Seattle Nice

This week we discuss the upcoming Christian nationalist rally at Cal Anderson Park, why these events continue to happen, and debate the city's legal challenges in managing them.We also bring you primary election news and get into Seattle’s aversion to re-electing mayors.Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comThanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

This week on Seattle Nice, we debate the factors that led to a progressive triumph in Seattle's August primary. We dig into what went wrong for centrist incumbents Mayor Bruce Harrell, City Council Member Sara Nelson, and City Attorney Ann Davison. Was it a longing for a kinder, gentler approach to public safety and homelessness? The high price of pizza? The “Trump effect?” Take a listen and let us know what you think at realseattlenice@gmail.com. Our editor is Quinn Waller. About Seattle NIce It’s getting harder and harder to talk about politics, especially if you disagree. Well, screw that. Seattle Nice aims to be the most opinionated and smartest analysis of what’s really happening in Seattle politics available in any medium. Each episode dives into contentious and sometimes ridiculous topics, exploring perspectives from across Seattle's political spectrum, from city council brawls to the ways the national political conversation filters through our unique political process. Even if you’re not from Seattle, you need to listen to Seattle Nice. Because it’s coming for you. Unlike the sun, politics rises in the West and sets in the East. Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comThanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

This episode delves into three political developments in Seattle and King County. Part I examines a proposed initiative to ban unauthorized public camping in unincorporated King County, discussing its scope, the signature-gathering process, and the larger goals of its main proponent, Saul Spady. Part II focuses on the B&O tax increase proposal which passed out of committee unanimously last week, exploring its financial implications, its goals, recent amendments, and its potential impact on Mayor Harrell's re-election. Part III gets into City Attorney Ann Davison and Mayor Bruce Harrell's lawsuit against the Trump administration, and the timing … just before the August primary.Our editor is Quinn Waller. Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comThanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

In this extra special, heavy duty emergency weekend edition of Seattle Nice, we dissect what Trump’s new executive order on homelessness means for Seattle. Initial hot takes have interpreted the order as a full frontal assault on the "housing first" and “harm reduction” approaches that prevail in blue jurisdictions, and its release  has precipitated a major freak out from providers and progressive elected officials in Seattle and nationally.But we need to stop and take a deep breath, says one of Seattle Nice’s go to experts, MacArthur genius Lisa Daugaard, co-Executive Director of Purpose Dignity Action. Looking past the inflammatory Trumpian rhetoric to the actual language of the order, Lisa offers a more nuanced and “strategic” take. While the Trumpists’ political rhetoric surrounding the order is inflammatory, Daugaard walks us through a deep dive into the actual, much more carefully drafted language of the order to point out that the text itself is (for the most part) not horrific and could even open doors to increased resources for treatment and recovery. As Duagaard emphasizes, Housing First, understood correctly, is not “housing only,” and this EO presents an opportunity for providers and advocates to better explain the full range of case management and recovery interventions they are already deploying to help those suffering from addiction.The discussion goes deep into the EO’s implications for harm reduction services, housing first programs, and for civil commitment, weighing the potential risks and strategic opportunities on each front for local providers and governments. The conversation also gets into the potentially sharp disjuncture between the political imperatives for municipal candidates vying to present themselves as the most anti-Trump as local election season heats up, and the right strategy for providers to demonstrate to federal agencies that they are addressing the terms of the EO in good faith.Quinn Waller is our editor. Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comThanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

This week we take a closer look at what’s at stake in the upcoming August primary, and explore the potential resurgence of the progressive left in Seattle.   We consider whether "public safety" retains the same electoral weight it held in 2021 and 2023, years that saw the broad ousting of Seattle progressives. Drawing parallels to the victory of Socialist Zohran Mamdani over establishment Democrats in the recent New York City primary, we also ask if Seattle's incumbent establishment figures, including Mayor Bruce Harrell, City Council President Sara Nelson, and Republican City Attorney Ann Davison could be in trouble.  There's also discussion of a possible "Trump factor,” with the President pushing voters further left in elections across the globe this year. The podcast also gets into a recent court ruling banning nudity “as constituted” at Denny Blaine Park. This pod taping took place live at the Erickson Theater on Capitol Hill where the 43rd District Democrats had invited us to tape in front of an audience of fellow political nerds. Thanks to all who turned out!If you’d like to book Seattle Nice please drop us an email: realseattlenice@gmail.comSend us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comThanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

On this episode we debated the City Council’s plans to get tough on graffiti by introducing civil penalties up to $1,500 per violation. The change would make it easier to fine taggers. Erica questioned the council’s priorities and aesthetics, and pointed out that graffiti is already a crime or felony (if it costs more than $750 to repair). Sandeep mostly spoke in favor of the new measure, citing studies that find tolerance for graffiti can lead to more crime. But he also questioned the value of going after taggers as opposed to more serious criminals. The discussion also touched on prevailing academic and cultural claims that graffiti tagging operates mostly as a form of multi-ethnic working-class expression or protest. David pointed to the data reported in Publicola that suggests that may not be the case, at least in Seattle, since 85 percent of the people "referred to Ann Davison’s office for graffiti violation were white." Erica said the sample size is too small to conclude most taggers are white. Sandeep argued bringing race into the conversation was a needlessly "identitarian" move by the City Council.  Another point of contention was a poll that's testing negative messaging against mayoral candidate Katie Wilson. All agreed the test messages claiming Wilson is "divisive" and "angry" missed the mark and were unlikely to be effective. We also discussed earlier progressive campaign tactics that misfired by attempting to link moderate candidates, such as Mayor Bruce Harrell, to Donald Trump. David asked if we’ll see more of that messaging from campaigns and advocates in 2025 and, given Trump’s unpopularity in Seattle, if it will work? Plus, we delve into John Arthur Wilson's campaign suspension in the race for King County Executive, following harassment allegations. What took him so long?  Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comThanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

PROGRAM NOTE: We hope all you Seattle Nice fans will join us for a live taping of the podcast at 7 pm on July 15 at the next meeting of the 43rd District Democrats, held at the Erickson Theater on Capitol Hill, 1524 Harvard Avenue. We’ll be previewing the upcoming primary, and there’ll be a chance for audience questions. Council President Sara Nelson, flanked by homeless services and treatment providers and neighborhood representatives, held a press conference last week to announce that she is introducing a “Pathways to Recovery” resolution that would commit the city to use 25 percent of a future public safety sales tax toward drug and mental health treatment services. The legislature gave cities and counties the authority to pass a 0.1 percent sales tax for public safety earlier this yearErica and Sandeep dissect Nelson’s proposal on the latest episode of Seattle Nice, and the mayor’s non-committal response to it. We take a close look at what the Council prez is proposing to fund and some of the backroom politics swirling around the proposal. And we look at how this proposed new public spending fits into the city’s overall budget picture and priorities.Erica expresses some skepticism about the need for more funding for police, and about the impact of increasing the regressive sales tax, which is already the highest in the nation. (She was also alarmed by the presence of groups that don't support evidence-based practice at Nelson's press conference). Sandeep argues that 100 percent of revenues from the new sales tax—expected to be adopted as part of the budget process this fall— should go to Nelson’s treatment proposal, because the City isn’t facing the big budget deficit they claims they are. In the end, while there is a lot of process yet to go before this new treatment funding becomes a reality, and while there still unanswered questions about how this funding will be divvied up, both Erica and Sandeep agree this is a positive step forward and that Nelson deserves credit for building a broad coalition of support behind it. Our editor is Quinn Waller.  Have a question or comment? Send us an email at realseattlenice@gmail.com.Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comThanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

This week, we're talking taxes—specifically, the new business and occupation (B&O) tax proposal that City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Mayor Bruce Harrell dropped, seemingly out of the blue, last week. The tax includes a big exemption that the business community has been seeking for a long time; however, above that threshold—$2 million in gross receipts—the tax will go up substantially. Because B&O taxes are based on gross receipts, they hit high-grossing, low-margin businesses like restaurants and grocery stores hardest, which is one reason they aren't generally considered progressive. In fact, neither of the groups the city set up to come up with new progressive revenue sources recommended a higher B&O tax. So what’s really behind this new proposal? The mayor's up for reelection, facing a progressive challenge from Katie Wilson. Seattle's in a budget hole. And supporters of the measure may be taking a gamble that the Chamber won't fight too hard against the tax, because it includes a big tax exemption that small- and medium-size businesses have been seeking for years.With David still away gamboling in parts unnamed, Sandeep and Erica take up these questions and more on this week's episode of Seattle Nice.Our editor is Quinn Waller. Have a question or comment—or want to advertise with us? Send us an email at realseattlenice@gmail.com.Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comThanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

The hosts tackle the troubling financial woes of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, facing major budget cuts and potential job losses. They question the agency's current role and effectiveness, especially after the departure of its founding leader. Internal turmoil, from low staff morale to governance issues, is laid bare. The thought-provoking discussion probes whether this organization merely shields local politicians from scrutiny about their homelessness policies, raising urgent questions about its future.

Josh Feit, news editor of the Stranger and a veteran on Seattle politics, joins the conversation to unravel the scandal surrounding King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson, who faces serious allegations yet remains defiant. They discuss the rising urbanist movement and how it's perceived as incivility by some council members. The chat also delves into the mayor's push to shut down nuisance properties, questioning if it's a necessary response to recent nightlife violence or just another blow to Seattle’s vibrant club scene.