Author: Clay Showalter (Clay Showalter)

Rent Control Petition – Click Here For the Link to Sign!      

On August 8, 2015, Councilmember Kshama Sawant celebrated the 70th anniversary of Social Security and Medicare at Westlake Park, alongside US Senator Bernie Sanders, State Senator Pramila Jayapal and others. Sawant highlighted the lessons from the historic struggle that won these essential programs and discussed how it applies to today’s movements for economic and racial […]

On August 3, 2015, I was pleased to vote for a Seattle City Council resolution condemning the racist anti-Chinese legislation and policies that were so ubiquitous in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This resolution cannot undo the harm done in the past. But acknowledging this history and recognizing the immense contributions Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans made […]

On Wednesday, July 20, 2015, I asked representatives from the Department of Planning and Development and the Office of Housing to provide Councilmembers with an accurate accounting of the net number affordable housing units that will result from the implementation of the HALA Committee’s recommendations. The HALA Committee had announced that their recommendations would either produce or preserve 20,000 […]

Sign the petition to Support Lifting the WA State Ban on Rent Control On Monday, July 20, 2015, more than 1,000 people overflowed Town Hall Seattle to watch a lively and at times heated debate on rent control. Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata and I organized the event and argued in support of rent control, while […]

The leaked report from the Housing Affordability and Livability Advisory Committee (HALA) shows how quickly the primary issue of affordable housing is sidelined when housing advocates are required to reach consensus with big developers in secret, closed door meetings. Conspicuously absent in the draft report are any fundamental solutions, such as charging developer “linkage fees” […]

On June 22, 2015, the Seattle City Council considered a resolution for the City of Seattle to formally recognize the South Vietnamese flag as the symbol of the Vietnamese community of Seattle. There is no question that the tremendous contribution of the Vietnamese community to Seattle must be recognized. However, for the Council, as the elected body […]

  Sisters & Brothers,   Today is Juneteenth, the day we celebrate the end of the Civil War and the smashing of slavery – one of the most brutally oppressive systems the world has known. While the institution of slavery is gone, racism is not. There are now more black men ensnared in the criminal […]

The following letter was sent to the Superintendent and School Board of Seattle Public Schools on June 17th, 2015   Dear Superintendent Larry Nyland and School Board Members Stephan Blanford, Sherry Carr, Sue Peters, Marty McLaren, Harium Martin-Morris, Sharon Peaslee, and Betty Patu; Thank you for your ongoing support for public education. I am writing […]

On June 12, 2015, I gave the Commencement Speech for Evergreen College’s 44th graduating class.   Dear graduates, students, faculty, family, and friends, Sisters and brothers, It is an honor to share this day with you, a day that will always remain memorable to you, and to those who love you. A commencement ceremony is […]