During this abbreviated General Membership Meeting, we heard updates from community partners, reviewed important information for the upcoming General Election on Nov 4, learned about the Seattle and King County budget cycles, and shared our budget priorities for this year (and took action together!).
We are hosting another Membership Meeting this month in partnership with the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence on Thursday, October 30 in person (!) at LANGSTON Seattle from 9-11 a.m. This meeting will cover the intersection of homelessness and gender-based violence to better equip service providers, advocates, and community members to serve people with complex needs. Please join us! There will be refreshments and costumes are encouraged. Register here: bit.ly/Oct30Meeting
If this wealth of information is something you want to share with others or access again, please subscribe to the Coalition’s YouTube channel, where our membership meetings and trainings are collected.
What’s Happening at the Coalition
Our next free, virtual training is on Social Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). This training is presented in partnership with the Benefits Law Center. Please join us on Tuesday, October 28 from 9-11 a.m. over Zoom. All registrants receive a copy of the recording and presentation afterwards.
Preparing for the November 4 General Election
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The General Election is less than two weeks away. Ballots were mailed on Wednesday, October 15, so you and your clients should have them by now. If you don’t, call King County Elections at 206-296-VOTE (8683) or print a ballot online here: bit.ly/KCprintballot.
There was a recent KOMO news piece about the postal service’s new system and speed for postmarking mail. Because of this change, KC Elections is advising people to return their ballot by mail EARLY (by Monday, October 28) to ensure it’s counted (remember, no stamp needed!). You can still use a ballot drop box or vote in person at a Vote Center up until 8 p.m. on Election Day.
What’s on the Ballot
- King County will elect its first new King County Executive in 16 years! There are also council seat races in Districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9.
- Seattle has a mayoral race, two propositions, a City Attorney race, two city-wide council seat races, and a Council District 2 race.
- Many other King County cities have important races, including mayoral races. Learn more here.
- Statewide, there is a Senate Joint Resolution measure along with eight state senator and representative races.
Coalition Endorsements
The Coalition has endorsed two ballot initiatives on the upcoming ballot. Please join us in voting YES on:
- Statewide Amendment 8201: The amendment to the Washington State Constitution would allow the Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Trust Fund, also known as the WA Cares Fund, to be invested in stocks and equities. Current state law limits investment of the WA long-term care trust fund to low-return options like government bonds and savings certificates. This amendment allows for higher-return investments. These investments would be managed by the Washington State Investment Board, which is independent, nonpartisan, and bound by the highest fiduciary standards.
- Seattle Proposition No. 2 – Changes to the Business and Occupation Tax: This “Shield Seattle” proposal would change Seattle’s Business & Occupation (B&O) tax so that small businesses (that make less than $5.8 million annually in gross receipts) would pay less B&O tax, and large businesses would pay more. This is expected to raise roughly $80 million annually to protect human services, housing stability, and more from local and federal budget cuts.
Important Election Dates
- Tuesday, October 14: Voters Pamphlet mailed.
- Wednesday, October 15: Ballots mailed. If you don’t receive your ballot by Saturday, October 18, call King County Elections at 206-296-8683 (VOTE).
- Wednesday, October 15: Renton Vote Center opens (919 SW Grady Way, Renton, 98057).
- Thursday, October 16: Ballot Drop Boxes open. Locate your nearest drop box: bit.ly/ballotdropboxes_KC.
- Monday, October 27: Deadline to register or update your info online. Registration by mail must be RECEIVED by 4 p.m. on this date.
- Saturday, November 1: Neighborhood Vote Centers open. Locate your nearest Vote Center: bit.ly/votecenters_KC or download a printable sheet for your clients here.
- Tuesday, November 4 – Election Day!! Register in person and vote at a Voter Center until 8 p.m. Deadline to return ballots via drop-box by 8 p.m.
You Don’t Need a House to be a Voter
Resources for you and your clients are available on our website here: https://homelessinfo.org/what-we-do/voter-registration/
On this page, you’ll find our:
- You Don’t Need a House to be a Voter guide
- A sample registration form for voters with a nontraditional home address
- Important Election Dates handout
- Vote Centers handout
- And more…
If you have any questions about getting someone registered without a traditional address, please reach out to us at vote[at]homelessinfo[.]org.
King County and Seattle Budget Season
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It’s budget season! Seattle and King County Councils are writing their budgets now. This budget season falls into a really unique context with everything going on with our federal government. In particular, there are some really important federal funds at risk: the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care Funds, or COC funds, as they’re sometimes called.
Last year, the Seattle and King County region received $67 million in CoC funds. We use 80 percent of that funding for permanent housing for people who were previously homeless (supportive housing and rapid rehousing). This POLITICO article details the federal administration’s current plans to limit funds for permanent housing to 30 percent, which is a massive cut of tens of millions of dollars. The article also details plans to make it harder for communities to access funding with new stipulations on gender identity and racial equity.
There is still more to be learned, but regardless of the outcome, our region is at stake of losing at least tens of millions of dollars for permanent housing.
To mitigate this devastating impact, the Coalition is urging Seattle and King County elected officials to write their budgets to compensate for this loss of federal funding. Our priorities this year are simple:
- No one who is currently housed loses their housing due to federal, state, or local budget cuts or policy changes
- No one who is currently sheltered loses their shelter due to federal, state, or local budget cuts or policy changes
- No unhoused or unsheltered is punished for the system that cannot accommodate them
Where we are in the budget process
Seattle Mayor Harrell and King County Executive Braddock have proposed their budgets and sent them to the Seattle City Council and the King County Council, respectively.
The councils will work on the budgets between now and mid-November.
This is a very important window for us to speak up. The earlier we speak up, the better.
Time to Take Action
We have a LIVE action you can take now that will send a letter to your Seattle and/or King County councilmembers with the budget priorities listed above: bit.ly/protect-homes. Please take this action and share it with three people to increase our impact!
The budget process in Seattle is moving quite quickly this year, and this is our best chance to influence any changes to the budget. Besides sending the above Action Alert, there are opportunities to provide public comment. The best way to stay in touch about those opportunities is to join our mailing list and sign up for our Take Action! emails: bit.ly/TakeActionEmails
Our next General Membership Meeting
Please join us for our next General Membership Meeting IN PERSON (!) on Thursday, October 30 at LANGSTON Seattle. This event is hosted in partnership with the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence and will focus on the intersection of homelessness and gender-based violence:
Thursday, October 30 – 9 to 11 a.m. – In person at LANGSTON Seattle
Our November General Membership Meeting will be back online. Please join us on Thursday, November 20 from 9-10:30 a.m. over Zoom. Details on our agenda coming soon.