2014 General Election Endorsements

NOTE: This page has been updated based on the results of the Primary Elections.  -9/22/2014

This past legislative session, the Washington Alliance Action Fund and our sister organization the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance worked to ensure that ending homelessness was a top priority for lawmakers. The Housing Alliance mobilized a statewide coalition of individuals and organizations to support passage of the hotly debated Homeless Housing and Assistance Bill ESSB 5875, which almost didn’t become law. It was one of the very last bills passed by both houses just hours before adjournment sine die.

The Action Fund builds on this recent momentum by endorsing and supporting candidates who are passionate about ensuring an affordable home for all Washington residents and committed to advancing the housing and services solutions that can get us there. Based on the response to our questionnaire, affordable housing and homelessness issues continue to be a priority for candidates. This year, we received more than double the response rate from previous years. Our 62 endorsees include candidates from both sides of the mountain, in 33 of the 49 total legislative districts. Of our 62 endorsements, 27 are women, nine are under the age of 35, four openly identify as LGBTQ, and 14 identify as a person of color.

The Action Fund makes these endorsements at a critical time. The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction counted 30,609 homeless students in districts across the state, including 2,370 in the Seattle School District. In addition, 2014 Point-In-Time counts across the state show increases in unsheltered homeless individuals. The Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness determined 3,123 men, women, and children were without shelter during the three-hour street count in January. This number is an increase of 14% over those found without shelter in King County last year.

Despite these dire numbers, this year lawmakers failed to pass a capital budget, which is the regular annual source of funding for the state’s Housing Trust Fund. These dollars are used by nonprofit organizations to preserve and build affordable homes in communities all over Washington. This is why our endorsements will be critical in educating voters who share our values in prioritizing innovative legislative solutions to Washington’s affordable housing and homelessness crisis.