Shaun Scott and the affordable housing dream

Shaun Scott is running to represent the 43rd Legislative District in the Washington State House of Representatives. Before Scott set his eyes on the legislative seat, he worked with Solid Ground, where he assisted with anti-poverty programs that are designed to reduce economic inequality in Washington state. Scott’s educational background includes studying History at the University of Washington and a student at Shorewood High School. Scott is a product of the public education system in America. 

Shaun Scott aspires to be a “difference maker as a lawmaker.” He believes in housing for all. According to Scott, “our district is 70% renters,” and we have a lot of “students, and parents, and teachers that depend on public education, community colleges, the University of Washington, and K-12 schools.” Because of this, Scott believes that “working families need to see more affordable childcare.”

He will focus on bringing “economic justice” to the state legislature by encouraging lower housing costs and rent stabilization. According to Scott, “progressive revenue,” by increasing large real estate tax, will make neighborhoods more affordable and reduce the risk of Washington residents getting “priced out” due to rent increases. 

To reduce the crime rate in Washington state, Scott aims to provide people with basic needs, as he views most crimes as the “crime of poverty.” For example, to assist with the increase in grocery prices, Scott will work towards providing those in need with “no strings attached cash” so that people can afford healthy food. He also believes that suffering from “mental and behavioral health crises” leads to certain crimes, and he looks forward to expanding the “behavioral response team” in the city of Seattle to tackle the issue.

Scott supports safe consumption sites, adding that he sees them as a strategy to connect people with services that they need while struggling with addiction. In 2021, Rhode Island became the first state to allow for safe consumption sites, and though there have been mixed feelings about it, the concept has been widely adopted as New York was the first state in America to have a safe injection site. Scott believes that affordable housing will “intrinsically help people through recovery issues,” and strongly believes in the “Housing First” model, as people cannot recover if they don’t have their “basic needs taken care of.”

As an individual who comes from a working-class background, Scott believes in economic fairness. He views it as unfair that Washington state has “so many millionaires and billionaires, yet there are people sleeping on the street.” To add to that, seeing that many undocumented immigrants rely on it, Scott believes that public institutions, such as education and healthcare, need to be “well-funded” and remain open.

Lastly, Scott understands why more people are apathetic towards voting: they have voted in the past, yet they have seen no change. However, Scott encourages people “not to lose sight of voting” because it is a strategy that enables citizens to select representatives who directly impact their daily lives and represent their values.