Rent control trigger law voted down in heated Seattle council session

City Councilmembers voted down a measure that would have acted as a trigger law to institute rent control in Seattle pending changes to state restrictions.

Sponsor Kshama Sawant and Councilmember Tammy Morales were the only two votes in favor of the proposal, while Councilmembers Debora Juarez, Alex Pedersen, Sara Nelson, Lisa Herbold, Dan Strauss, and Andrew Lewis voted against it. Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda was absent.

Sawant has put forth rent control legislation at least two other times in the past -- once in 2019, and again in 2021. This marks her final try given that she will be leaving office at the end of this year.

Rent control has been illegal in Washington since 1981, meaning that any city-level legislation would only be able to take effect if or when state lawmakers lifted the ban themselves.

Sawant admonished her colleagues on the dais when it became clear the proposal would be voted down, stating that if she “was giving a grade to the Democratic Party for standing up for working people and the poor, what grade would we give them?”

“An F,” she said.

In statements delivered prior to her vote, Council President Juarez address Sawant directly, asking that she “still work with us and our counterparts to address this 42-year-old unjust law.”

“I do agree with you -- it’s unjust,” Juarez said. “I believe localities should have the right to do rent sustainability and stabilization, and I think Seattle could pass something that would address that.”