OPINION | Don't Let Corporate Interests Undermine Our Votes: Choose Prop 1A

In 2022, before social housing had even secured enough signatures to make the ballot, I urged Emerald readers to help turn the vision of social housing in Seattle into reality.

Led by the advocacy group House Our Neighbors (HON), that vision became a movement. HON successfully gathered enough signatures to place Initiative 135 on the ballot in 2023. Despite the initiative being scheduled for a February special election — when voter turnout is historically lower — Seattle voters made their voices heard, passing I-135 and establishing the Seattle Social Housing Developer (SSHD).

But impactful solutions to major problems only work if they are properly funded and supported. And, in what has become a predictable pattern in Seattle politics, corporate interests and City leaders are working to undermine the will of the voters.

So, once again, I'm asking you to help bring social housing to Seattle by casting your ballot in favor of Proposition 1 — and, specifically, to vote for Prop 1A — by Feb. 11.

A "yes" vote on Proposition 1 reinforces our support for social housing. The second decision, choosing between Prop 1A and Prop 1B, is more complex, but for those truly committed to addressing our housing affordability crisis, the right choice is clear.

When I asked HON Co-Executive Director Tiffani McCoy to explain the difference in the simplest terms, she put it plainly: "Prop 1A is the only funding option on the ballot that creates new revenue for social housing and fulfills the voter mandate of Initiative 135. Prop 1B takes money away from low-income and homeless housing and is a vote against social housing."

She's exactly right. Unlike I-135 — which was a citizen-led initiative placed on the ballot by housing advocates and community members — Prop 1B was placed on the ballot by the City Council. The key distinctions between Prop 1A and Prop 1B lie in their funding sources and the restrictions on how those funds can be used.

Prop 1A creates a new 5% tax on annual compensation exceeding $1 million paid to any employee in Seattle. The tax, paid by employers, would generate an estimated $50 million annually to fund the SSHD.

Prop 1B, backed by Mayor Bruce Harrell, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and major corporate players, diverts $10 million annually from existing JumpStart funds — money already allocated for housing, climate, small business, and community development programs. This is the same JumpStart fund that Harrell has already proposed using to fill budget deficits, reducing its availability for its intended purposes.

Simply put: Prop 1A generates significantly more funding for social housing through a tax that only affects wealthy corporations, while Prop 1B siphons money away from critical existing programs at a time when those funds are needed most.

Beyond funding, another crucial distinction requires closer attention. Prop 1B restricts social housing to residents earning up to 80% of the area median income (AMI), while Prop 1A supports a broader range, serving those earning between 0% and 120% of AMI.

The inclusion of higher-income residents may seem counterintuitive initially, but this part is especially important. In the simplest terms, the social housing model proposed through Initiative 135 creates permanently affordable units for people earning a wide range of incomes.

The brilliance of this model is that mixing income in these buildings effectively eliminates the need for rental subsidies, because the higher-income residents will essentially be subsidizing the rent for their lower-income neighbors, with no residents paying more than 30% of their income. Furthermore, this emphasis on the creation of cross-class communities works to ensure we aren't deepening the racial and socioeconomic segregation that currently exists in housing, exacerbated by current low-income housing models.

The opposition to Prop 1A tells you everything you need to know. Corporations like Amazon and Microsoft have funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into defeating Prop 1A, just as they have repeatedly tried to influence Seattle's elections in their favor.

Prop 1B is not a compromise. It's a corporate-backed Trojan horse, masquerading as an alternative to Prop 1A that will ultimately serve to override what voters have demanded. Getting social housing on the ballot, and getting it passed, was a massive people-powered undertaking. It was the very best of the democratic process in action.

Now, we must send a clear message to City leaders and corporate interests: Seattle voters won't be pressured into watering down our fight for affordable housing.

Vote "YES" on Proposition 1. Vote for Prop 1A. And do it today.

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