Compromise can take many forms.
Sometimes it’s a cumbaya affair and everyone is happy and holding hands.
It can also be messy and quarrelsome, especially in politics, where elected leaders are forced to give just a little more than they are comfortable with, in order to pursue certain goals and objectives.
On Tuesday, the Pierce County Council provided an example of the latter.Over the course of an obscene seven-hour meeting, they passed a tenth of the 1% consumption tax increase to finance affordable housing, approved a pair of ordinances This is the project that set the stage for the construction of micro-housing villages for people experiencing chronic homelessness. Endorsed by Republican President Bruce Dammeier.
I was nervous. I was tangled. It was full of emotion and the unknown. Horses were traded.
It was also a reminder that even when competing political interests come together by choice or necessity, it is possible to bridge the divide, at least as long as everyone gets what they desperately want in return.
No matter how complicated politics is, sometimes it is very simple.
enter Marathon County Council on Tuesday — with a large turnout and technical issues for those who joined via Zoom — it was unclear how the tip would drop, and the drama was palpable from the start.
Affordable housing sales taxes and small housing development were separate issues, but I didn’t have to be a close watcher of county governments and was able to understand the political dynamics. Democrats wanted to finally pass an affordable home sales tax, while the Republican majority wanted to see the village of Dunmeyer move forward.
There was certainly a reason why Tacoma Democrat County Council Speaker Ryan Melo scheduled both votes for the same long night, with the sales tax vote first on the agenda. Had we tackled it, we could have all been home by dinner, but this is about political clout, not convenience.
As we remembered last year, it takes a supermajority of five county council votes to pass a sales tax increase. That meant raising an estimated $20 million a year to develop affordable housing, relying on support from her four Democrats in Congress. and At least one Republican, probably South Hill’s Dave Morrell. in December, Tax increase vote delayed The obvious question on Tuesday will be whether the oversight and spending accountability measures that Morell and Melo have laid out in their amendments will be enough to earn his support this time around. That’s what it means.
Also, there were some nasty variables that had to be dealt with. It’s trust. Will Morrell take the side of the Democrats and vote for higher taxes? Before Was the fate of microhome villages known?he more Rock’n’roll guy at heart, on this night he took a tip from Kenny Rogers and at least gambled politically. Even though he clearly recognized the need and his support seemed genuine, the ongoing gamesmanship put him in a difficult position.
The conspiracy was just beginning. After a short break, the council is back to work on two of his ordinances related to Dammeier’s ambitious supportive housing project. The project aims to develop permanent housing on environmentally sensitive land near Spanaway to help over 250 chronically homeless people. Modeled after a similar development in Austin, Texas, Tacoma Rescue Operation Chosen to run the village.
For many reasons, it is clear that this is a complex project and is giving Democrats in Congress a significant pause. Because of the myriad of potential environmental and land-use obstacles at work, they’ve narrowed it down since it was formally submitted to Congress last year.
Earlier this month, in a hint that may have resented, Dammeier’s executive staff submitted a 218-page response. To Council questions and concerns. Extensive reports sought to assure skeptics that the wetlands would not be harmed, that development would be possible in compliance with environmental regulations, and would not affect the surrounding floodplains. The 86-acre site off Spanaway Loop Road is the only viable location for a microhome village, the report maintains.
Still, congressional Democrats, who employ the limited political power they enjoy as a majority, were not willing to overthrow completely. We have successfully installed provisions limiting the size of some structures within the development that are designed to. Perhaps most importantly, the ARPA funding phase, with safeguards to ensure that permits are obtained and potential land use challenges are resolved, before land is physically altered for development. It is that we have established a standard release.
By 10:00 p.m., the council had made a deal. With the long-sought victory secured by passing the affordable home sales tax, a majority of Democrats are putting aside lingering worries and starting to feel like a legacy project for second-term executives. Permission has been granted to proceed with the village of Dunmeyer.
Did everyone get exactly what they wanted and go home happy?
Is Pierce County in a much better place now to deal with homelessness and a crisis-level shortage of affordable housing?
It certainly is, and regardless of how the political sausage is made, it really matters.
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