will likely never work again in this region’s homeless space. They’re Back After leaving during the day, the homeless have set up tents again Read More ›

Top Priorities Republican gubernatorial candidate Semi Bird (@bird4governor) says he’s moving away from failed “housing first” and “harm reduction” policies if he wins in WA. Recently, I walked with him through encampments in Seattle and watched as he collaborated with several faith based outreach groups in the city. Bird is an evangelical Christian. I also got a preview of some of his top priorities which includes mobilizing the National Guard to build drug addiction and mental health treatment facilities outside busy urban cores. Bird has skin in the game after losing his nephew to a drug overdose and says he will intervene and require treatment for addicts living on the streets. As for his competition, Bird is already taking shots Read More ›

Camp Out Far-left activists spent Monday evening camped outside Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson’s (@CMSaraNelson) house. They were whining about rent control and sweeps. A cop was outside the whole time. They have targeted Nelson’s place before. Neighbors tell me the group of all white kids eventually dispersed without wrecking the place. The ANTIFA crew is trying to stay relevant since they know this more moderate city council will be harder to sway. On Tuesday, councilmembers will fill the vacant seat left open by Teresa Mosqueda, who’s now with the King County Council.

Homeless Industrial Complex As I pointed out on Thursday, Plymouth Housing’s (@PlymouthHousing) website says the Kenmore facility is opening in 2025. Problem is, it hasn’t been approved by the city council. Based on last night’s vote, it’s likely toast. So I asked Plymouth CEO Karen Lee why her non-profit would take this presumptive posture. She declined to answer all my questions, including the one about failures of “housing first.” As I tried to squeeze in more questions, one of her handlers blocked my path and bumped me numerous times. It got so heated, a Kenmore cop had to intervene. Bottom line, the public must demand more transparency from all homeless non-profits. In my experience covering this beat, the ones that Read More ›

Breaking Kenmore City Council votes 6-1 to block controversial Plymouth Housing project (@PlymouthHousing) from coming into downtown. Angry residents claimed it was pitched as affordable housing for veterans and senior citizens. But then it got switched to housing for the chronically homeless and drug addicted individuals. Bottom line, Kenmore is saying “housing first” is a failure and the “low barrier” free for all drug culture will not be tolerated. This could set a precedent for other King County cities facing similar proposals from other housing providers. Numerous people said, “We don’t want to become the next Seattle.” FINAL VOTE: Nigel Herbig-No David Baker-No Angela Kugler-No Joe Marshall-No Melanie O’Cain-No Debra Srebnik-No Corina Pfeil-Yes The other part of the story, this Read More ›