There was a good deal of coverage of last night’s debate. It took awhile, but embedded above is the whole debate. I had a lot of fun engaging with Councilmembers Sawant and Licata and the audience. For some of us, what looks like a tense and stressful argument is really an exciting battle of ideas and intellectual skill. Did the debate matter though? Some people think there are better things to argue about. I agree. The rent control argument is part legacy for Councilmember Licata and part campaign organizing tool for Councilmember Sawant: It isn’t going to happen here anytime soon since the City is preempted from enacting rent control.

Still, this gave me an opportunity to engage Councilmembers outside of a two minute comment, an office visit, or an e-mail or letter. I hit Councilmember Licata repeatedly on his efforts to undermine the Multifamily Tax Exemption program, a program that works. I paraphrased Margaret Thatcher (something that might have gotten be drowned out by boos had the audience known) when I said that Councilmember Licata would rather have the poor poorer provided the rich were less rich. This is the kind of thinking that could ruin our city. Anyway, take a look and see who you thought got the better of the argument.