marc dones

Starbucks: From Foe to Friend Last year Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson blasted Starbucks while standing in solidarity with workers on strike. This week, she announced the local coffee giant would help fund the first phase of the city’s homelessness response. So is the mayor now pandering to Starbucks or is Starbucks pandering to the mayor? Either way, we all know how the last public-private partnership to end homelessness turned out for local donors and the government. Past Failed Attempts Remember We Are In? The King County Regional Homelessness Authority under former CEO Marc Dones got corporations like the Gates Foundation to pony up millions of dollars to solve homelessness. Amazon, Microsoft, Ballmer Group, and the Raikes Foundation were also involved. Read More ›

A City in Urgency Seattle is moving rapidly to expand shelter for homeless drug addicts before the FIFA World Cup comes to the city. Faster than the public has been given time to fully understand. Mayor Katie Wilson set a goal of adding hundreds of new units in a matter of months. The strategy relies heavily on taxpayer dollars to expand tiny house villages. No one questions the urgency. But speed should not replace accountability and transparency. Lack of Transparency Right now, Seattle is making high-impact decisions about land, funding, and service delivery through a relatively tight network of policymakers, advisors, and providers. And the public has not been given a clear, transparent picture of how those decisions are being made. Read More ›

New It’s that time of year again where we look at the performance and salaries at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. With the street crisis worse than ever in the Seattle area, is any of this compensation justified? Hey @elonmusk, take a look. Join Us If you believe our journalism and research made a difference this year, please consider a donation and join our team. Donate | Fix Homelessness Last Year’s KCRHA Salary Report Here is our KCRHA salary report from last year. Caitlyn McKenney’s Report on KCRHA’s “Partnership for Zero” My colleague @CaitlynMcKenney also authored this report on KCRHA’s failed “Partnership for Zero” initiative that aimed to dramatically reduce street homelessness. Instead, the agency blew through $10M. Report: Read More ›

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Caitlyn Axe, the author of a new must-read report from Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness project. The report revealed that the King County Regional Housing Authority’s (KCRHA) collaboration with local companies called “Partnership for Zero” not only dramatically failed in its mission to remove homeless individuals from Downtown Seattle, but it cost taxpayers nearly 10 times the amount to house individuals than what it cost non-profits to perform the same task.  On the day the report was released, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced that the “partnership” was terminated. The report then exposed a disturbing lack of accountability by the politicians who govern the KCRHA. While the authority distributes millions in taxpayer funds to local homeless organizations, it does not require Read More ›

Political Liability Over the weekend, I caught up exclusively with #Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (@mayorofseattle) and Deputy Mayor Tiffany Washington to discuss the recent controversies swirling around the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA.) 1) KCRHA Continuum of Care Board Chair Shanee Colston’s defiance and refusal to resign after her public outburst defending a convicted pedophile. 2) Former KCRHA CEO Marc Dones’ abrupt resignation, leaving the agency in an uncertain situation. Distancing Themselves @KingCoRHA clearly doesn’t want want to have anything to do with this hot mess created by Colston. If she refuses to resign, is anyone going to step up and remove her? I’m still trying to figure out if this can even be done. Global Attention This story Read More ›

Follow the Money According to a 2022 document from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) the agency dished out a staggering $107, 396, 057.97 to providers. Look at all the non-profits and players in this industry. Stunning amount of money being spent to address the region’s homeless crisis. It’s broken down by agency name and project. So much to unpack. I encourage all journalists in #Seattle and #KingCounty to start picking this apart. According to a recent KCRHA call, homeless service providers also complained about late payments being an issue this year and last year as well. Post Mortem Check out this tweet showing records of KCRHA staff salaries. 30 of the 100 employees made at least $100,000.

Post Mortem Even before Marc Dones abruptly resigned on Tuesday as CEO of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA), the agency was under heavy scrutiny for it’s performance or lack thereof. Questions were being raised about spending and salaries, especially after Dones asked for $12 billion dollars to fund housing in the region. As Helen Howell becomes interim CEO, the KCRHA Governing Committee and other boards have a lot of soul searching to do. Do they stay the course and stick to the framework left by Dones, or is it time for a total gut rehab? Clearly, the “HOUSING FIRST” strategy is not working. The public is asking for more transparency and accountability, like actual measures of success and Read More ›

Crisis Management Time The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) just dropped this slick promo video featuring embattled CEO Marc Dones who rarely takes questions from the media. This comes at a time when his agency is being accused of incompetence and mismanagement. Dones is dealing with complaints from service providers about late payments, elected officials continue to scoff at his $12 billion dollar homelessnesss plan, and there have been numerous communication missteps this past year. Remember when Dones incorrectly cited state law and insisted no one could be removed from encampments unless a “permanent housing solution” was offered? Even Gov. Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) had to correct Dones. And King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn (@KCCReaganDunn) still wants KCRHA to be Read More ›