If you're registered to vote, you should have received your ballot already. The Housing Alliance has taken positions on three initiatives that we believe will have an impact on our shared goal of a safe, healthy, affordable home for everyone in Washington. We also had the opportunity to ask both candidates for Governor about their positions on issues related to affordable housing and homelessness, and included links to the videos with their responses near the bottom of this post.

Our positions:

SUPPORT: 
Referendum Measure 74: Concerns Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

Referendum 74 will allow same-sex couples to marry, preserve domestic partnerships only for seniors, and preserve the right of clergy or religious organizations to refuse to perform, recognize, or accommodate any marriage ceremony. The Housing Alliance endorsed this referendum because legal protections for committed relationships enhance family and housing stability, in turn building better, stronger communities. Referendum 74 allows same-sex couples to marry the person they love, to establish and protect a family, and to make a lifetime commitment in the same way that other couples are able to do so.

We're in The campaign has more than 500 organization and business endorsements, including the Children’s Alliance, YWCA, Statewide Poverty Action Network, and the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

OPPOSE: 
Referendum Measure 1185: Concerns taxes and fee increases imposed by state government

This Tim Eyman-sponsored initiative, dubbed the “Son of I-1053,” by both supporters and detractors, would renew the requirement that the legislature needs a two-thirds majority or voter approval in order to pass any legislation that increases taxes. It is essentially the same language as I-1053, which was recently deemed unconstitutional by a King County Superior Court Judge.

The two-thirds requirement has made it nearly impossible for the Legislature to raise the revenue it needs in order to prevent the annual deficits it has faced over the last several years. State budget cuts have eliminated 18,000 jobs, prolonging and deepening the economic recession. Cuts to safety net services have taken an enormous human toll, worsening problems of housing insecurity and homelessness for many across the state. Altogether these deficits have forced policymakers to cut $10.6 billion from state investments that ensure that every Washingtonian has access to a safe, healthy, affordable home in a thriving community.

SUPPORT: 
Advisory Vote 1 (Engrossed Senate Bill 6635): Concerns a B&O tax deduction for certain financial institutions’ interest on residential loans

This is a non-binding advisory vote on whether to repeal or maintain the Legislature’s closure of a major tax break for large banks. Previously, all banks were able to deduct interest received from first home mortgages from their state Business and Occupation taxes. Last Session, the Legislature passed a law to limit the eligibility for that deduction to banks that operate in fewer than 10 states, effectively ensuring that the five largest out-of-state banks that make up about 70 percent of the home-mortgage business in Washington would no longer be eligible for the deduction. The Housing Alliance has long-supported closing this loophole, which is very expensive but has never been shown to provide any benefit to Washington. Washington's Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee looked into the issue and found no evidence that the tax break had reduced borrowing costs or made loans more available. Ending this tax break is expected to raise state revenue by $170M in the first ten years.

Gubernatorial Hangouts

While you're getting ready to vote, you may be interested in learning more about how Washington's two candidates for Governor plan to address issues around affordable housing, homelessness, the Housing Trust Fund and more. A few weeks ago, the YWCA's Firesteel project hosted a roundtable, via Google+ Hangout, where each candidate answered questions from a panel of advocates, including the Housing Alliance's Executive Director, Rachael Myers. It was a chance for us to get both candidates on the record stating how they'll act on the issues Housing Voters care about.

If you're not familiar with our partners over at Firesteel, they are the YWCA's innovative new online platform for advocacy efforts related to ending homelessness. They put the final videos up on their blog, and they've also added in a timeline so you can jump straight to the answers on the questions you care about. That post is available here: http://firesteelwa.org/blog/open/title/ywhangouts-behind-the-scenes. While you're there, take a look around the Firesteel site and consider joining in the conversation.

The Washington Low Income Housing Alliance is a 501(c)(3), which means that while we take positions on initiatives and share educational materials for voters, we are non-partisan and don't endorse candidates. However, our newly formed sister-organization, the Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund, is a 501(c)(4) that was created to do that and more! Learn more about the Action Fund at their website:

http://housingactionfund.org/.

Remember to vote!
Ben Miksch