On this episode we debated the City Council’s plans to get tough on graffiti by introducing civil penalties up to $1,500 per violation. The change would make it easier to fine taggers. Erica questioned the council’s priorities and aesthetics, and pointed out that graffiti is already a crime - a gross misdemeanor. Sandeep mostly spoke in favor of the new measure, citing studies that find tolerance for graffiti can lead to more crime. But he also questioned the value of going after taggers as opposed to more serious criminals.

The discussion also touched on prevailing academic and cultural claims that graffiti tagging operates mostly as a form of multi-ethnic working-class expression or protest. David pointed to the data reported in Publicola that suggests that may not be the case, at least in Seattle, since 85 percent of the people "referred to Ann Davison’s office for graffiti violation were white." Erica said the sample size is too small to conclude most taggers are white. Sandeep argued bringing race into the conversation was a needlessly "identitarian" move by the City Council.

Another point of contention was a poll that's testing negative messaging against mayoral candidate Katie Wilson. All agreed the test messages claiming Wilson is "divisive" and "angry" missed the mark and were unlikely to be effective. We also discussed earlier progressive campaign tactics that misfired by attempting to link moderate candidates, such as Mayor Bruce Harrell, to Donald Trump. David asked if we’ll see more of that messaging from campaigns and advocates in 2025 and, given Trump’s unpopularity in Seattle, if it will work?

Plus, we delve into John Arthur Wilson's campaign suspension in the race for King County Executive, following harassment allegations. What took him so long?

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PROGRAM NOTE: We hope all you Seattle Nice fans will join us for a live taping of the podcast at 7 pm on July 15 at the next meeting of the 43rd District Democrats, held at the Erickson Theater on Capitol Hill, 1524 Harvard Avenue. We’ll be previewing the upcoming primary, and there’ll be a chance for audience questions.

Council President Sara Nelson, flanked by homeless services and treatment providers and neighborhood representatives, held a press conference last week to announce that she is introducing a “Pathways to Recovery” resolution that would commit the city to use 25 percent of a future public safety sales tax toward drug and mental health treatment services. The legislature gave cities and counties the authority to pass a 0.1 percent sales tax for public safety earlier this year

Erica and Sandeep dissect Nelson’s proposal on the latest episode of Seattle Nice, and the mayor’s non-committal response to it. We take a close look at what the Council prez is proposing to fund and some of the backroom politics swirling around the proposal. And we look at how this proposed new public spending fits into the city’s overall budget picture and priorities.

Erica expresses some skepticism about the need for more funding for police, and about the impact of increasing the regressive sales tax, which is already the highest in the nation. (She was also alarmed by the presence of groups that don't support evidence-based practice at Nelson's press conference). Sandeep argues that 100 percent of revenues from the new sales tax—expected to be adopted as part of the budget process this fall— should go to Nelson’s treatment proposal, because the City isn’t facing the big budget deficit they claims they are. In the end, while there is a lot of process yet to go before this new treatment funding becomes a reality, and while there still unanswered questions about how this funding will be divvied up, both Erica and Sandeep agree this is a positive step forward and that Nelson deserves credit for building a broad coalition of support behind it.

Our editor is Quinn Waller.

Have a question or comment? Send us an email at realseattlenice@gmail.com.

Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.com

Support the show

Your support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.com

HEARTH Protection: Do not let fear make your world smaller.

Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.com

Support the show

Your support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

This week, we're talking taxes—specifically, the new business and occupation (B&O) tax proposal that City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Mayor Bruce Harrell dropped, seemingly out of the blue, last week. The tax includes a big exemption that the business community has been seeking for a long time; however, above that threshold—$2 million in gross receipts—the tax will go up substantially.

Because B&O taxes are based on gross receipts, they hit high-grossing, low-margin businesses like restaurants and grocery stores hardest, which is one reason they aren't generally considered progressive. In fact, neither of the groups the city set up to come up with new progressive revenue sources recommended a higher B&O tax.

So what’s really behind this new proposal? The mayor's up for reelection, facing a progressive challenge from Katie Wilson. Seattle's in a budget hole. And supporters of the measure may be taking a gamble that the Chamber won't fight too hard against the tax, because it includes a big tax exemption that small- and medium-size businesses have been seeking for years.

With David still away gamboling in parts unnamed, Sandeep and Erica take up these questions and more on this week's episode of Seattle Nice.

Our editor is Quinn Waller.

Have a question or comment—or want to advertise with us? Send us an email at realseattlenice@gmail.com.

Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.com

HEARTH Protection: Do not let fear make your world smaller.

Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.com

Support the show

Your support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.