46th District Housing Levy Resolution

Dear Seattle City Council Member:

On April 16th, the 46th District Democrats held a forum focused on the housing needs of our most vulnerable citizens. Our guests spoke about the history of the Seattle Housing Levy, and the evolution of our understanding about how much the services have been needed since the first Levy passed in 1981. We learned a great deal.

With the national economy this hard hit, and our state and local budgets following the same patterns, the number of people just holding on to survival is up all around the country. Seattle and King County have seen the numbers of homeless increase, and we know that we are only seeing the surface of the problem.

We understand there are some efforts being made to use Housing Levy dollars in any 2009 package to include those who are below average income, but not in as much danger as our homeless population. We would love to be able to provide help to everyone who needs it, no matter how little of a boost they need. But the precious dollars that are given by the residents of Seattle to help provide housing resources to our neighbors need to have a focus, and we are proud that the focus of the Housing Levy over the last few decades has been to help the most vulnerable among us. We urge that the 2009 Housing Levy continue this tradition.

I have posted a copy of the resolution that we passed after the forum. We would like to ask the Seattle City Council to focus the upcoming renewal of the Seattle Housing Levy on the people in our community that need the most help.

Please take the message of this resolution and the needs of our city into account when you make the decision of how to draft the Levy measure that we will see on our ballots in November.

Sincerely,

Chad Lupkes
Chair, 46th District Democrats

cc: Seattle City Council Members
Mayor Greg Nickels (via web form)
King County Democrats
Washington State Democrats