Thread by @ElectScott2019

Today I had a meeting with Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes that re-impressed upon me the stakes for the District 4 City Council election.

Pete showed me some of the legislation that the city is currently defending against organized legal challenges in court.

What should stand out:

This is +\- a comprehensive list of the progressive gains won by labor, housing activists, and social justice groups in recent years:

Publically financed elections, hospitality worker protections, police accountability measures, a fair tax code, and more.

There are powerful interests in this city—large businesses, multinational developers, and outright conservatives—committed to turning back the clock on city politics in a major way.

All have endorsed in this race. None have chosen me.

We need council members who will work with the City Attorney to not only protect gains we have already made...

But ALSO to move the 🏈 downfield on even more gains for everyday Seattleites, working families, and targeted groups.

Pete told me that my meeting with him was the first time that any council candidate had asked him about the City Council’s Taskforce on Housing and Homelessness:

Specifically, the possible progressive revenue options outlined in the Council’s report. seattle.gov/Documents/Depa…

I first learned of these revenue options from @TammyMoralesSEA. I think we agree these would help the city fund more social housing.

They’d also likely be challenged by the same interests that challenged Democracy Vouchers and bargaining rights for Uber/Lyft drivers.

These challenges, and the vitriol that come with them, are part of the reason why even staunch progressives are reluctant to spend political capital on ambitious legislation. Entitlement—be it male, White, or rich—gets really nasty when it is confronted. But confront it we must.

City Council candidates often tell you that we need to “study” certain issues more. To a certain extent that is true.

But what I realized talking to the City Attorney is that this election is more about integrity than it is about intellect.

We need city legislators who will face down the regressive blocs who are misusing the courts to move our city backwards...AND leaders who will push the envelope on yet more gains that will keep these forces on the defensive, and ultimately defeat them.

Taking the elevator down from Pete’s downtown office at rush hour, a stranger waiting for a bus stopped me on the street to say that they would be voting for me. Walking away, I caught myself in the mirror. I straightened my back.

No time for slouching in 2019.

✊🏾🏙