A Seattle City Council committee advanced legislation last week that will eliminate a requirement that council members abstain from voting on legislation that presents a financial conflict of interest. Under the new, lower standard, the council will merely have to disclose any financial conflicts before voting—allowing council members, for the first time since the 1980s, to vote in their own financial interest.

Sandeep thinks disclosing a conflict of interest before voting should be enough; Erica's with the haters who want more constraints on the council's ability to vote in their own self-interest.

The legislation is moving forward quickly and will probably take effect just before the council votes on the elimination of several anti-eviction laws passed by the previous council, which might not pass if everyone on the council who's a landlord has to refrain from voting to repeal these laws.

In related news, Kshama Sawant and her group Workers Strike Back are showing up to disrupt council meetings, antagonizing the council over the upcoming vote on the anti-eviction laws. David and Sandeep are fascinated by internal squabbling among Seattle's local socialists, while Erica argues that Sawant's latest "movement" is mostly bluster—and reminds everyone that Sawant worked tirelessly on Jill Stein's "Defeat Harris" campaign last year.

Also this week: Tent City 4 gets a temporary reprieve after a last-minute effort to keep the self-managed encampment from moving to the former Lake City Community Center. And we discuss Dan Strauss' effort to require all clubs and other "loud music venues" to sell earplugs. David calls it a "modest public health campaign" but Sandeep says it's a nanny state intrusion into our god-given right to destroy our hearing.

Our editor is Quinn Waller.

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Representative Adam Smith of Washington’s 9th Congressional District, who made headlines recently for his pointed criticisms of progressive urban governance, joins us to talk about what Seattle should expect in the era of Trump.

Smith believes local governance failures and missteps in blue cities like Seattle contributed to Trump’s big win in 2024. But he joined Seattle Nice to talk about the aftermath. We get into the impact of Trump’s MAGA agenda on Seattle and King County, including potentially devastating funding cuts to transportation, education, and social services. Smith explains why he thinks Trump’s MAGA movement is a looming disaster for the region.

The conversation also gets into strategic resistance to Trump, coalition building, and the complexities of running a liberal stronghold like Seattle. Smith, who has a foot in both the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the more centrist New Democrat Coalition, also delves into the evolution of his own political philosophy. Finally, the Congressman explains his endorsement of Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison, a Republican.

Our editor is Quinn Waller.

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.

A new way of administering buprenorphine—a gold-standard medication that combats opioid addiction by reducing the need to use drugs like fentanyl to function—is helping people reduce their fentanyl use without the painful withdrawals that keep many users away from other versions of the medication. The new protocol, which the Downtown Emergency Service Center started using on a pilot basis last year, is less complicated and doesn't require people to "kick" drugs before starting treatment, making it easier for people to keep using it.

The protocol is expensive and paid for mostly by Medicaid, which the Trump Administration is threatening to cut.

We discussed all that and more with three special guests: DESC director Daniel Malone, medical director Richard Waters, and registered nurse Penelope Toland.

Quinn Waller is our editor.

About Seattle Nice

It’s getting harder and harder to talk about politics, especially if you disagree. Well, screw that. Seattle Nice aims to be the most opinionated and smartest analysis of what’s really happening in Seattle politics available in any medium.

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.