I’ve been called obsessed and delusional about the Grand Bargain by one of its supporters. It’s true I have been going on and on at every  opportunity to point out that the Bargain is just one of 65 recommendations and that the biggest piece of the Bargain–Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning (MIZ)–is likely to raise housing prices if it can even work. But more likely it’s infeasible and probably illegal.  I guess I went too far in a Facebook thread about the Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) program:

No wonder you don’t have any friends anymore, Roger. It’s sad. You’ve turned into an Ayn Rand-esque absolutist who thinks getting your views heard is more important than telling the truth or having relationships with other people. That’s something I’m saying to you personally, not in the comment threads.

Yep. Rough stuff. This happened after I called this person out for being on the pay roll of Seattle for Everyone, a front organization pushing the broader HALA recommendations but fueled by support from Vulcan and others in Downtown and South Lake Union that will not have to build under MIZ, just pay a lower fee. I don’t think it’s wrong to take money to support a cause, but that’s advocacy not journalism.

Ironically it was the fact that I am paid to support Smart Growth Seattle’s agenda that drew this rebuke from another Bargain supporter.

Roger, Yes, you have a voice, a very important voice, in all this, just like the other organizations do, and just as I did when I was working for one of them. I was writing on my phone too quickly and should have been clearer: you are perceived to be a monied interest and people use that to discredit you. I am not saying it is RIGHT that you are distrusted by some because of your funding; I am just saying it is FACT. It’s not meant to be an attack; it is just a statement of how things look to people.

Hmmm. Funny how the shoe sometimes fits just perfectly.

I will continue to call out the problems with MIZ no matter how many “friends” I lose or who gets upset. Hundreds of builders and evelopers have their livelyhoods at risk by people who would rather agree on something (even if it’s a bad thing) just to be agreeable. I can’t simply stop and give up when builders are out there everyday creating housing. They’re not doing anything wrong — in fact, they are building the city! I’ll do everything I can to slow or stop MIZ if it is going to harm that work.

Things will, I’m sure, get even more interesting in the months ahead.