Letters lobby for a rent cap and against a mortgage interest tax, plus decry closing Municipal Court

Renters deserve protection

At the Tenants Union, we get calls every day from renters who are between a rock and a hard place. Their landlord increased their rent again and they are having to make impossible choices to stay housed while meeting their other basic needs. Predatory rent increases are economic evictions, displacing vulnerable tenants and driving people into homelessness when they can’t find anywhere else to live.

Prior to where I live now, I got a $300-a-month rent increase, which was the second increase in one year. When I asked why, the response was “Because we can.” I just got a call the other day from the daughter of an 85-year-old woman whose rent was increased so much, she must leave the home she’s lived in for 23 years.

If our state legislature fails again to enact sensible limits on how much landlords can hike rents, more and more of our neighbors, friends and family members will be forced out of their homes, displaced, and even driven into homelessness.

Today’s average rent in Washington is over $1,830 and a 13.4% increase is $241.56. Where is a senior citizen on a fixed income from social security that only goes up 2% a year supposed to come up with hundreds more dollars each month?

It’s time lawmakers delivered meaningful protections for renters in the form of a reasonable 7% limit on rent increases.

Talauna Reed, Olympia

SB 5794 Mortgage Interest Tax threatens affordable housing

As the President and CEO of OlyFed, I’ve had the privilege of serving our community and witnessing the transformative power of homeownership. A provision in Washington state Senate Bill 5794 threatens to undermine these efforts by imposing a 2.1% tax on mortgage interest income, which would more than double the amount of taxes we pay. This will seriously jeopardize the bank’s ability to continue to find creative ways of supporting affordable housing in our community.

At a time when other financial institutions have left the mortgage market altogether, this tax will specifically harm local community banks like OlyFed, but not big out-of-state banks or credit unions. As a mutual bank, we’re accountable to our customers and as a portfolio lender, we do not sell our loans to conglomerates across the country. These relationships stay right here in our backyard and this proposal would tax the loans we retain for the greater good of our community.

It’s our business model that allows us to be flexible and creative in how we address issues like affordable housing. In fact, these past two years, OlyFed has provided more than $16 million in affordable home loans to households earning less than 80% of area median income, and in the last five years, we’ve provided more than $2 million in local charitable support.

The proposed tax threatens to take away these community investments at a time when they’re needed most. Help protect community banks like OlyFed that continue to be a staple of good.

Josh Deck, Olympia

The impact of dissolving Olympia’s Municipal Court

On April 8, the Olympia City Council voted to sell the land where its Municipal Court sits to the Squaxin Island tribe. During the vote, council members stated that funds from the sale would be used to relocate staff and services from that property.

On April 9, city managers informed court staff that no such thing would be done, and that Thurston County District Court would absorb municipal court in January 2026, regardless of the 18-month lease arranged with the Squaxin Island tribe, contradicting the original 12-month transition time court staff had originally been given.

City council has stated on multiple occasions that the decisions regarding sale of the land and contracting with the county are “not made in a vacuum.” However, the council has declined to speak with elected Judge Nogueira of the Municipal Court, and has also rejected offers of support and advice from Judge Larson, head of the Council of Independent Courts, who has tried warning the court of the ramifications of dissolving their municipal court. Rejection of these voices, and an unwillingness to learn about the services of Municipal Court and its therapeutic Community Court, proves that the council is indeed making their decision within a vacuum.

Dissolving municipal court will eliminate the Olympia Community Court (OCC). The OCC is an established therapeutic court and mentor court within Washington state. The OCC program is proven to decrease crime and increase community wellness. Losing OCC increases risk and harm within the Olympia community and removes a much-used resource for other therapeutic courts across the state.

Rowanne Fairchild, Olympia