CANDIDATE PROFILE: John Hines for Tacoma Mayor

The November General Election is quickly approaching and so is the point in time where the most onerous rental policies in Washington can be modified by a city council vote. Tacoma and Tacoma’s City Council are more specifically of whom I speak.

I had the privilege of sitting down with Mayoral Candidate John Hines to catch up on what has been going on in Grit City for the last two years and his future plans for Tacoma if elected.

What makes you the best candidate for Tacoma?

“You know, I think the biggest thing is that I’ve been telling folks the city has a lot of work to do. We have things we need to improve on, things we need to do better on, you hear that every day, but we need someone who can actually lead that work and I’ve been on the council for the last five years really leading a lot of the important work on the council, taking on the tough issues, and I think I’m the right person to keep leading them as we move forward.”

How do you want to improve the availability and affordability of housing in Tacoma?

“Most critically, we need more housing, right? That’s why we’re in the situation we’re in right now. We have a housing shortage. We don’t have enough housing, and that’s housing at every income level. For people who can pay top dollar all the way down to people who barely have enough to kind of get by, and if we can find ways to build more housing and get more housing into the marketplace and it's available to all income levels, we’re going to have much better time getting people housed in our city,” said Hines.

He elaborated on speeding up permitting processes for Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and buildings in general, the new zoning laws enacted with the recently enacted Home in Tacoma zoning regulations, but he also spoke to making Tacoma a place where investors and builders want to do business.

“We need to make sure we’re a place people want to invest in. That people want to build, and I think that’s making sure that our policies are aligned to allow housing to be built, and that once housing is built that people can continue to maintain and provide the housing.”

For those readers who don’t operate housing in Tacoma or have forgotten the travesty that was Measure 1 that passed by just 361 votes, let me show a quick worst-of highlights:

• Caps late fees at $10 a month
• Must give notice between 210 and 180 days, and AGAIN between 120 and 90 days. And if you also want to follow the city council's law (technically still in effect), another with more than 120 days' notice. Each of these require separate statutory forms, that do not take the place of WA State's new statutory form to raise rent
• Tiered relocation assistant dependent on percentage of rent increase  
• Winter and school year eviction ban

For those who were following RHAWA at the time, you may remember Councilmember Hines joining our podcast Housing Matters in October of 2023. At the time, Hines voiced his grave concerns for what Measure 1 would do to the supply of rental housing in the city and some of the groups of people it was believed to be helping. Here is what he said at the time:

“A story I like to tell is that there was a woman I went and talked to some people over at Franke Tobey Jones, which is a retirement home here in the city of Tacoma. And a woman came up to me and she said, you know, you don’t understand what this is going to do to me. The only reason I am able to stay in my assisted living facility is because I still hold onto the house that my husband and I lived in, and that rent is what pays my ability to stay here. And she had this great sense where she said, if I have to eat the cost for the rent not being paid, I’m not gonna eat.”

What are your thoughts on Measure 1 modifications when action is allowed by the council later this year?

“I think that’s definitely something that will have to be a part of the conversation because I’m hearing from housing providers just some of the challenges that are coming out of it and kind of the impact of nonpayment of rent, especially for some of our affordable housing property owners who are running on really small margins to continue providing housing. An issue with health and safety issues with certain tenants that are driving other people out of units not just those folks. There are limits with what we can do to kind of address some of these health and safety issues in a timely manner. I also think that it’s leading to you know fewer and fewer people investing in building new housing in our community."

What’s the deal with the $20 minimum wage voter initiative that didn’t quite make the ballot cut-off?

“Yeah, I mean, there’s both the wage and working conditions components to it. I’ve been really clear right the basic principles of the idea, like you know, fair wages, the idea of predictable schedules, and safe workplaces. All that I agree with. I wasn’t supportive of the ballot initiative; I thought there were some real unintended consequences if that would have passed. The wage conversation was the one I heard the least issues with for the businesses. What I really heard were some of the scheduling provisions, and it would be really hard to run a business in Tacoma with those provisions in place, and it didn’t really look at the differences between industries and different types of work. It kind of was a blanket policy that would’ve really caused some real issues for a lot of our business community.”

What would be your parting message to Tacoma voters in November?

“People are frustrated with where we are with some issues with the city and kind of challenges of working with the city in many ways, and I'm also frustrated, and I've been working on this for last five years and making headway. I'm excited for the opportunity to be the mayor and to lead the council and try to make the city work better for our residents and make the city work better for the people who want to be here. I think I'm the person who's in prime position, having been on the council for the last five years, understanding where the choke points are, where the barriers are, where the issues are, to really lead and actually will make some changes to make the city work better for everyone.”

Councilmember Hines is a Lincoln High graduate, a former Tacoma Public Schools teacher now administrator, and he and his wife are currently raising their two children in District 1. For more information about John Hines or to donate your time or contribute financially, check out HinesForTacoma.org.