MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Seattle social housing initiative falling short on signatures: How it could still get on the ballot

Jul 14, 2022, 11:04 AM

Photo from KIRO 7...

Photo from KIRO 7

While the group behind Initiative 135, which concerns developing and maintaining affordable housing in Seattle and would establish a public developer that would create, own and maintain the public housing, submitted 29,552 signatures in late June to get on the fall ballot, it appears it will need more valid signatures.

RELATED: Primary election ballots mailed out across King County

House Our Neighbors will have to make a final push to get 26,520 valid signatures. King County Elections has accepted 18,074 signatures as of Wednesday and there are more than 4,000 left to count. While those numbers are significant, even if all the signatures are deemed to be valid, the group would still fall short of the needed number.

However, if an initiative does not have enough valid signatures, petitioners can get an extra 20-day “signature procurement,” allowing them to collect the remaining signatures needed, according to the Seattle city charter.

While House Our Neighbors is working to get the initiative on the ballot, the Housing Development Consortium (HDC) has concerns about Initiative 135 and said:

“We welcome innovation and share many of the same values as the backers of the Initiative. These include the belief that every person deserves a safe, affordable home, and that we need a scale of public investment in affordable housing that lives up to this value. However, this Initiative would divert scarce public resources toward the creation of a new bureaucracy and is a distraction from what should be our priority as a City—greatly increasing funding for affordable housing to meet the scale of the need.”

HDC also said that those backing the initiative have “failed to outline how the social housing proposed under the initiative would be financed as described, or to identify a viable funding source.”

The consortium said Seattle already has a potent system for skillfully developing and operating affordable homes.

Part of the Initiative text reads: “Social housing is publicly owned, publicly financed, mixed-income housing, removed from market forces and speculation, and built with the express aim of housing people equitably and affordably. Under public control and oversight, social housing is sustainable and remains affordable in perpetuity.”

Read the full text of I-135 here.



MyNorthwest News

Image: Brightly colored eggs are set on a table on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington,...

Ted Buehner

Expect good Easter weekend weather for egg hunts, chilly evening Mariners games

Both Saturday and Sunday of Easter weekend will feature temperatures warming to around 60 degrees across much of Western Washington.

12 hours ago

Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 20...

Micki Gamez, KIRO Newsradio and Bill Kaczaraba, MyNorthwest

Seattle tourism dollars break records following All-Star Week, Taylor Swift

It was a record-setting year for dollars flowing into Seattle from tourists.

13 hours ago

Image: A bridge in Carnation....

Julia Dallas

Carnation frustrated with Seattle again after 8th false emergency alarm induces widespread panic

Carnation citizens have faced a series of panic-inducing alarms after SPU's system for the Tolt Dam falsely sounded eight times.

14 hours ago

Grocery store shopper...

Bill Kaczaraba

Ways to deal with Seattle grocery store sticker shock

Seattle grocery store sticker shock continues to play havoc on locals, but there are ways to counter high prices.

15 hours ago

belltown hellcat social media...

Frank Sumrall

Infamous ‘Belltown Hellcat’ social media influencer charged with reckless driving

The social media influencer has been accused of driving 107 miles per hour through Belltown in a Dodge Hellcat.

16 hours ago

KIRO Newsradio gracie awards...

MyNorthwest Staff

KIRO Newsradio anchors receive Gracie Awards for outstanding work

Heather Bosch and Lisa Brooks, anchors at KIRO Newsradio, have been honored by the Alliance for Women in Media with prestigious Gracie Awards.

19 hours ago

Seattle social housing initiative falling short on signatures: How it could still get on the ballot