The
@Safeway
by my house has blue lights in the bathroom to prevent intravenous drug use.
Here's why blue lights in public bathrooms DON'T work & actually HARM people who inject drugs AND the surrounding community. 🧵
Discouraging drug use in one place just pushes it elsewhere: stairwells, parks, alleys. This worsens public safety & increases isolation/shame for users.
Again: DISCOURAGING DRUG USE DOESN'T MAKE IT GO AWAY.
Blue lights aren't stopping drug use & may make things WORSE. They make veins harder to see, leading to:
❌ Increased risk of injecting in wrong places
❌ Overdoses from inaccurate dosing
❌ Higher chance of bloodborne virus transmission (harder to clean up spills)
❌ Stop stigmatizing. People need HELP, not punishment... and to be seen as full people, not just as "drug users"... which means addressing their full needs (like housing, health care, mental health, etc.).
Not just for drug users! Blue lights make bathrooms DANGEROUS for EVERYONE:
➡️ Increased falls & injuries from poor visibility
➡️ Harder to spot & clean hazardous waste
➡️ Difficult to see personal hygiene needs
Alternatives?
Harm reduction approaches work better:
✅ Clean needles & syringes to prevent infections
✅ Naloxone to reverse overdoses
✅ Support & treatment for addiction
"The Curb-Cut Effect" refers to laws and programs (not just infrastructure!) designed to benefit vulnerable groups, such as disabled individuals & people of color, & often end up benefiting all of society.
The anti-DEI crowd doesn't know what they're missing.
The Sawant Derangement Syndrome is REAL.
It's been a month. A MONTH since the last Asian woman on the Seattle City Council, but I guess that doesn't matter if you don't *agree* with her.
@KeneAkers
The acceptance of Black people as entertainers (until they're TOO Black), not educators/experts is how non-Black folks can hide their racism. We did the same thing at
@OurSeattlePride
until we addressed it by prioritizing Black and brown speakers, subject matter experts, etc. 👇🏼
I am excited to announce that I have taken on the role of Interim Executive Director for
@RealChangeNews
in Seattle, WA!
I can't wait to dig in and help Seattle fall back in love with our paper, our mission, and most importantly, our incredible vendors.
Today was... weird.
This guy was hanging out at
@burienpress
while I was having a "coffee with the candidate" event. I took pictures, he flipped me off, and like most impotent, far-right men, he left when he didn't get attention... until he came back in his truck, yelling... 🧵
After last night's Special Meeting of the Burien City Council in which Planning Commission Chair Charles Schaeffer was removed from the Planning Commission by a 4-3 vote, five Planning Commissioners quit this morning and shared why. 🧵
This type of dangerous, fake journalism made it's way into Burien in 2017 in the form of The Burien Voice FB page (and now Bellevue as Clarity Bellevue). Same memes, same lies. Burien/Bellevue/Seattle doesn't need this.
#SafeSeattleIsAHateGroup
City of
@Burien
just passed a 30-day moratorium on residential evictions and late fees due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many are just one financial emergency from not being able to pay rent, which is why we support them NOW, not weeks from now.
#CoronavirusOutbreak
City of
@Burien
sued by the
@KingCoSheriff
for their unconstitutional "camping ban" enforcement demands, and threatening to withold contracted money.
The KCSO now joins
@Homeless2Housed
and three unhoused individuals in suing Burien for unconstitutional, cruel practices.
Burien ADU update: 2 ADU's now allowed/property (1 attached, 1 detached), no more owner-occupancy requirement, and parking requirement waived if within 1/4 mile of a transit stop.
#ADU
#HousingCrisis
#Zoning
HEADS UP.
Destructive MAGA initiatives are in the works for Washington.
If you care about working families, public education, clean energy, and income equality, read on. 🧵
I'll add my $0.02, but you need to read about what's going on in Burien tonight.
Preview: The Council is discussing censuring a Councilmember & removing a Planning Commissioner for trying to help unhoused folks, instead of actually helping unhoused folks.
City of Burien Sued Over Camping Ban that “Banishes” Homeless Residents From City (
@PubliColaNews
)
"According to the lawsuit, Burien’s law violates several provisions of the Washington State constitution..."
Read on for more.
🔗:
Tonight's meeting was rough. Seeing that Auburn voted to criminalize homelessness was double that. It's baffling how we talk about addressing regional issues, but then vote to implement harmful roadblocks to solutions.
The comments are *wild*.
I wonder if the people clutching their pearls about Seattle even know Pacific Place has been in decline for years and is slated to become office space...?
Critical thinking is a lost practice.
UPDATE: The Chair and Vice Chair of the Burien Parks & Recreation Board have now both resigned, bringing the total to nearly double the resignations from this morning.
Nothing but silence from Aragon, Schilling, Mora and Matta.
After last night's Special Meeting of the Burien City Council in which Planning Commission Chair Charles Schaeffer was removed from the Planning Commission by a 4-3 vote, five Planning Commissioners quit this morning and shared why. 🧵
On Juneteenth remember that human trafficking was legal. Slavery was legal. Jim Crow was legal. US Govt paying reparations to white enslavers who lost their “property” but not to the enslaved who lost their lives, was legal
Do not let legality be a measure of morality or justice
Sweeping Changes: How the City of Burien Used Underhanded Measures to Sidestep 'Martin v. Boise' to Sweep Unhoused Individuals, and the Animal Control & Care Organization Facilitating It. 🧵
What kind of person do you need to be to see a picture of a man obviously experiencing the joy of being just *minutes* into parenthood and think, "Hey! You know what sounds good here? Doing a fucking racism."?
#SafeSeattleIsAHateGroup
This is very much the kind of content that Safe Seattle and admins were posting on FB , that over the years racked up enough violations to shadow ban themselves into purgatory.
On Monday evening, the Burien City Council will be voting whether to pass Ordinance 818, banning "camping" in Burien.
Let's be clear: This will solve NOTHING. Homelessness will not be "solved". 🧵
“…if we understand homelessness as a housing problem, we can also understand it as solvable.”
Dave Gamrath reviews
@ColburnGregg
and
@compatibilism
's “Homelessness is a Housing Problem,” and shares how policymakers can actually reduce homelessness.
The 33rd District Democrats, the district with most of Burien, condemns the actions of four Burien City Councilmembers over their recent decision to remove the Planning Chair instead of deciding to address homelessness. 🧵
"You're going to pick up a copy of
@RealChangeNews
& see something related to advocacy, housing & homelessness, arts & culture... It's a really nice thing to hold it in your hand & know that you are investing in Seattle every time you invest that $2."
Much-needed Day Center in Burien?
Homelessness in Burien is a growing issue, making the news every week. We know crucial resources are missing... such as a Day Center, a safe space for people experiencing homelessness to access essential services.
It may be happening.🧵
Legal Action Threatened Against Church for Encampment Without a City Permit
This letter from the City of Burien to Oasis Home Church, where a supervised encampment is located, is adding an interesting chapter to Burien's failure to address homelessness.
I'm a proud bisexual woman, but
#PrideMonth
isn't feeling so great right now.
Why?
🏳️🌈 On the left: Pride flags going up in dtown Burien
🧹 On the right: Encampment being swept d/t the inaction of 4 Councilmembers
👩❤️💋👩 LGBTQ+ folks already risk homelessness at a high rate (A 🧵)
A letter to the
@Burien
City Council from the Burien Human Services Commission regarding the Council's lack of action on addressing homelessness, a rec. to work w/ King County, and sharing their uncertainty that the Council is actually interested in addressing human services. 🧵
This kind of thinking - that armed troops will quell any and all crime through *further, disproportionate violence* - is dangerous.
Address the root causes of the crime, and stop classifying homelessness as one.
(1/ ) Tonight is my final Council meeting while serving on the Burien City Council. Here's the link:
I was sworn in on December 18, 2017 and have been extremely honored to serve Burien's 52k+ residents and fight for a seat at the greater King County table.
"Krystal is useless" and then, maybe 30 minutes later, "Krystal sucks".
The people standing outside were looking around saying, "Who's Krystal?". I introduced myself, gave them a flyer, and after a brief talk, they said they would be voting for me (and telling their friends!)
Oh my god. This is Mike Brown, who apparently works for the King Country Sheriff's Office. He posted this meme hours after two protesters were struck on the freeway a couple nights ago. This is one of the most offensive things I've seen in a long time.
👀 HAPPENING NOW 👀
Burien leased the small plot to
@BurienCares
for $185/mo to avoid running afoul of Martin v. Boise... but there's our City Manager & official vehicle, overseeing the sweep this morning. In 2 hours, they'll be raising the Pride flag at City Hall together.
Hearing from a 23-year Fred Meyer worker here in Burien during Public Comment, asking for the City of Burien to pass a hazard pay ordinance for frontline grocery workers like has been done in Long Beach, CA.
#COVID19
Picture this:
Burien has an offer of $1M+35 pallet shelters on the table for 5mo. We have available land. Instead, the City Manager just signed a $49k contract for 2 months w/ the same org that turned a vacant lot into an all-gravel dog park so unhoused couldn't use it.
King County tells Burien it has a month to use $1 million in shelter funding the county offered back in June or lose it, and the city of Seattle delays the release of its draft 10-year comprehensive plan update until, "most likely," 2024.
New:
The full out *audacity* of Mayor Aragon in complaining about the lack of funding when her Council has been in national news for doing NOTHING with an offer of $1M + 35 pallet homes.
"Libraries enable drug use, so shut them down" is such an ignorant, pearl-clutching idea.
@weheartseattle
aren't policy experts. They aren't outreach experts. They're experts are sweeps and lying to make themselves/their donors feel better.
👇This.
I lost count, during my 4y in office, of how many times people would demand we "fix homelessness" b/c their child saw someone peeing in front of a closed shop entrance, or they "had to" park a block down so the sleeping person with no blanket wouldn't "attack" them.
#Homelessness
- Political Cartoonist
@BrettHamil
says that many voters in Seattle consider themselves victims of homelessness because they have to see it as opposed to the people who are actually homeless. Full Interview:
#WWConverge
At least four people have died on the streets of Burien while our Council has failed to accept funding and assistance from the County and get people indoors.
It isn't the unhoused refusing services... it's the four-member majority of the Burien City Council.
#Burien
Women in Black is honoring the 34 homeless people who died in King County in July with a silent vigil. The number of women dying outside of shelter or by violence has tripled this year.
Love it. Love it. Love it.
Seating at transit stops should be prioritized with the goal of improving comfort for the greatest number of passengers, and providing accommodating rest spots for people with mobility issues.
I'd love to see more benches in South King County!
I am joining the call for the King County Sheriff to resign.
Tommy Le was a Burien resident. Burien is a contract city for the King County Sheriff's Office, and our community deserves respect... and Tommy should still be with his family today. Enough.
Today, I join the voices calling on King County's Sheriff to resign. The families of Tommy Le, Mi'Chance Dunlap-Gittens, & others we've lost to police violence, have spoken. They’ve said, and I agree, that the Sheriff's statements do not reflect the values we need in that office.
Public Comment @ the City Council Meeting
We are hearing overwhelming support for
@DESCSeattle
's 95 units of permanent supportive housing (PSH) from members of our community.
I hear you, and I will fight hard tonight! ✊♥️🏘️
#HousingFirst
#Homeless
as child, Burien City Councilmember Krystal Marx (
@bcckrystalmarx
) opened up at
#StoriesAboutHome
June 6 about housing instability that never feels far away for herself, Army vet husband & 4 kids.
It's almost as if addressing the root cause of homelessness by providing supportive housing is data-proven to work. 🤔 We need leaders who will push for this at all levels of government. Is that you? Run for office!
If you read nothing else about
#JohnsonVGrantsPass
today, let it be this blog post by
@ProfSaraRankin
.
Homelessness is not just a societal issue; it's a human issue. Criminalizing homelessness only exacerbates the problem, perpetuating cycles of poverty and suffering. 🧵
Tomorrow, the Supreme Court hears Grants Pass v. Johnson, the most consequential homeless rights case in decades. To understand what's at stake, check out these three recent posts:
(1)
@ProfSaraRankin
on how cities seek to hide homelessness from view.
More than ⅓ of the 309,000 new homes needed across the County in the next 20 years need to be affordable to low-income families. Burien, like many cities make it illegal to build anything other than a single-family on over 75% of land zoned as residential. 🧵
The feature in this week's
@RealChangeNews
knocks it out of the park. (How is $9,500/sweep an effective method?! How is a death a week okay?!)
Find this week's paper out with your favorite vendor, get your Venmo ready, and prepare to scream along with me.
NEW: Seattle’s $26.6 million Unified Care Team carried out more than 2,800 sweeps in 2023, a three-fold increase from 2022. For
@RealChangeNews
, I investigated the city’s policy of systemic displacement and dislocation against its homeless residents.
I'm noticing a basic color scheme here.
Any chance they're the same group?
Likely.
Am I going to stop campaigning, or hide away in fear?
Not on your life.
Can we PLEASE stop with the assumption that unhoused folks are dangerous, and even worse, that they will always be as such? Heaven forbid we acknowledge there are dangerous people who live OFF the streets...
It appears these boulders popped up overnight. So, in addition to refusing to discuss how to address homelessness in our city,
@Burien
officials are now actively employing hostile architecture to push people away. At least one candidate seems to be fine with it.
In
@Burien
WA, a very diverse youth led group marches on city hall. Deputy mayor, mayor, police mingle in the crowd like friends. How unusual is that? Some here say Burien a model for Police engagement. Having not reported on policing here, would love to know if true.
@KUOW
Hey,
#WaLeg
? Can you maybe make sure to fix issues like this?
Praying our state adopts some really good bills that force city officials to look at the big picture of housing demand...
On 4-3 a vote, the Kenmore city council just directed city staff to come back with an ordinance to deny the development agreement for the 100-unit permanent supportive housing facility.
The final vote comes in a few weeks, but the project appears as good as dead.
Council passes
#AffordableHousingDemonstrationProject
! Approves up to 5 demonstration projects (cottages, congregate, tiny homes, etc.) anywhere in residential zones in Burien within the next three years.
After months of inaction, we're exploring taking direct action with a ballot measure to raise wages for thousands of workers in Burien.
📢 Burien workers deserve a wage that matches neighboring cities!
Do you support raising the minimum wage in Burien?:
Marvista Elementary School Teacher Doxxed & Harassed Due To Jonathan Choe (
@choeshow
) Lazy, Hateful "Reporting"
Choe 'reported' on a local school supporting their staff member's gender identity by reading a book to kids, hoping to serve up some bigoted outrage. Read on.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY: This evening, a spokesperson with the Highline School District reached out to say there's been a mix up.
Apparently, some people on social media are saying Marvista Elementary Paraeducator ANGELA FARNSWORTH is transitioning from a biological male to a woman.
Jail is not, and will never be, the ideal place to treat addiction. The seven people who just overdosed on fentanyl in the Snohomish County Jail are proof of that
(). People battling addiction don't automatically deserve punishment. A 🧵
Hey,
@SPOG1952
: This you?
After your own Chief said y'all wouldn't be marching, and after Pride asked you to not wear uniforms in the parade, you go & do this anyway?? You can keep the word "respect" out of your mouth.
“SPOG members took an oath to serve our entire community equally and without discrimination. It’s a shame to see that the commitment to equality and inclusion doesn’t flow in both directions.”
Here's the thing:
Burien has made the news for being the WORST possible version of ourselves. My opponent wants to reinstate our Trespass Ordinance - the same one the
@ACLU_WA
pushed back against years ago. Our city needs progressive, people-focused leadership now more than ever.
$19.06 in SeaTac, $18.99 in Tukwila, $18.69 in Seattle... $15.76 in Burien?!
👀 Something's not right. You can help fix it.
Sign the petition to raise the minimum wage in Burien to keep pace with the region:
A seventh unhoused individual died in
@Burien
this morning, over the course of the year.
Mayor Schilling tells
@KCCouncil
to "stop wasting taxpayer time and money with their stunts" after waiting 6 mo. to accept $1M from the County to address this, & passing 2 bans. 🧵
Over 100 of my former
#waleg
colleagues are out sick this morning because
#hb1806
was never brought to the Floor for a vote. Leg employees deserve the same ability to unionize that almost every other state employee has. I stand with them in solidarity today, and every day!
Eddie Andrade, an unhoused individual, died in
@Burien
on Saturday.
It didn't take long for Mayor Schilling to deliver a sloppy one-two punch by not only deflecting responsibility, but also dehumanizing and reducing Mr. Andrade's death to a "this".
Burien has 2nd lowest crime rate in South King County Cities (Normandy Park is 1st), even with the lowest # of officers per residents and lowest cost/investment, according to WASPC (WA Assoc. of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs). More stats coming from Chief Boe on 8/3.
397 students in Burien schools identified as homeless during the 2017-18 school year by the Highline School District. BURIEN CITY COUNCIL PROCLAIMES MAY 13-17, 2019 AS AFFORDABLE HOUSING WEEK.
@HDC_SeaKC
#affordablehousing
FOOD TRUCKS!
We are discussing the Food Truck Pilot Program w/in the city of Burien. CM Tosta added in residential areas as possible locations (yes!) and most seem to be in agreement that we should open them up to the downtown core as well. Vote coming soon...
Burien was successful in securing a grant for our Housing Action Plan ($100k) to increase housing capacity! We also received a grant for Transit Oriented Development Implementation ($250k) to increase housing in TOD corridors!
@WLIHA
@skhhp
@Homeless2Housed
(1/ ) Okay, here we go. On to the approval of Resolution No. 457, Accepting the Downtown Emergency Service
Center (DESC) project into the Affordable Housing Demonstration Program.
If you believe in
#HousingFirst
, cross your crossables and let's do this. ::cracks knuckles::
Suarez was at the Burien City Council meeting on Monday evening, & spoke about how We💚Seattle is doing such amazing work.
I want none of this "amazing work" in our city, and appreciate service providers who are building relationships with people w/o trashing their belongings.
These PDRs from the Seattle city government show what many folks have been saying about We 💚 Seattle has been correct.
Example 1: Andrea Suarez tries to take a camper's tent against their will @ Sandal Park, and he throws a hatchet at her in response.
When Your City Makes the Front Page of the
@SeattleTimes
a Day After
@TheNeedling
Exposes Us as Fictional...
Many thanks to
@PubliColaNews
for continuing to provide the most in-depth, constsnt coverage, and
@HacksWonks
for bringing in experts!
January is going to be... weird.
Agreed, emphatically.
Burien's median income is $46k for women, $51k for men, & $62k for families, with a 12.5% poverty rate.
Our city of 52,000+ would be, almost entirely, left out.
We cannot cut off relief at $50k. It is shockingly out of touch to assert that $50k is “too wealthy” to receive relief.
Millions are on the brink of eviction. Give too little and they’re devastated. Give “too much” and a single mom might save for a rainy day. This isn’t hard.
Burien's City Manager sat on an email from the County for a WEEK, telling Council he must have missed it because of the "over 150 emails" he got from ppl about an encampment at a local church. Mayor Sofia Aragon *also* received the email.
This doesn't look good. Screenshots:
Although Burien's city manager told the council he didn't open an email about a deadline to use $1 million in homelessness funding from the county, that wasn't true. In fact, he responded to the email the day the county sent it. Updated post here:
"WHEREAS, all people should have access to safe, healthy, and affordable homes..."
👆 First line in our Affordable Housing Week Proclamation.
Here's to everyone acting in accordance w/ this statement when we vote on the
@DESCSeattle
project on 5/17.
I am honored to have been named 'Deputy Mayor' in the City of Burien once again, for the duration of 2021. While this title is mostly ceremonial and "Mayor Back-up" in duties, I take the responsibility seriously and look forward to supporting Council this coming year.
MAGA multi-millionaire Brian Heywood is bankrolling these initiatives in a cynical effort to dodge the taxes he owes to our communities, and now he’s enlisted the help of Rob McKenna. We can’t back down and let them roll back so much of the progress we’ve made.
Our release for the AMAZING results tonight—keep in mind that our notoriously late progressive voters will result in a significant left swing in the results as the coming days roll in, per our state's usual pattern. FULL STATEMENTS:
#UncommittedWA
Solidarity for renter protections. We’re all here in support of HB 2453 to make sure all Washington families can count on a stable home.
#YESonHB2453
#waleg
Then, as I was waiting for my daughter at her bus stop, I got a call from an unknown number. He said, "I sure hope you don't get run over while you just sit there looking stupid." I heard tires squealing, and then he hung up. My 12-year old was in the car with me.
THEN, these hilarious signs popped up in random places all over Burien (including directly in front of one of my signs). The hilarity comes in when you consider that they believe "real change" to be an existing CM (Schilling), and 2 candidates in favor of the same policies.
Meinert, who owns Burien's Huckleberry Square restaurant, has donated $1,000 to both my opponent and to Deputy Mayor Kevin Schilling.
Here's why that's problematic (🧵 )