Lin, Ducksworth split on taxes in South Seattle council race
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Eddie Lin (left) and Adonis Ducksworth (right) are competing for the open Seattle City Council seat in District 2. Photos: Courtesy of the candidates' campaigns
South Seattle is about to get new representation, in a race that could nudge the City Council leftward on issues of taxation and spending.
The big picture: The open District 2 contest is one of three Seattle council races on the ballot this year — all of which underscore a divide between candidates pushing new taxes on the wealthy and those focused more on public safety.
State of play: The contrasts between District 2 candidates Eddie Lin and Adonis Ducksworth are less stark than in this year's other two Seattle council races.
- Both Lin, an assistant city attorney, and Ducksworth, a city transportation policy advisor, oppose Seattle's recent move to expand CCTV cameras throughout the city, arguing the federal government could use the surveillance data to target undocumented immigrants and others.
- They also agree that the city's new growth plan doesn't go far enough to allow denser housing in more neighborhoods, although Lin has emphasized housing affordability more heavily on the campaign trail.
- Ducksworth says he got into the race largely to try to make Seattle's streets safer, including by addressing gun violence.
Zoom in: One of their key areas of disagreement is over tax policy.
- Lin proposes repealing a 0.1% sales tax increase the council approved this month to pay for public safety programs, and replacing it with a citywide capital gains tax.
- That way, the city could fund those public safety investments — which include adding more civilian crisis responders and expanding drug treatment — without "raising the burden on the working poor," Lin said in a news release.
Ducksworth doesn't favor Lin's plan. He supports pursuing a capital gains tax, he wrote in an email to Axios, but said it "is neither predictable enough nor would generate the revenue needed to replace the public safety sales tax."
What they're saying: "To pretend that we can repeal existing legislation on the first day on the job, swap in a different revenue source, and maintain promised services is misleading, cynical, and unfair to the people and families dying on our streets today," Ducksworth wrote.
- Lin's campaign team says a phase-out of the sales tax could be reasonable, to avoid a gap in services.
- But the point should be "shifting the tax burden from low-income families to rich folks who can afford it," Lin's press release says.
Between the lines: Lin's proposed 2% capital gains tax would apply to profits from selling stocks and bonds that exceed $250,000 in a year.
- That's similar to a capital gains tax proposal the City Council voted down last year.
What's next: Ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday or placed in an official drop box by 8pm on Election Day to be counted.
Go deeper: Your complete guide to the Nov. 4 election in Seattle