The King County Council has called a special meeting for 10am on Monday, July 30th, to discuss the use of revenue from the county’s Hotel-Motel tax. Executive Dow Constantine has proposed to spend $185 million on upgrades to Safeco Field — including $160 million in non-essential “bells and whistles”. [More info]
This money could be used instead to fund affordable housing. How can we justify using taxpayer money to build an “upper-concourse kids zone” at a stadium, when thousands of kids in our community don’t even have homes? Tens of thousands of working families in King County are severely cost-burdened, spending half or more of their income in housing-related costs.
The Mariners are a private and profitable business that already receives many public subsidies. Their majority-owner and CEO is a Republican billionaire named John Stanton who lives in Medina. He made his fortune in the wireless industry and is a major donor to conservative candidates and causes. We think John Stanton can pay his own bills. Here are three actions you can take. Please do as many of the three as you can:
- Attend the special meeting: Monday, July 30, 10am on the 10th floor of King County Courthouse, 516 3rd Ave. Help us pack the chambers! Arrive at 9:30 to sign up to testify.
- Call your district councilmember and Dow Constantine. Sample script and numbers below.
- Email the councilmembers and Dow Constantine, urging them to hold an evening public hearing so people who work during the day can weigh in before the council makes a decision:
Email County Elected Officials
We are in a housing crisis, and our elected leaders must make difficult and responsible decisions about priorities. With the repeal of Seattle’s big business tax, prioritizing existing revenue streams to address the affordable housing crisis is more important than ever. With your help, we can redirect this funding to a higher use!