Seattle Nice

Just as urbanists thought they had a deal to jumpstart stalled housing construction, it fell apart. We unpack the rise and fall of a proposed temporary break on Seattle's Mandatory Housing Affordability program, which taxes new development to fund affordable housing. Those tax dollars have all but dried up as building costs have soared and construction has stalled. Developers and density advo...

While Seattle celebrates hosting the World Cup, the city's unsheltered count just jumped 21 percent. What explains the increase? Can we trust the numbers? And why are we seeing shelter capacity shrink right when it’s needed most?  Also: Mayor Katie Wilson's "zero-tolerance" push in Little Saigon. Is this the same old policing playbook, or something genuinely new? Can a progress...

Last August, an alarming, high-profile audit of King County’s Department of Community and Human Services’ spending on “high-risk” youth program providers found widespread problems and indications of potential fraud. So now, 10 months later, has DCHS been able to clean up the issues that led to the serious internal control problems the audit surfaced?  New DCHS Director Susan McLaughlin joins Erica...

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Seattle Nice , which takes up Mayor Katie Wilson’s proposal to double the current transit sales tax. It’s a familiar Seattle policy dilemma: how do we pay for the reliable public transit we need without relying on regressive taxes?   Next, we examine the newly passed Housing Opportunities Package (HOP). It’s a massive set of zoning changes and regulatory...

Daryl Fairweather, Chief Economist at Redfin and author of Hate the Game: Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love, and Work , joins us to explain why the housing market is doing something it almost never does here: cooling off. In this episode we break down the recent headlines that stopped Seattleites mid-scroll: prices here are dropping here faster than anywhere else in the country. Fairweather poin...

On the latest episode, we cut through the fig leafs and happy talk from Sound Transit officials to lay bare the hardball political realities underlying their decision to kill the long-promised light line extension to Ballard, which has been left unfunded and postponed indefinitely.  Who to blame? Erica says it is a systemic failure, pointing to ST's excessively slow, expensive, and politicize...

Sound Transit is facing a $35 billion budget gap and the long-promised light rail extension to Ballard is at severe risk of being cut . Scott Kubly, former Director of Seattle's Department of Transportation, joins us to unpack how the region landed in this mess and shares a plan to cut costs and save the Ballard line.    The headline number is jaw-dropping: Sound Transit projects cost two to...

This week we take a closer look at the escalating tensions between Mayor Katie Wilson’s office and the Seattle City Council. What began as a push from the Mayor’s Office to approve shelter expansion legislation devolved into a "Game of Thrones meets game of sad trombones" showdown featuring heated confrontations and council reports of mayoral staffers allegedly acting like "dictator...

We tackle three major topics in Seattle politics this week, starting with scrutiny of Mayor Katie Wilson's recent so-called "gaffes," including her comment about wealthy people leaving due to a new state income tax. Second, the discussion turns to the damning audit of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA), which identified massive financial accountability issues an...

Some lawmakers are calling for the dissolution of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) following a damning forensic audit. The audit, or “forensic evaluation,” revealed years of abysmal accounting practices and that the agency could not account for millions in public funds. This raises critical questions, including: Should the KCRHA be dissolved, and was the agency structurally...

This week, we’re diving deep into Seattle’s Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program. Joining the conversation are consultant Natalie Quick and former Seattle COO Marco Lowe, who break down how this “pay a fee or include affordable units" policy is affecting housing. We’ll explore why MHA has inadvertently sent housing costs soaring and put the brakes on some new construction. Plus, we’l...

We discuss the latest in Seattle politics, including Mayor Katie Wilson's ambitious plan to create 1000 new shelter units by the end of the year and 500 by the FIFA World Cup. The plan includes opening a new Tiny House village in Interbay with 75 new palette shelters, expanding existing shelters in West and South Seattle, and adding RV spots. But Sandeep argues the bigger news is that the ini...

This week we chew over Mayor Katie Wilson's accelerated approach to the Comprehensive Plan, and council scrutiny of city human services contracts following fraud allegations at King County. Plus, the proposed $410 million library levy, with council amendments adding tens of millions. Our editor is Quinn Waller.  Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@...

Tune in to hear new District 2 Council Member Eddie Lin break down the latest council dynamics, the future of the city's housing strategy, comprehensive planning efforts, public safety issues in District 2, along with his thoughts about the Mayor Katie Wilson administration ... and more.  Our editor is Quinn Waller. Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlen...

Mayor Katie Wilson unveiled her police CCTV camera plan on Thursday, which she immediately acknowledged "will please no one," according to Publicola . The plan introduces a partial and temporary halt to the expansion of CCTV cameras across the city, allowing for a months-long audit of camera protocols with assistance from New York University's Policing Project. Despite the pause in...

This week Jon Scholes, President and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA), joined us to discuss the state of downtown. He pointed to positive momentum towards economic recovery and the dream of a “24/7 city,” with so many people moving downtown, but also warned of challenges including the high office vacancy rate. Other topics included:   Jumpstart payroll tax: Debate over whether the out...

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s ambitious 1000-bed temporary shelter plan , which, among other elements, proposes accelerating the construction of up to 250-unit “tiny house” villages across all council districts, is still in the early planning stages but is already generating lots of questions from providers and others.  Including from us. How will the City handle the management of these super-sized...

CARE team head Amy Barden told council this week that the latest police union contract is preventing effective alternative 911 response from her team. We also get into what’s really happening with the allegations facing Derrick Wheeler-Smith, the Director of the Office of Civil Rights; and the controversy around Mayor Katie Wilson’s removal of City Light CEO Dawn Lindell, revealing behind-the-scen...

Following her first State of the City address, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson joins us to discuss the city’s most pressing issues. We explore why she hasn’t yet changed the city’s policies on encampment clearances, how she’s going to deliver on her big promise to add 1000 units of shelter by year’s end, and her answer to impatience from the left for bold progressive actions. Our editor is Quinn Waller...

Meet Joe Nguyen, a seemingly unusual pick to head the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. A former Bernie Sanders delegate and former progressive state lawmaker who championed policies like the capital gains tax and famously eschewed corporate PAC money, Nguyen is now leading the fiscally conservative Chamber through a period of change as it tries to navigate Seattle's progressive electorate while f...

Following a decisive win last fall for citywide Position 9, City Councilmember Dionne Foster joins us to talk about how she intends to fulfill her campaign promises amid Seattle’s mounting fiscal challenges.  Councilmember Foster, who chairs the Housing, Arts and Civil Rights Committee, outlines some of her priorities including housing affordability. We also get into her more progressive approach...

Amy Barden, director of the city's Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) department. Barden has been on the job for just over two years, running the city's 911 operations while also setting up an unarmed team of social workers who respond to emergency calls that don't require police—the CARE Team. The CARE Team is expanding to 48 members this year, and their size will no...

This week, we spoke to former deputy city attorney Scott Lindsay. Voters soundly rejected Lindsay's former boss, Republican Ann Davison, last November, but Lindsay argues that many of her prescriptions for addressing crime and disorder were sound—including "stay out" zones for people accused of using or possessing drugs in public, extra penalties for people who commit misdemeanors l...

We sat down with new Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans and Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion founder Lisa Daugaard this week to talk about changes Evans is making to the way the city handles low-level drug cases. Under Evans' Republican predecessor, Ann Davison, people arrested for simple drug possession or using in public were either jailed and prosecuted or sent to a "drug prosecution...

We have no clue what 2026 holds, but that hasn't stopped us! The annual "Seattle Nice" prognostication episode returns with Publicola Co-Founder Josh Feit to offer hopes and predictions for the city's 2026. The main event: Mayor-elect Katie Wilson’s looming tenure. Will she defy her critics and steer a progressive agenda with pragmatic, results-oriented grit? We're all opt...