Dear friends and neighbors,
Washington faces significant problems, including the high cost of living, a budget shortfall (which tariffs and the impacts of war make even worse), with impending large-scale federal removal of people from Medicaid and food assistance, lack of access to healthy food and pharmacies, and the effects of other chaotic and destructive federal policies.
All of these issues have been amplified or caused by a federal administration actively dismantling the safety nets that keep Washington families safe, our children healthy, put food on the table, and support state budgets.
As a result, much of this session was dedicated to reducing harm to Washingtonians. The Legislature took decisive action to protect immigrants by banning face coverings for law enforcement, ensuring no one can impersonate law enforcement, and helping employers protect workers.
We tackled our unfair tax system, affordability, and built more stable future budgets by passing the Millionaires Tax, which included the largest tax break for working families and small businesses in Washington’s history. Especially important to our district, we took on the devastating effects that communities face when grocery stores and pharmacies close down.
Being interviewed by KING5 News in the wings just off the House floor about my work to stop corporate interests from rolling back protections against toxic lead in pots, pans, and other cookware being sold to Washington families. Credit: LSS Photography.
I have worked with my seatmates for years to provide funding and encourage the city to build a real community center in Lake City – which is one of the lowest-income, highest-immigrant-population communities in the region. The vision is for the first community center in Seattle with more than 100 units of affordable housing built on the upper floors. We previously funded outreach efforts to help the city understand community needs and priorities for a new Lake City Community Center. In this year’s capital budget, we secured the remaining $7.1 million needed to begin construction of the community center next year. For Seattle Public Schools, we secured $3.5 million to provide urgently needed funds to fix roofs that are leaking and pose earthquake-safety hazards.
You can get more information on the progress of the Lake City Community Center at the Seattle Parks and Rec website.
My priorities continue to be fully funding education (including special education), making college accessible and affordable for everyone, protecting our kids’ health, making our government more open, fixing our tax code, and protecting communities’ access to food, medicine and health services.
Making our Tax System More Fair
Reflecting my longstanding priority on your behalf to make our tax system fairer, we passed the Millionaires Tax. I proposed and led the successful effort to include a commitment to INCREASE funding for public education, our paramount duty. And to ensure our tax system will be fairer, I helped to remove hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate tax breaks so we could expand the Working Families Tax Credit to 460,000 families and remove sales taxes from essentials like diapers.
Education
Nearly half of our fourth graders cannot read at grade level. Building on my work as one of the leading advocates for our schools and special education, Gov. Ferguson signed into law legislation I worked on for several years to improve our children’s reading. HB 1295 will ensure every school uses current, science-based reading curriculum and that our new teachers are trained in the science of how children learn to read.
At the start of session, we faced a $2 billion budget deficit. Initial proposals included massive cuts to higher education, early learning and childcare. As a member of House Appropriations, I successfully fought to ensure that we did not impose more cuts to access to the opportunities of higher education and to save existing Transition to Kindergarten programs.
Grocery and Pharmacy Closures
Lake City and north Seattle residents are the latest victims of corporate decisions to close supermarkets and pharmacies – leaving “food and pharmacy deserts.”
In response, I developed HB 2573, which had 14 sponsors to charge vacancy taxes and nuisance fees if large corporate supermarket and pharmacy properties are abandoned for long periods after Seattle or other cities based their housing density plans on a supermarket in the neighborhood (i.e., Lake City Fred Meyer, which is 6 acres). It also includes planning for “healthy communities” to prevent food deserts, reduce pollution, and advance environmental justice. I also worked with seatmate Rep. Farivar on her legislation to bar corporate supermarket owners from placing covenants on their property to prevent reuse as a supermarket.
Connect with me!
Please join our 46th District Town Hall tomorrow, Tuesday, April 28th, at 6:00 PM at North Seattle College Library’s auditorium.
Directions for free parking:
- Stop at any pay station when you enter campus.
- Enter your exact License Plate – watch for typos!
- Select “Guest” from the menu.
- Enter coupon discount code: 46LDTH
- This 1-day permit is linked to your vehicle license plate. No need to print and display the ticket.
- Park only in the Visitor Lots, North, Northeast, West, and East Lots. Please do not park in the Garage or loading areas without prior approval.
- All parkers are required to validate parking. Citations for no permit are $30.
DISCLAIMER: This parking pass is valid for our town hall only. Please lock your vehicle and store valuables out of sight.
You are also welcome to my drop-in discussions (Traveling Town Halls) around the district or on Zoom to discuss any issues you’d like to bring up.
Election Year Restrictions
During an election year, there are certain restrictions on my communications to prevent the use of state resources for election purposes. Some of these restrictions include freezes on email updates, websites, and Facebook pages. This means that you will not be receiving updates from me beginning May 4, 2026, until after the general election in November. That is why this will be the last email update you’ll receive from me for a while. However, you can still reach out to my office with questions, requests for meetings, or to deliver messages to me.
In the meantime, have a great summer and fall and I will talk to you again soon.
Thank you,
Rep. Gerry Pollet