Priorities

Workers Deserve More!

I believe that all Tacomans deserve a future where they don’t have to worry about the cost of living, and where we can all benefit from education access and a healthy environment. I also recognize that this future will be impossible to achieve without the will to stand boldly on the side of working families against major corporate interests. This is a campaign for everyone who believes in the dignity of their neighbors, and that we can build a government that works for working people.

  • Raise the Minimum Wage

    Every worker in Tacoma deserves wages and workplace protections that enable a life of dignity. We need to raise Tacoma’s minimum wage to at least $20.29/hour and rising with inflation, the same as in King County. Tacoma City Council should join cities across the Puget Sound region in raising standards and calling on our state legislature to guarantee living-wage jobs for all workers in Washington.

  • Build 25,000 Affordable Homes

    Tacoma needs a public Social Housing Developer to tackle our affordable housing crisis. Over the past decade, rent and home prices have soared while wages have stagnated. Today, 40% of Tacoma renters are “cost burdened,” and homelessness is rising rapidly. To meet the needs of a growing population, the City says we must build 43,000 new homes by 2044, with 60% of new homes affordable to those earning less than 80% of the area median income.

    This requires 1,400 new affordable homes annually—five times the current rate of production. The City’s reliance on subsidizing private developers is totally inadequate when luxury apartments are far more profitable and after affordability requirements for developers were stripped from City Council’s zoning reform.

    A Social Housing Developer could build tens of thousands of mixed-income homes with a modest tax on wealthy businesses and bonds. Social housing is the key to address the housing shortage, lower housing costs, and create good union jobs building green, walkable communities Downtown, by the Tacoma Mall, and other transit-centered neighborhoods.

  • Tax the Rich, Not Working People

    For years, Tacoma has raised sales and property taxes on working people while city budgets  cut critical services, including our fire department, senior centers, the arts, and environmental programs. Corporate interests have tried to cement this pattern at the state level, but here in Tacoma we have the power to fight back! We must pass an excessive income tax on big businesses and other forms of progressive revenue to ensure we can fund housing and other critical services without increasing the cost burden on working families.