On January 17, 2017, I sent a letter to Washington State House Speaker Frank Chopp and the House Local Government Committee, calling on them to reject HB 1082, an unjust bill that would have prohibited multiplicities from enacting commercial rent control. Cities like Seattle, where small businesses and working families face skyrocketing rents, need to […]

On December 12, after nearly a 1/2 year of struggle by Washington CAN and tenants’ rights advocates, the Seattle City Council passed our move-in fees legislation, 8-0! My remarks motivating the council bill below. I am excited to introduce again this ordinance that would limit the exorbitant move-in fees that tenants are expected to pay in […]

Councilmembers May Try to Kill our Tenants’ Rights Bill by Sending it Back to Committee Come tell Council: “Tenants Can’t Wait!” We Need to Limit Move-In Fees Now! On September 27, our legislation limiting move-in fees unanimously passed through committee with a 5-0 vote! This legislation limits security deposits and non-refundable fees, and requires landlords to give tenants […]

After more than a half-year of organizing, tenant activists and housing justice organizers have won a major victory with the unanimous passage of the Carl Haglund Law. This bill will ban rent hikes in buildings with code violations, a horrendous practice that has been legal and all-too-common. I want to thank everyone who fought in this struggle. […]

Last month, my office was contacted by a group of tenants in South Seattle whose landlord, the notorious slumlord Carl Haglund, was doubling their rents, despite truly appalling living conditions. This was a brazen attempt by Haglund to conduct building-wide economic evictions. After meeting with tenants to see the apartment building, my office joined with […]

Small businesses face overwhelming obstacles just surviving in the modern economy. Big businesses capture not only the lion’s share of profit, they also utilize their capital to exert a disproportionate influence on politics – influence which is used to further corporate interests at the expense of workers and small businesses alike. It is the disproportionate economic power wielded by […]

On October 27, 2015, restaurant and nightlife venue owner Dave Meinert joined K. Wyking Garrett of AfricatownSeattle.com, Paula Lucas of Le Frock, Mike Rodriguez from Restaurant Opportunities Center United, Nate Omdal from Fair Trade Music Seattle, former small business owner Sonia Ponath, and me to introduce a series of initiatives supporting small business, including commercial rent control.  We […]

On October 14, 2015, Councilmembers Licata joined me, Attorney Knoll Lowney, Osman Osman and Sahro Farah from the 6511 Rainier Tenant Association, Hana Alici of the Tenants Union of Washington State, and Sharon Lee of the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) to introduce proposed legislation to ban rent hikes in buildings that are not up to code. […]

This week has marked a series of victories in the movement for high quality affordable housing for all, and against slumlords! In response to notorious slumlord Carl Haglund’s attempt at doubling the rent on the tenants of the Charles Street Apartments, a building wracked with infestations and 225 housing code violations, tenants reached out to my City Council […]

Now let’s step up protests to resolve the issues of all his tenants! With the help of Councilmembers Kshama Sawant and Nick Licata, and the Tenants Union of WA, tenants living in the Charles Street Apartments at 6511 Rainier Avenue South organized and fought back against appalling living conditions and circumstances. Tenants have lived with rats, roaches, […]