On this Hacks & Wonks Week in Review, political consultant and show host Crystal Fincher is joined by fellow political consultant and urban farmer, Heather Weiner, for an enthusiastic conversation looking ahead to the 2023 Washington state legislative session, reviewing key announcements from a party leader and a city councilmember who aren’t running again, and discussing what makes for effective political mail.
Crystal and Heather start the show looking at what’s coming in the 2023 state legislative session. They highlight housing, drug possession laws, childcare, and education as key areas that our representatives will be working on in Olympia, and point out the mandate voters gave our leaders by electing for fighting for progressive reforms last November.
This week, state Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski announced she will not be running for state chair again. Crystal and Heather review Podlodowski’s accomplishments as chair and compare her tenure to other state parties like New York. In more local news, Seattle City Councilmember Alex Pedersen announced he will also not be running for re-election this year, meaning that now three city council seats will not have an incumbent in their race.
After a brief discussion about Seattle’s I-135 Social Housing initiative, which will be decided on a February 14th ballot, Crystal and Heather have an in-depth conversation about what makes for effective political mail. It’s an informative discussion from two highly-accomplished experts in the field that you won’t want to miss!
As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com.
Find the host, Crystal Fincher on Twitter at @finchfrii and find today’s co-host Heather Weiner at @hlweiner.
Heather Weiner (she/her) is a political consultant with 30 years of experience on labor, environmental, LGBTQ, racial justice, and reproductive rights issues. She focuses on ballot initiatives, independent expenditures, legislative, union organizing and contract campaigns. She's a recovering lawyer.
Resources
Hacks & Wonks twitter - 2022 Stats
“Inslee Rolls Out ‘Substantial and Audacious’ Housing Agenda in Budget Proposal” by Ryan Packer from The Urbanist
“Voters sent clear message to WA leaders for 2023 Legislative session” by Andy Billig from The Seattle Times
“In 2023, WA lawmakers will decide the legal future of drug possession” by Joseph O’Sullivan from Crosscut
“Missing Middle Housing Reform Returns for 2023 Legislative Session” by Doug Trumm, Stephen Fesler, & Natalie Bicknell Argerious from The Urbanist
“What WA voters want to see from the 2023 legislative session” by Joseph O’Sullivan from Crosscut
“WA Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski stepping down” by Jim Brunner from The Seattle Times
“Alex Pedersen Not Seeking Second Term on Seattle Council” by Doug Trumm from The Urbanist
“WA Supreme Court clears way for state to collect capital-gains tax” by Claire Withycombe from The Seattle Times
House Our Neighbors website - I-135 Overview and Text
“Catch Up on Seattle’s Social Housing Ballot Measure at Our January Meetup with Tiffani McCoy” by Doug Trumm from The Urbanist
Transcript
Coming Soon