This week Seattle Nice debates Erica's take on Mayor Bruce Harrell's new budget.

TL;DR Harrell avoided big budget cuts but progressives are pissed that he tapped the lucrative payroll tax on big business known as JumpStart to pull that off.

Don't miss the city council debate and VP debate watch party at Town Hall this coming Tuesday October 1.

We kick it off with a livestream of the big Vice Presidential debate between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance on the big screen. Then, we go local with the Seattle Nice City Council debate for citywide Position 8 between Tanya Woo and Alexis Mercedes Rinck.

Town Hall's cafe will be open for folks to purchase beer, wine, cider, and a few straightaway cocktails. Doors for the VP debate open at 5:45 pm.

Get your debate tickets here. Submit your questions in advance here.

Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.com

Our editor is Quinn Waller

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This week Seattle's city council voted to send two competing measures to the ballot to fund affordable housing.

Initiative 137, the measure social housing activists support, proposes a new, "excess compensation tax" on big business. Council member Maritza Rivera is backing a new, "alternative" measure that would rely instead on existing JumpStart taxes on big business.

Erica says Rivera's alternative would raid the JumpStart tax and effectively kill the social housing concept voters approved last year. See Erica's reporting on the two measures here.

Sandeep defends the alternative, saying he's skeptical social housing backers actually know how to build or manage housing. He suggests the more modest $50 million dollar alternative proposal would give them a chance to prove themselves before potentially getting more funding.

The pod also briefly debates a proposed increase in police hiring bonuses.

Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.com

Our editor is Quinn Waller

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Caleb Banta-Green of UW medicine joins the pod to debate the pros and cons of Seattle's current approach to drugs.

The conversation kicks off with Barnett and Banta-Green blasting the city council's latest plan to create six new “stay out” zones for drug crimes. The conversation then broadens to a deeper debate about whether some coercion helps or harms people who are struggling with addiction.

Coincidentally, Uncle Ike's pot shop sponsored this week's episode. If you want to advertise plesae contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.com

Our editor is Quinn Waller

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The city council is making plans to speed up the process for building in downtown Seattle by exempting certain buildings from design review. Erica and Sandeep agree about the merits of the proposal, while David as devil's advocate tries to insert some skepticism into their urbanist love fest.

We also talk about the King County Council's about-face on earlier plans to close the youth jail.

Our editor is Quinn Waller.

For tickets to the Seattle Nice Position 8 city council debate coming up on October 1st at Town Hall click this link!

And if you have any tough but fair questions for the candidates, please share them with us as soon as possible over email: realseattlenice@gmail.com

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Surrogates are calling Mayor Bruce Harrell's downtown recovery plan a "roaring success" for the city. Are they right?

We debate that, and whether "return to work" is overrated. What is the good life, Seattle?

To advertise or just get in touch you can reach Seattle Nice at realseattlenice@gmail.com

Our editor is Quinn Waller.

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Seattle Nice takes a lively look at a proposed ban on prostitution "loitering," and proposed Stay Out of Stay Out of Area of Prostitution (SOAP) zones. This follows the proposed banishment of some drug users from select areas downtown, called SODAs or “Stay Out of Drug Areas."

Check out Erica's extensive coverage on Publicola, and while you're at it please donate to Publicola.

Quinn Waller edits the show.

To advertise or just get in touch you can reach Seattle Nice at realseattlenice@gmail.com

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Seattle Nice was on our best behavior this week because had company—Scott Greenstone, a politics reporter at KUOW radio and host of the new KUOW podcast Sound Politics!

We discussed the statewide election results (Scott reported that the vibe at Republican gubernatorial candidate Semi Bird's party was weirdly "optimistic") and the race to replace Frank Chopp as 43rd District state rep, where Chopp-endorsed Shaun Scott ended the night with more than twice as many votes as We Heart Seattle founder Andrea Suarez, whom even the Seattle Times didn't endorse.

And, of course, we talked about Seattle's only local election—the race for City Council Position 8, where incumbent Tanya Woo was trailing challenger Alexis Mercedes Rinck by a wide margin on Election Night. (The gap has only widened since then). Woo, who was appointed to the citywide seat after losing last year's District 2 race to incumbent Tammy Morales, is on shaky ground going into the general election.

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There's an election coming up for a citywide seat on the Seattle City Council, and the question everyone's asking is: Can a progressive challenger beat a member of the Class of 2023? Tanya Woo, the citywide Position 8 incumbent, actually lost her race for a single-district seat last year but was elevated to a citywide position anyway—not by voters, but by the new centrist City Council majority, who appointed her in January. Her challenger, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, is hoping that voters are ready for at least one more progressive on the council. We discuss whether the voters (a different electorate in this Presidential year than they were in 2023) are ready for a mini-backlash to the backlash.

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