Hundreds flooded City Hall for the budget hearing on November 1-2 to demand the City Council put an end to the sweeps of homeless encampments, and tax big business to fund services and affordable housing. We can win this! We did it last year when we blocked the bunker and won $29 million for affordable housing. We turned 2 votes into 9 by building a broad and relentless movement that refused to go away.
We heard ordinary people speaking with one voice that no one should be penalized for being poor and unhoused. Well over a hundred activists and houseless community members camped inside City Hall all night, while tents and donated supplies filled the City Hall plaza outside, culminating in a “Die-In” the next morning commemorating the 66 homeless people who have died on the streets this year.
The Nov 1-2 actions marked a turning point: there is no doubt that the people of Seattle want Councilmembers to Stop the Sweeps and pass the HOMES tax. If Councilmembers ignore this, they are willfully turning a deaf ear to the voices of working people, homeless people, and the most marginalized.
Let’s keep the pressure up to Stop the Sweeps and win the HOMES Tax!