The Seattle City Council went ahead and passed an extension to the COVID-19 eviction ban. Here’s the email I sent out to our mailing list. It is a short explanation and has a link to a key staff person in the Mayor’s office if you’d like to urge a veto. That likely will not happen with a 9-0 vote.

Greetings,  To the many of you who took the time to write to the Seattle City Council to urge them to vote “No” on a 6 month extension of the COVID-19 eviction ban, THANK YOU!  Sadly, the City Council ignored the more than 430 messages sent asking them to consider the damage this extension will do. The legislation,  Extends the ban 6 months after then end of the Mayor’s declared COVID-19 emergency (we don’t know when that will be), likely overlapping it with the winter eviction ban; The legislation was written by largely by plaintiff attorneys that defend evictions, so it creates a defense for someone facing eviction. All a resident has to do is say they lost income because of COVID-19 and that he tried to get help.  Councilmember Gonzalez misrepresented what the legislation does by saying it still allows evictions, which it technically does. But the defense mentioned above will be almost impossible to overcome, ensuring a favorable outcome for the resident. Finally, the Council removed language that would have created a court enforced payment plan. The resident can do whatever they can, but there is no force to the payment plan. The City Council chose to listen to one defense attorney over your 430 voices. If you haven’t yet please make a contribution today. And get ready for the next fight: removing the ability to screen tenants for past evictions. When I know more about this proposal, I’ll be in touch.  PS The Mayor has no email but her deputy Mayor Mike Fong does. You can send an email to mike.fong@seattle.gov urging a veto from the Mayor. Please note that the legislation passed 9-0.