Seattle council fails to override Wilson’s RV permit veto in 5-4 vote after heated exchange

The Seattle City Council has failed to override Mayor Katie Wilson’s veto of an ordinance requiring permits for people living in recreational vehicles.

The council voted 5-4 Thursday to override the veto, but the measure needed six votes, or a two-thirds majority, to pass.

The vote marks a setback for Seattle Councilmember Dan Strauss, who sponsored the original ordinance and pushed fellow councilmembers to override the mayor’s decision.

Wilson’s alternative RV plan leaves out council’s towing approach

The council passed the ordinance last month. Wilson vetoed it last week, despite previously indicating she would sign it.

On the same day she announced the veto, Wilson unveiled an RV plan of her own.

“I was not originally intending to veto this legislation, and it’s through sitting with it, learning more about the details of the challenges, that I felt compelled and believed that it was in the best interest of the city to really put forward an alternative pathway for consideration,” Wilson explained during a news conference. “We also have traveling workers such as nurses who may be residing in RVs. We have veterans who may be trying to access services at the VA, and we have simply visitors to our city.”

Both proposals include city-run RV parks and expanded services intended to help people living in vehicles transition into permanent housing. Much of the mayor’s plan mirrors the council’s proposal, but the key difference is how the city would handle RVs parked on public streets.

Wilson’s plan does not call for towing RVs, while the council’s ordinance included a permitting approach that could lead to enforcement against vehicles that do not comply.

At the time, Strauss gave a heated response to the mayor’s veto.

“She could have been doing any of this since day one,” he said. “Where has she been?”

Saka’s shift on RV proposal draws criticism from Strauss

However, the competing plans put Seattle Councilmember Rob Saka in the spotlight. Saka initially voted in favor of the council’s ordinance, saying there was no alternative plan on the table at the time. But he later appeared at Wilson’s news conference to support the mayor’s proposal and appeared alongside her at her news conference.

“That’s why I applaud and thank the mayor for creating a pathway to an alternative that could potentially work better,” Saka said at the time.

Fast forward to Thursday’s council vote to override the mayor’s veto, Strauss criticized Saka for changing his position as he made a last-minute push to secure the votes needed for an override.

“Voting to sustain the veto is voting for the status quo,” Strauss told the council. “And a vote to delay taking action, helping people who have been overlooked, under-resourced, with the city turning their back on them.”

In a rare moment for the city council, the exchange between Strauss and Saka became heated. Saka asked council president Joy Hollingsworth for a ‘point of order’.

“You know the Seattle passive-aggressive, subtle, slight. Let’s disagree on the merits. But Councilmember Strauss, if you have a problem with me, I promise you, I’m not the one,” Saka responded. “You can take it up with me directly. Our offices are right next to each other. Do not, under any circumstance, impugn my motives, my character, or my integrity. I don’t do that to anyone else. Do not do it to me.”

The council ultimately fell one vote short, leaving Wilson’s veto in place and her administration’s RV proposal as the only path forward for now.

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