Urban Politics (UP) blends my insights and information on current public policy developments and personal experiences with the intent of helping citizens shape Seattle’s future. I’ve decided to continue writing Urban Politics and keeping its intent and format roughly the same. However, it will obviously no longer be hosted at city hall. For that reason, […]
[More]In coming to the ALEC/ACCE conference my big question was, would the American City County Exchange (ACCE) be able to duplicate ALEC’s success in getting hundreds of bills passed around the country that cripple worker and environmental protections? Would it open the floodgates to corporate influence in shaping our urban political environment? It seemed to […]
[More]It is verifiable how large corporations push ALEC’s policies to allow them to maximize their profits while passing on the cost of mitigating any environmental damage they cause to the public sector. The same goes for the public picking up the tab for workers who need health care or housing because businesses do not pay […]
[More]Unions are ALEC’s favorite whipping boy. When ALEC opened up their conference with Governor Steve Walker, he snapped that whip within his first few moments boasting “we took on the unions and won.” The crowd cheered. Even though union membership has been slashed by two-thirds from their peak in the mid-fifties, there are still enough […]
[More]Unlike other political organizations of locally elected public officials, corporations, business associations, and think tanks are full voting ALEC members, referred to as the private-interest partners. From talking to one private-interest member, the cost of joining ALEC is just over $1,000 but to vote in one of ALEC’s task forces that make policies, the cost […]
[More]This series about my attendance at the ALEC conference has first appeared on the website PR Watch. If yesterday’s far left wanted to overthrow the government, today’s far right would just as soon get rid of most of it. The term “far right” implies a small fringe group, wanting to shove most of the federal […]
[More]It’s true. I plopped down my $50 and became a member of ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council), dedicated to the three principles of limited government, free markets and federalism. This is the basis of a right-wing movement in America to repeal existing government legislation that promotes social justice and economic equity, and stop any […]
[More]Art and Democracy don’t need to be separate. Check out this reception for non-profit arts organizations, the Seattle Arts Commission, and Seattle City Council candidates.
[More]Housing affordability in Seattle has become a crisis with the highest rent increases of any major U.S. city in 2012 and 2013. Seattle is now among the nation’s ten most expensive cities. More than 45% of Seattle rental households are now considered rent-burdened. A 2015 Washington State Housing Needs Assessment found there are only 34 […]
[More]Move Seattle Transportation Levy In early May, Mayor Murray proposed a “Move Seattle” transportation levy. The levy would be funded with $930 million in property taxes over nine years, with an annual cost of $275 for the owner of a $450,000 home. You can examine the details at the Move Seattle website; materials from the […]
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