Mayor Durkan slammed for ‘Slave Shacks,’ ‘slums’ by liberal activist

As Mayor Jenny Durkan pushes her plan to bring tiny home villages to Seattle, one activist is speaking up, claiming they’re more akin to “slave shacks” than proper homes to house our most vulnerable.

“Tiny homes have an architectural designation,” former state representative Dawn Mason, a Democrat, told me on the Jason Rantz Show. “So they have cooking facilities… toilet facilities… and these do not. And from the photos of the so-called village on Othello, those houses don’t have windows. And so it’s not a house, it’s a shack.”

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Mason, who served two terms the 37th Legislative District in Central and Southeast Seattle from 1995-1999, explained to me that she fears Durkan’s plan will just create Seattle slums and the City is selling us a plan that sugarcoats the reality. It’s sold as a temporary solution, but, she argues, they tend to become permanent.

“I take umbrage to the mayor trying to put this romantic look on these sheds,” she explained. “I’ve spent time in Kenya. Kenya has the Kibera slum and people live in small spaces and it gets growing, and growing, and now it’s a slum. So whether temporary [or not]… it could grow to be a slum. It’s not a village. It’s a potential slum. They’re using ‘village’ wrong because it sounds quaint, right? They’re using tiny homes wrong because it’s cute. Let’s call it what it is!”

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This sentiment is shared, regardless of ideological positions. In South Lake Union, community members packed a recent meeting to overwhelmingly decry Durkan’s move to place a tiny home village in a densely populated residential neighborhood. Many residents spoke out against the plan, which they believe will bring crime to the neighborhood, much like what has happened at other area-encampments. The City still won’t confirm the encampment has been green lit, though the funding has been approved and the tiny homes already have been built.

“The thing about Seattle not being able to solve this problem is we have this very elite Liberalism and we always want to paint things cute and nice…” Mason explained. “…If I starve you to near death and they give you a burnt piece of toast, you’re going to be ever-so-grateful.”

To listen to the full interview, subscribe to the Jason Rantz Show podcast or tune in Thursday morning from 6-9 a.m.

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