Rent control, revisited

In early 2019 I wrote an article reviewing the research on rent control. At the time, Councilmember Sawant was making a push at trying to get a local rent control measure passed — despite the state law prohibiting it. Earlier this year she published an updated version of her draft rent control bill, though she doesn’t seem to have much (if any) visible support from her colleagues on the Council. Now having narrowly escaped recall, Sawant is making noises about a more fervent push to pass her rent control bill. That makes it a good time to provide an update …

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Sawant settles ethics charge, admitting violation

On Monday, the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission will hold a special meeting at which it will vote on whether to approve a negotiated settlement with Councilmember Kshama Sawant over an ethics charge stemming from last year’s “Tax Amazon” ballot proposition campaign. The ethics charge is the basis for one of the three charges in the recall petition against Sawant.

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