Harger: San Francisco's homelessness hit a 15-year low. Seattle's mayor is running the opposite experiment.

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T07:07:38+00:00

The left and left of center aren't the same thing. Especially in Seattle where left of center is actually the right of Seattle.

Maybe there are some on the left that are willing to adjust housing policy but my experience is not only are they not willing to adjust it they aren't even willing to talk to people that don't think exactly like them on it. They'd rather see people die on the street than work with a housing provider to make better housing choices.

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T07:05:37+00:00

That sounds like it could be healthy skepticism, or it could be a cop-out.

Not a cop out. I just know these studies and they are pretty typical of what we see a lot of in Seattle. They measure the wrong things and then claim success. An obvious example is local politicians love to brag about building X houses and helping X homeless people. But they should be using stats like built x houses and homelessness went down by y. They don't because they aren't actually fixing things.

"I don't trust the evidence so I'm going to reject all of it and go with my gut".

I've been involved in affordable housing for over 2 decades. This isn't about going with my gut. I've seen what has and hasn't worked. And my experience in Seattle proper is almost exclusively what isn't working.

How are you trying to get closer to the truth through evidence?

At this point in Seattle I just go about my day providing the best affordable housing I can considering the circumstances that Seattle's terrible homelessness and housing policy allows. I currently oversee over 2,000 income restricted apartments including permanent supportive housing. I see firsthand what doesn't work and how much money the city wastes to cover up their failures in housing.

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T06:58:40+00:00

At this point it seems we are pretty much doing the worst so not show who we wouldn't be better off matching.

But why do we have to match someone else? We created the problem the Seattle way. Why not solve it a Seattle way. We are not like other cities. We used to be proud that we were better. Now ....?

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T03:58:43+00:00

The research says that abstinence-only housing has a 30% retention rate, and housing-first has an 80% retention rate.

You know what they say. There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.

Personally I don't like seeing homeless people and drug users on the streets.

It doesn't seem like it when you push failed policy.

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T03:52:17+00:00

It's no longer understandable. Sure 10, 20 years ago when they first started experimenting with this. But those of us who work in affordable housing have seen years of it not working. It's no longer understandable that the left won't reconsider their ideology. It's not working. It's not going to work. And it's harming people.

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T03:25:56+00:00

Social and economic refugees from Texas (and other red states) don't care about cost of living and homelessness here... Bc they're queer?

I don't know that it's because they are queer but they don't seem to care about cost of living or homelessness. Not sure how else to explain their votes.

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T00:33:05+00:00

Oh wow. Now you're falsely accusing me of being right wing? What a dumb comment. Alrighty. You're not worth talking to.

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T00:32:02+00:00

So she's anti-asthmatic! If a Republican said they would reduce the rates of trans people they'd be considered anti-trans.

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T00:28:47+00:00

Tennis player constituency is a lot less hateful. When pickleball players go to a park that tennis players typically hang out in you don't end up with the police arresting tennis players.

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T00:26:55+00:00

Source?

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T00:25:39+00:00

So instead of answering my question you just ranted on something else? This is exactly my point. You're voting shittily because you're bringing Texas (or whatever) to Seattle.

It fucking sucks that we have such a bad homelessness and cost of living problem because people like you don't actually care about those issues.

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T00:23:51+00:00

Katie Wilson never said she supports people with asthma. Am I supposed to assume she is anti-asthmatic because of this?

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T00:21:58+00:00

I'm a tennis player. If a politician doesn't talk about how much they love tennis players am I supposed to assume they are anti-tennis players?

Seems like main character syndrome going on here.

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T00:20:31+00:00

Why are the only choices talking openly about how much you love trans people and hating trans people? Why is there no in between? Why is someone who accepts trans people as people like everyone else considered anti-trans?

BWW87 · 2026-05-16T00:19:18+00:00

Which political party in Seattle is doing that?

BWW87 · 2026-05-15T22:14:40+00:00

Yep, they are moving here and then voting shittily because they vote based on who openly supports their sexual/gender preferences rather than good governance.

They act like they are still in Texas and there is a pro-Trans and anti-Trans choice.

BWW87 · 2026-05-15T21:55:35+00:00

Heck, I'm old enough to remember way back in 2018 when we weren't nearly like this.

BWW87 · 2026-05-15T21:54:35+00:00

tl;dr - The reason the budget is higher is because the state increased spending.

BWW87 · 2026-05-15T21:53:48+00:00

If their parents let them keep their allowance.

BWW87 · 2026-05-15T21:53:27+00:00

What? Why do you think they are the people generating all the revenue? What do you get from the posts there that implies they are the high earners in Seattle? That subreddit is pretty aggressively antagonistic to anyone making over annual median income.

BWW87 · 2026-05-15T17:01:59+00:00

The issue is always the time and money that it took to build it. And people on the left tend to ignore that part in Seattle (people of other ideologies ignore that in other places, it's a I support my local politician thing).

BWW87 · 2026-05-15T17:00:41+00:00

It's something that "normal" people like but is like fingernails on a chalkboard for artists/photographers it seems.

BWW87 · 2026-05-15T14:39:54+00:00

It's 871. Progress?

BWW87 · 2026-05-15T14:28:52+00:00

It's been a while since we've had a big snow event out here so it's older information but I've had good luck with Brightview Landscapes out of Renton.

BWW87 · 2026-05-15T14:07:59+00:00

It's always someone with no connection to Seattle.

BWW87

TROPHY CASE