Councilmember Girmay Zahilay

What have we been working on in September? A whoooole lot. Check out my monthly newsletter for some updates!

✅ It’s Budget Season in King County (make your voice heard)
✅ My $1B Workforce Housing Initiative
✅ New Buses, and Trains, oh my!
✅ More Affordable Housing Open

👉🏾 tinyurl.com/girmaysept2024updates

SKYWAY: King County is installing heat pumps in over 100 low- and moderate-income homes in Skyway and White Center at up to 100% cost coverage through its Energize program!

To learn more, register for an upcoming workshop from 6-8pm on Wednesday, Sep. 25 in Skyway at the Holy Temple Evangelistic Center (childcare provided): https://www.energizekingcounty.org/

Energize Skyway & White Center Welcome to the King County Energize Program! We aim to provide 80-100% coverage for heat pump installations for 120 low-to-moderate income households in Skyway and White Center. Signup for our next workshop on September 25th! Energize! In Action Program Benefits Educational Workshops Learn more abou...

It’s National Voter Registration Day! Make sure you’re registered so you can vote in the presidential election:
• Register online by Mon, Oct 28, 2024
• Mail-in registrations must be received by Oct 28, 2024
• Register in person by Tues, Nov 5, 2024
How-to info: bit.ly/kc-vote-registration

Cutting the ribbon on 182 more affordable homes in South Seattle!

Loved joining and supporting Bellwether Housing in opening Flourish on Rainier last week. Family-sized, affordable homes near public transit. Thank you to all the partners for making this happen!

Great to join the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties to discuss what we’re doing to make building more homes easier in King County.

✅ streamlining permitting timelines
✅ implementing missing middle housing
✅ incentivizing affordable housing
✅ supporting lot splitting
✅ allowing more density

The RapidRide G Line launches this Saturday! Join our friends at King County Metro Transit to celebrate the launch on Sept. 14 from 11 AM - 3 PM! Meet us at 19th Ave. between Madison St. & Pine St. Enjoy refreshments & entertainment, grab SWAG, & sign up for an ORCA card.

The RapidRide G Line will provide fast and frequent service through downtown Seattle, First Hill, Capitol Hill, the Central District, and Madison Valley. Learn more about the G Line and other fall service changes here: https://kingcountymetro.blog/2024/08/01/coming-this-fall-new-rapidride-g-line-and-more-metro-bus-service/

It was great to join Rainier Vista’s Public Safety Meeting last night to hear from residents and share out some of our community safety and youth engagement strategies.

Always great to collaborate with Councilmember Tammy J. Morales’s office in the South End!

From unions to the business community, from public housing authorities to private developers, we have a broad coalition supporting my $1 billion Regional Workforce Housing Initiative!

Let’s build rent-restricted public housing so that workers can live close to their jobs!

Thank you to everyone who joined our press conference this morning in Kent at IBEW Local 46.

If you like this idea, tune into the Budget & Fiscal Management Committee tomorrow at 9:30am when my motion is briefed and give public comment in support!

Committee information: https://kingcounty.gov/en/legacy/council/committees/budget

Crosscut article with more context about the initiative: https://t.co/Pjp8VKJha5

Photo credit: Gregg Grinnell at IBEW

“Councilmember Zahilay proposes $1B for middle-income public housing

The plan would use bonds to fund the development of ‘workforce’ housing in King County for people earning 50%-120% of area median income.”

Councilmember Zahilay proposes $1B for middle-income public housing The plan would use bonds to fund the development of “workforce” housing in King County for people earning 50%-120% of area median income.

Check out my op-ed in The Urbanist this morning! I’m hopeful this can be a self-sustaining model for increasing our housing supply and making it increasingly affordable over time.

Op-Ed: Regional Workforce Housing Initiative Can Create Affordable Homes Near Jobs - The Urbanist # King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay lays out the case for his $1 billion workforce housing bond proposal, saying workers deserve affordable housing near their jobs.

I’m excited to introduce legislation calling for a Regional Workforce Housing Initiative!

“Under the new proposal, put forward by Councilmember Zahilay, the county would use government bonds to borrow $1 billion to build rent-restricted public housing.”

King County Council considers housing development for middle-income residents News & Stories King County Council considers housing development for middle-income residents Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez September 05, 2024 / 3:36 pm Maria Zeigler / Unsplash The King County Council is considering a proposal that would build rent-restricted workforce housing for people who make too muc...

Light Rail to Lynnwood opens today, Aug 30 with 4 new stations on the 1 Line: Lynnwood City Center, Mountlake Terrace, Shoreline North/185th, and Shoreline South/148th. Riders will be welcomed onboard around 12:30 p.m. after opening ceremonies at the Lynnwood City Center Station. www.soundtransit.org/snocolink

Today, the Council proclaimed Aug 15, 2024, as INDIA DAY in King County. On this day in 1947, India declared its independence, ending over two centuries of British colonial rule and embracing a new era of self-governance, democracy and freedom for the people of India.

As Budget Chair, I was proud to work with Councilmember Rod Dembowski to invest in a new shelter for senior women in Kenmore. I was honored to join him, Mayor Nigel Herbig, Lake City Partners, DCHS, Mary's Place, and more to open the space and invest in more homes in every corner of King County

District 2 and all of King County mourn the horrific murder of Ruth Dalton. Our seniors deserve safety and dignity. If anyone has the contact of Ruth’s family, please share with our office as soon as possible so we can reach out for support.

Arrest made in Seattle carjacking that killed beloved dog walker Seattle police announced Wednesday they made an arrest in a Madison Valley neighborhood carjacking that killed an 80-year-old woman.

This week at the King County Council, I got to honor a legend: the longest serving teacher in Seattle Public School’s history!

Ms. Marletta Iwasyk taught 1,500 students in her classrooms over 56 years. Her motto was “come to learn, depart to serve.”

The wonderful teachers at Seattle Public Schools made all the difference in my life, and I know Ms. Iwasyk did the same for thousands of people in our region.

Join me in congratulating Ms. Iwasyk on her retirement and her incredible career in public service.

It was great to celebrate Indian Independence Day this past weekend! King County is home to a wonderful Indian community that includes Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist and many other faiths.

Thank you to UTSAV and the organizers for inviting me to be a part of this incredible event

Join Central District Public Safety Accountability (CDPSA) TOMORROW August 20th from 7-9 PM at Garfield High School for their monthly Community Safety Meeting! This is an opportunity to hear updates and reports and to share your ideas and suggestions about community safety. See the below flyer for details!

With heat and haze forecasted for this weekend, the King County Regional Homelessness Authority is activating their severe weather protocols through Saturday.

Find additional details and resources at kcrha.org/severe-weather

Went to the Rainier Vista Night Out before election night festivities yesterday. Loved spending time with the families there and announcing the grants that my office has secured to support youth sports in the neighborhood. Thank you Rainier Vista, you will always be home ♥️

From the King County Regional Homelessness Authority:

🥵🌡 With a moderate (orange level) US National Weather Service Seattle Washington HeatRisk through the weekend, we have activated Tier 2 Severe Weather protocols today through Monday, August 5. Find resources and shelter here: https://kcrha.org/resources/severe-weather-shelter/

Had the opportunity to join a regional leadership panel on transportation hosted by HNTB yesterday. It was great to plan for the future, from population growth to workforce and transit opportunities, with our infrastructure partners.

Thank you, Commissioner Toshiko Hasegawa, Port of Seattle and WSDOT Secretary Roger Millar!

Great to keynote the Housing Development Consortium’s Policy Priorities Summit! Grateful for the partnership and work of the developers across King County who are providing opportunities from home ownership to permanent supportive housing and everything in between.

APPLY NOW!
The Housing Finance Program is now accepting Capital Funding for Affordable Housing applications thru September 13th at 2pm PST. Funding is for the acquisition, preservation, and new construction of affordable housing opportunities throughout King County for both multi-family and homeownership proposals.
Funding is being made available to accomplish the following County Priorities:
1) Housing for those with Disabilities,
2) Equitable Community Driven Development,
3) Homeless Housing/Extremely Low-Income Housing,
4) Homeownership Development,
5) Jail Divestment for Community Investment,
6) Transit Oriented Development, and
7) Veterans housing.

For more information and to submit your application, visit ZoomGrants:

Online Application Management System | Grant & Scholarship Management Software | ZoomGrants ZoomGrants™ is an online application management system that helps to streamline and simplify the entire application process. Visit our site to know more.

It was an honor to remind thousands of Blastfest guests to register to vote and return their ballots before the August 6 primary election!

Arts, music, and culture are powerful forces for both attracting people to our commercial core and getting people civically engaged. Thank you BLAST FEST!

Thank you also to our amazing King County Elections team for joining me at the festival to get people registered to vote 🗳️

We’ve had a busy July! Check out my monthly newsletter to see what we’ve been working on:

✅ Gun Violence Prevention Plan
✅ $178 million supplemental budget
✅ Rainier Valley Safety Master Plan
✅ Extreme Heat Mitigation Strategy
✅ Food Security Hub

👉🏾tinyurl.com/july2024updates

Overheard on light rail today while heading from my Sound Transit board meeting to University Street station:

Fare Ambassador: May I see your ticket?

Young Person: I’m under 18 and ride free!

Fare Ambassador: You’re right, have a great day!

🚆♥️

I was so excited to vote yes on 2 years ago. Nothing better than seeing the results of good public policy and collaboration across levels of government, advocates, youth, and riders!

Last night, I gave updates on my Comprehensive Gun Violence Prevention Strategy to the Central District Public Safety Accountability community meeting. Thank you to the organizers for your essential and continuing work, and see you next month on August 20th!

Community feedback and advocacy from CDPSA meetings were incorporated into my five-point plan. For more information on my plan, see the image below or this link: https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/council/governance-leadership/county-council/newsroom/2024/7-10-zahilay-gun-violence-prevention-proposal-release