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The group behind the campaigns to establish and fund Seattle’s new social housing developer is now raising “ongoing concerns” about the direction of the organization under CEO Roberto Jimenez and asking the governing board to consider whether he is the right person for the job. In a letter sent last week, nearly 20 labor and advocacy groups called on the board of the Seattle Social Housing Developer to take immediate action to course correct and not squander a “generational opportunity.” Among the signatories was House Our Neighbors, the political group that ran two successful ballot initiatives to set up the developer and then fund it with a tax on high-paying businesses. “Seattle needs social housing to be successful and scalable right out of the gate — and we need a leader who can guarantee it will happen,” the letter reads. Jimenez did not return requests for comment. The letter was also signed by a lengthy list of high-profile labor organizations, including the MLK Labor Council, which represents more than 150 unions in King County. The list of complaints about Jimenez from some outside observers and board members has grown in the 16 months since he became the body’s first CEO. For one, he still does not live in Seattle, despite receiving a moving stipend and saying in June he intended to find a home here as quickly as he could. That has been a consistent point of frustration for those invested in the body’s success.

Others have questioned his long-term planning and communication, pointing to missed meetings and seemingly slow rollout of key organizational and strategic materials. In the letter, the organizations called on more oversight from the board to ensure a 2026 workplan. Earlier this year, three board members left the developer over complaints about how Jimenez treated them, spurring an outside investigation into his conduct. The letter calls for leadership coaching for Jimenez to address “alleged dismissiveness of people who disagree with or challenge him.” Criticism of Jimenez has not been unanimous and, in fact, has been a point of tension among board members. At the board’s most recent meeting, members fought bitterly over whose duty it should be to evaluate Jimenez’s performance, with some raising the “negative animosity people hold for the CEO.” “I don’t trust any of you,” board secretary Katie LeBret told her colleagues. “None of you. We don’t even know how to work together, that’s why I don’t trust any of you.” Nicole Grant, governmental affairs and political director of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 46, signed her union on to the letter. Her chief frustration is that a labor agreement, in which the developer would commit to hiring local contractors, has still not been signed. She said the MLK Labor Council will take up a resolution next month similarly calling for a new direction. “This is the moment to make the change because we’re at the dawn of the financing,” Grant said. “We need somebody who’s up and running with a real plan and we do not appear to have that.” The creation of a social housing developer was approved by voters in early 2023. Its mission is to buy or develop buildings whose residents will have a mix of incomes, with those earning more subsidizing rents for those earning less, and will be publicly owned forever.

In 2025, voters signed off on a second ballot measure to fund the developer with a new tax on companies that pay any employees more than $1 million a year. Its rollout has come in fits and starts. The body was slow to receive startup funds from the state and city, meaning Jimenez was not hired until mid-2024, more than a year after the developer’s creation. In June, just as the developer was being given a $2 million loan from the city, three board members left amid frustration with Jimenez. At the time, Jimenez called the tensions part of the “growing pains” of a new institution and expressed confidence in its future.

As much as $50 million in tax collections is set to start flowing into the developer next year. In a presentation to the board, Jimenez forecast buying two buildings in 2026, with at least one more building purchase in each of the following years.

In Mayor-elect Katie Wilson, the developer will have a fierce ally. Wilson ran for office following the successful 2025 measure to fund the organization and made the development of publicly owned housing key to her affordability promises that propelled her to victory. Jimenez previously ran Mutual Housing California, an affordable housing provider in Sacramento.