Seattle mayoral candidate Lorena González reveals plan to address homelessness

With tensions about encampments in parks and public spaces running high in Seattle, mayoral candidate and current City Council President Lorena González detailed her plan for addressing the city's homelessness crisis if elected in November.

"I am not here to point fingers at people in tents, or call for yet another study, dashboard or app to study an issue that so many of us are all too familiar with," González said Thursday. "Rather, I am starting now to bring all hands on deck to implement solutions for unhoused neighbors that start the moment I become mayor."

Emphasizing addressing the root causes of homelessness, her plan aims to build more affordable housing as a "lasting solution" to the city's crisis, ultimately developing about 37,000 more affordable homes for individuals living on low income using federal, state and local resources. An exact price estimate for building that many affordable housing units was not provided. In comparison, city leaders announced this week that they had acquired three newly constructed apartment buildings with 165 units of affordable housing set to open this fall. All three buildings together totaled $50 million using local and state investments.

Her plan will also address skyrocketing cost of living in the city by limiting rent hikes and requiring several months' notice before implementing significant rent hikes. González said she will also create a wealth tax for corporations to pay for more affordable housing and revamp the city's zoning laws to bolster housing supply.

"We should make sure more homes of all shapes and sizes are available for our neighbors: legalize housing like duplexes, triplexes, and other lower cost homes across Seattle," González stated." To build the affordable homes we need, we have to change outdated laws that prevent multi-family housing in 70% of Seattle’s residential areas."

To address concerns about encampments in city parks and other public spaces, González said that she would increase shelter capacity and assess all encampments across all neighborhoods. She made it clear that her approach to homelessness will not include encampment sweeps, which often shuffles unhoused people into other public spaces and disrupts connections with service providers.

Speaking at Green Lake, former City Council President Bruce Harrell announced his strategy for tackling homelessness earlier this month, saying he would establish a minimum of 12% of the city budget to address the current housing crisis. He also aims to identify 2,000 units of emergency shelter by the end of his first year, a level he believes is "ambitious but attainable."

However, he has taken a different approach from his opponent in regards to encampment sweeps, with his platform stating that he will "ensure that City parks, playgrounds, sports fields, public spaces and sidewalks and streets remain open and clear of encampments." That language closely mirrors the rhetoric used by the Compassion Seattle charter amendment, which Harrell expressed support for. However, the controversial initiative will not appear on the November ballot after being struck down by a judge last month and a failed appeal from organizers.

With the election just weeks away, many voters still appear to be unsure about the future of the city's leadership. The Crosscut/Elway poll released last week found that Harrell maintains a 15 point lead over González. However, a larger group of voters — 24% — remained undecided. An internal polling memo from González's campaign found that the race was much closer than the other poll indicated, with both candidates at 45% of the vote and only 10% undecided.

Both González and Harrell will have a chance to defend their plans for addressing homelessness next Wednesday evening in a virtual debate hosted by The Seattle Times and We Are In.