Public Shuts Down WA Bill Giving State Control Over City Homeless Housing
“Shamed for listening to our voters,” Kenmore Deputy Mayor Responds to Criticism
Breaking Kenmore Deputy Mayor Melanie O’Cain just blasted WA Governor Jay Inslee, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and state Democrats after they apparently criticized her city for blocking Plymouth Housing from setting up shop in downtown. Sources also say Governor Inslee verbally dressed down the progressive wing of the Kenmore council for failing to carry out his will on “affordable housing.” “Listening to our community and being shamed by our County Executive, and our Governor, and members of the Democratic party throughout our region is really galling.” -Deputy Mayor Melanie O’Cain O’Cain went on to say community input was crucial for Democracy and emphasized the importance of due diligence before making a decision. Kenmore spent more than a year considering Read More ›
Kenmore Residents Challenge $37mil Housing Project
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 ›
Kenmore City Council Blocks Low Barrier Housing Project
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 ›