Tobias Coughlin-Bogue

Seattle

everyone should be housed, insulin should be free, and no one should share their bad opinions about skateboarding online

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Articles

Everything Is Political … in South Seattle: New Candidate, Big Deficit

1 week ago | southseattleemerald.org | Tobias Coughlin-Bogue

What's This Levy We're Being Asked to Approve? If you're registered to vote, you've surely seen your special election ballot by now. Honestly, I've delayed filling it out and left it to float around various piles of papers and backpacks because I couldn't figure out what exactly it's all about. Once I finally sat down to do it, my personal politics made it a pretty easy choice. But, as they say, your mileage may vary. Here's what you need to know to vote.
Everything Is Political … in South Seattle

2 weeks ago | southseattleemerald.org | Tobias Coughlin-Bogue

The After-Hours Club Bill Is BackOn Tuesday, April 8, a bill proposing new regulations for after-hours clubs advanced from the Public Safety Committee to the full council, with support from all five committee members.
City Council Passes a Nonbinding Resolution Decrying SPD Defunding That Never Happened

3 weeks ago | thestranger.com | Tobias Coughlin-Bogue

This afternoon, City Council passed a nonbinding resolution denouncing the Defund SPD movement and acknowledging the city‚Äôs actions to reform our police department under the federal consent decree.
Sara Nelson Got What She (and Chris Hansen) Wanted

1 month ago | thestranger.com | Tobias Coughlin-Bogue

Earlier this month, we did a slightly deeper dive into what the hell is up with Council President Sara Nelsonâ€™s sudden interest in reviving a failed plan to rezone SoDo for residential housing. Is it about adding housing? Or is it a giveaway to a billionaire friend? Kind of a long story.Â Either way, at todayâ€™s full council meeting, she got her wish.
We Could Have Had Universal Healthcare

1 month ago | thestranger.com | Tobias Coughlin-Bogue

Last Wednesday was the final day for bills to make it out of their house of origin in the Washington State legislature. While many bills still in play are worth paying attention to, I want to focus on a pair that didnâ€™t make the cut: Senate Bill 5233 and House Bill 1445.Â Both bills would have created the Washington Health Trust (WHT), a system of universal healthcare for the residents of our state.
Dionne Foster is Not Sara Nelson. So, Who is She?

1 month ago | thestranger.com | Tobias Coughlin-Bogue

On Monday, Dionne Foster announced her candidacy for Seattleâ€™s citywide District 9 seat, challenging City Council President Sara Nelson. Foster is currently the executive director of the Washington Progress Alliance, an advocacy organization that helped push through the stateâ€™s new capital gains tax to fund education. While thatâ€™s a big, progressive win, itâ€™s not her only policymaking experience.
Why is Sara Nelson Racing to Allow Housing in SoDo?

1 month ago | thestranger.com | Tobias Coughlin-Bogue

At a meeting of the City Councilâ€™s Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development Committee on Feb. 27, chaired by Council President Sara Nelson, council members voted 3-2 to advance a bill allowing housing in a special zoning district encompassing the cityâ€™s two sports stadiums and the area just south. The zone is called the Stadium Area Transition Overlay District (STAOD).Â In a presentation to the committee on Jan.
Mayor Harrell’s State of the City: Lots of Words, a Basketball, and One Giant Social Housing-Sized Hole

2 months ago | thestranger.com | Tobias Coughlin-Bogue

Many Seattleites may have been blissfully unaware that Mayor Bruce Harrell delivered his annual State of the City address today. Hopefully, most were enjoying the moody, blustery weather in a park somewhere rather than sitting through the event at Benaroya Hall alongside city hall staffers, carefully vetted community leaders, random high schoolers, and other elected officials forced to partake in the proceedings.
“Legislative sausage-making at its finest”: SPD’s Blast Balls are Back

2 months ago | thestranger.com | Tobias Coughlin-Bogue

Yesterday, the City Council voted six to three to reinstate the Seattle Police Department’s ability to use blast balls, a controversial “less lethal” form of crowd control, on protestors. Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office introduced the bill in October 2024. Councilmembers Cathy Moore, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, and Joy Hollingsworth opposed it, while Council President Sara Nelson and Councilmembers Maritza Rivera, Rob Saka, Mark Solomon, Dan Strauss, and Bob Kettle voted in favor.
'Something More Left-Leaning': A South End View of the Seattle Political Landscape

2 months ago | southseattleemerald.org | Tobias Coughlin-Bogue

For my debut as a South Seattle Emerald columnist, I was supposed to write about new Seattle City Councilmember Mark Solomon. This column's goal is to cut through the noise of state and local politics, helping people sort out what the policies and people involved will actually do as opposed to what they say they will do. So let's start by getting to know the guy stepping into former District 2 City Councilmember Tammy Morales’ shoes.