October Meeting and Spotlight on Seattle’s Failed Drug Policies

Senator Wellman’s office is tentatively planning a community listening session for mid-October at the Mercer Island Community Center. We will share the confirmed date and time as soon as it is finalized.

In the meantime, Seattle's permissive drug policies have recently gained national attention. A recent article in The Atlantic, The Cities That Said Yes to Drugs, highlights a critical issue:
"There is also a curious disconnect between the policies that political leaders put in place and the desires of voters. In many polls, Seattle residents list crime and illegal drug use as among their greatest concerns, and a Seattle Times survey three years ago found that 60 percent of respondents wanted police to arrest those who used drugs in public places."

We see a striking parallel to the situation here on Mercer Island. There is a similar disconnect between the safety and local control our residents want and the radical legislation supported by our state representatives, such as HB 2266, which forces low-barrier, drug-tolerant housing into our neighborhoods.

Unlike Senator Wellman, who has acknowledged the problems with HB 2266 and committed to help fix them, Representative Janice Zahn has not responded to our inquiries, and Representative My-Linh Thai has doubled down on her support for it: “I support this legislation because our state is in dire need of supportive housing and when cities don’t include STEP housing in their comprehensive planning, homelessness can not be contained.” Perhaps she should tell that to the many other cities and states that have addressed homelessness far more effectively than Seattle without building drug-tolerant, low-barrier housing in their neighborhoods.

We are continuing to push for common-sense reforms to protect our community. We’ve reached 1,686 signatures on this petition - thank you so much for your support!

Would you help us keep the momentum going by sharing? Posting to Facebook groups, Instagram stories, WhatsApp, or sending it directly via text or email all make a big difference. Thanks for being part of this.