Hacks & Wonks

Seattle voters will decide in August whether to renew funding for the city's groundbreaking Democracy Voucher Program, the first and only system of its kind in the United States that gives residents public money to support local candidates of their choice. Proposition 1 on the August 5 primary ballot asks voters to approve a 10-year property tax levy to continue the program, which provides every eligible Seattle resident with four $25 vouchers annually to contribute to qualified candidates for mayor, city attorney, and city council. Estevan Muñoz-Howard was one of the original leaders of the 2015 campaign that created the Democracy Voucher program and continues his work as a democracy activist with People Powered Elections Seattle. Professor Jennifer Heerwig from Stony Brook University is the leading scholar studying the program's impacts. She's tracked its effects through multiple election cycles and recently published a book on her findings called Democracy Vouchers and the Promise of Fairer Elections in Seattle.   As always, a full text transcript of the show is available at officialhacksandwonks.com [http://officialhacksandwonks.com/].   Follow us on Bluesky at @HacksAndWonks [https://bsky.app/profile/hacksandwonks.bsky.social]. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Bluesky at @finchfrii [https://bsky.app/profile/finchfrii.bsky.social] and find Estevan Muñoz-Howard on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/estevanmh/] and Professor Jennifer Heerwig at https://www.jenheerwig.com/ [https://www.jenheerwig.com/].

On this week-in-review, Crystal Fincher and Erica Barnett discuss: ⚖️ No Wilson charges 💬 Pro-Harrell message testing poll 🔄 Moore replacement 👑 Bills expand Davison/Police power 🔎 Ask to end consent decree 🤖 PC Sheriff gets bad advice from ChatGPT    As always, a full text transcript of the show is available at officialhacksandwonks.com [http://officialhacksandwonks.com/]. Follow us on Bluesky at @HacksAndWonks [https://bsky.app/profile/hacksandwonks.bsky.social]. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Bluesky at @finchfrii [https://bsky.app/profile/finchfrii.bsky.social] and find today’s co-host, Erica Barnett, on Bluesky at @ericacbarnett [https://bsky.app/profile/ericacbarnett.bsky.social] and on PubliCola.com [http://publicola.com].

On this week-in-review, Crystal Fincher and Josh Cohen discuss: 🎯 WA top target in Medicaid cuts 😬 KC Assessor Wilson arrested 🚔 Barnes confirmed as police chief 💰 Possible sales tax increase for public safety 🏗️ Rinck revives Morales’ community dev program   As always, a full text transcript of the show is available at officialhacksandwonks.com [http://officialhacksandwonks.com/]. Follow us on Bluesky at @HacksAndWonks [https://bsky.app/profile/hacksandwonks.bsky.social]. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Bluesky at @finchfrii [https://bsky.app/profile/finchfrii.bsky.social] and find today’s co-host, Josh Cohen at @jcohenwrites [https://bsky.app/profile/jcohenwrites.bsky.social].

King County Executive candidate Claudia Balducci outlines her approach to the region's biggest challenges, emphasizing housing affordability, prevention-focused public safety & regional coordination. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available at officialhacksandwonks.com [http://officialhacksandwonks.com/]. Follow us on Bluesky at @HacksAndWonks [https://bsky.app/profile/hacksandwonks.bsky.social]. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Bluesky at @finchfrii [https://bsky.app/profile/finchfrii.bsky.social] and find Claudia Balducci at @claudiaforkcexec [https://bsky.app/profile/claudiaforkcexec.bsky.social].

On this week-in-review, Crystal Fincher and David Kroman discuss: 👀 NYC mayoral race hints at Seattle’s? 💰 Seattle biz tax revamp? 🚔 Pursuit GPS trackers & digital billboards 📷 License plate readers proliferate in WA 🏘️ Affordable housing industry crisis   As always, a full text transcript of the show is available at officialhacksandwonks.com [http://officialhacksandwonks.com/]. Follow us on Bluesky at @HacksAndWonks [https://bsky.app/profile/hacksandwonks.bsky.social]. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Bluesky at @finchfrii [https://bsky.app/profile/finchfrii.bsky.social] and find today’s co-host, David Kroman at @kromandavid [https://bsky.app/profile/kromandavid.bsky.social].