Cascadia today: it's local election day! + BC confronts stolen Indigenous land + feds toss PacNW forest plan
It's election day! If you haven't yet, please fill out your ballot and drop it in a ballot box (not US mail, it's too late for that) by 8 pm this evening. If you're in King County, you can find the closest ballot box here. There are major local elections in Seattle, King County, Spokane, Tacoma, and other cities across Washington, so do your part and get those ballots in! I'll be reporting on results in the Seattle mayor's race for PubliCola this evening from Katie Wilson's campaign headquarters, so follow along tonight at PubliCola and on my Bluesky account:
In tight elections, a few closing words
Polling on the Seattle mayor's race is very tight between incumbent mayor Bruce Harrell and affordability activist Katie Wilson – over at the Urbanist a nurse who work in opioid treatment makes the case that Wilson would lead the city in a better direction, after homelessness has increased and the mayor's office has revived a war-on-drugs approach to the overdose crisis. Meanwhile, King County councilmember Girmay Zahilay, who's running for county executive, says the county and state need to step up now to financially support food banks and replace federal SNAP benefits if they're lost. In related news, the Associated Press reports that the Trump administration said it would partially fund SNAP after a court ordered the feds to continue the food assistance program.
Homeless authority lays off workers
The financially struggling King County Regional Homeless Authority announced it's laying off workers and eliminating positions that amount to 28 jobs (but also hiring for five new one) in a drastic step to address a $4.7 million budget shortfall, PubliCola reports. The regional agency tasked with addressing homelessness in the greater Seattle area has been plagued with budget and leadership problems. Meanwhile, the Portland Mercury notes that Portland and Multnomah county announced they were pausing some rapid re-shelter voucher programs in an effort to deal with a $4.5 million budget gap. The Oregon legislature delivered fewer funds for shelter in this session than expected.
Listen folks, Cascadia is in an emergency housing crisis. It's a difficult problem to solve and agencies require accountability – but it is also going to require more funding. Democrats – who you might be surprised to learn because of what they've failed to do, actually control both the governors' mansions and legislatures in Oregon and Washington! – need to get serious about taxing the wealth in our region to support affordable housing, permanent supportive housing, and the services that are necessary to lift people out of homelessness. A bunch of sweeps isn't gonna fix the problem, my friends.
Cowichan tribe title ruling forces issue of BC stolen land
After the BC Supreme Court ruled last week that the the Quw’utsun (Cowichan) Nation should be granted Aboriginal title to some 300 hectares of land in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, BC premier David Eby (whose government appealed the ruling) has rushed to reassure private land owners they won't be affected and to begin negotiations with the Quw’utsun. For their part, the First Nations of BC have announced they don't plan to seize private land but use the title ruling to negotiate reparations or other land agreements with the province.
The ruling is part of a larger movement in BC on the part of Indigenous First Nations to establish Aboriginal title for lands unceded to colonists. In 2024, the BC Supreme Court granted title to the Haida First Nation for all of Haida Gwaii, and the Gitanyow of northwest BC are suing for title to their lands.
An independent Cascadia needs to foreground the rights and sovereignty of Indigenous nations, and as we build a movement for autonomy, First Nations and tribes need to be consulted and incorporated in that process.
Feds throw out Pac NW forest plan
OPB reports that the Trump administration Forest Service is tossing in the trash a decades-old agreement on logging and environmental protection in the Pacific Northwest. Not surprisingly, timber companies are thrilled, hoping it will spur a whole bunch of "timber production" again. Environmental groups and tribes aren't pleased and vow to fight the changes and speak up during public comment on whatever new plan to clear-cut Cascadia forests the greedy feds in DC try to ram down our throats.
Cascadia needs assert its autonomy and manage its forests independently of the other Washington. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden had it right when he said:
“The best way to address the needs of special places in the Pacific Northwest is to build coalitions of people who are for smart resource management in – and with – the communities directly affected, not from 3,000 miles away in Washington DC."
Thanks for reading! --Andrew
