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Anthony Gill

@anthonyegill.bsky.social
116 followers 80 following 92 posts

Advocate for strong cities and equitable economies. Currently serving as Spokane’s unofficial ambassador to the Seattle region. 🚰 🌹🧦 🏗️🔰🚊 Writer @spokanerising.com, columnist @inlander.com, board @futurewise.bsky.social. USC MPP '21, SCU '16.

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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
5️⃣ Simple rides without transfers are less complicated for people to figure out, so they’re more accessible to new riders and those with disabilities. The current service planning paradigm assumes everyone is an able-bodied, experienced transit rider, which isn’t (and shouldn’t!) be the case.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
4️⃣ Transfers also require consistently reliable light rail operations, which Sound Transit is…not great!…at providing, especially during off hours. Now light rail disruptions affect not just Link riders, but all sorts of bus riders.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
3️⃣ Forced light rail transfers make Link chronically crushloaded, especially over the summer and during major events. That’s great for ridership metrics and political optics, but it’s bad for customer comfort.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
1️⃣ As discussed in the column, service truncations at light rail often increase total commute times, especially when factoring in transfers between modes. 2️⃣ One-seat rides are more comfortable when available, sometimes even if they take a few minutes longer. The agencies’ analysis discounts this.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I appreciate this discussion of the (bad) fall service change, which made my commute longer and less comfortable. But it neglects a couple of the other problems with Sound Transit’s and Metro’s service planning.
seattletransitblog.com
Duplicative services and commuter route truncation, again
We’re about a month into the Fall shakeup, where a substantial number of service changes were implemented to improve connections to Link. This is a recurring playbook that Metro has used ever…
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Mamdanism is the way forward! Progressives, get on board or get left behind.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 22/09/2026
Lots of love for Mamdani pointing out how important it is for progressives and socialists to reclaim the mantle of efficient government from the right. Seattle’s own @mayor.seattle.gov has been saying similar things. And she’s giving a budget speech later today that might just make similar points:
seattlechannel.org
Watch Special Event Live | seattlechannel.org
Watch Seattle Channel Special Event Live
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Consumer protection isn’t a city’s job! It needs to be done at the state level! It’s wildly counterproductive that Seattle keeps passing these laws that end up effectively just punishing their residents.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I don’t think progressives in Seattle appreciate just how important it is (politically) that she do a good job and focus on base-level governance issues. So far I’m seeing more Michelle Wu than Zohran Mamdani, which is…concerning.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I agree, to be clear. But personally if I were running her comms shop, I’d want her to be more transparent about it. I think people in Seattle are smarter than average voters and would reward nuance and complexity.
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Nithya Raman @nithyaforthecity.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
For your consideration: A mayor who will fight for LA, every day. Catch this ad on NBC tonight, before and after the Emmys.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
That’s not to say “2,000 beds in two years is impossible” (it isn’t, in a big and wealthy city like Seattle), but delivering that many would have required her to make compromises (like the ire of neighbors or her other priorities) that she wasn’t willing to make.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This isn’t a “bold action.” It’s a walkback of a (premature!) announcement of a plan she made in the spring, and it cuts the number of shelter beds she’ll deliver by more than half. It’s good that she’s being more realistic now, but sometimes politicians “learning on the job” end up overpromising.
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Seth Rieder @sethrieder.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
I wanted to add to this one. 1) Some people have bad taste and it’s showing in the comments. The build on the right is objectively bad. 2) Here’s some great examples of simple boxes that are brand new from my neighborhood. And these don’t showcase the well done modernist ones.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The tone of this piece is so off-putting that people will probably miss the nugget of truth within it: Washington’s leaders ARE too quick to raise taxes and fees without addressing the underlying system. We can have a more progressive, competitive tax code. We need leaders who’ll fight for it.
wsj.com
Seattle Turns Hostile to the Great Businesses It Made
Starbucks is moving jobs from Washington state to Tennessee, and it isn’t alone in looking elsewhere.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Police accountability is part and parcel to improved community safety. They should be judged on actual solve rates and call-close rates—and quality of work—instead of being allowed to basically just do whatever they want. You know, kind of like how everyone else’s work performance is judged.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I like this. That said, how would that quickly stop and/or prevent the shootings that happened in Belltown over the weekend?
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I don’t think “more policing” or “increase police pay” is the answer, but I wish there were someone offering a real progressive vision for public safety in Seattle. What happened in Belltown over the weekend is completely unacceptable and progressives should have a better theory for how to stop it.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
I was going to hang out at Pier 62 this afternoon, but I brought a bag (with my laptop and such) because I was coming back from a morning meeting on Bainbridge. So…guess not!
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
The Waterfront can afford them, but community orgs and others that host events can’t handle the added cost, especially if it’s a recurring event. So…fine I guess if SDOT/SPD eat the cost, but do we really expect that to happen long term? Waterfront could also just add bollards…
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
I don’t want to completely discount the risk, because it is real, but it’s not as great as transportation and police departments make it out to be in the immediate aftermath of an event (ie New Orleans). 2-3 dozen farmers markets take place a week in Seattle that don’t use these, and it’s fine.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
The beauty of the Waterfront is that you can literally just stumble upon events while doing other things—hanging out downtown, heading to/from the ferry, grabbing lunch. The moment you deploy metal detectors & bag checks, you cut your audience to only people who PLANNED on going to an event.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
You can’t extrapolate a gang-related shooting to all other other public events! Events have different audiences, vibes, competitor events, and whatnot that all affect the level of risk and effective mitigation strategies.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
I certainly don’t see anyone *trashing* it. Across Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, most of Bluesky…I’ve seen mostly positive feedback, from a diverse array of political perspectives.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Let me just say that if the Meridian barriers and metal detectors deployed today for the Waterfront Block Party are intended to be a safety clampdown after the Bite of Seattle shooting, that’s incredibly stupid. That was a gang-related shooting! You kinda ruined the vibe of this awesome event!
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
It’s been interesting to watch the public reaction to the creation of the fare gate program, which seems to be a mix of “FINALLY” and “this should have happened a decade ago.” It might be the most positive feedback Sound Transit has gotten in the past five years.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
How about a police chief that prioritizes reducing and eliminating crimes that affect a large number of people every year, like bike theft?
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Senator Patty Murray @murray.senate.gov · 22/08/2026
Canada is NOT the 51st state. Trump owes our friends and neighbors an apology for nearly 2 years of his boorish insults and jeers. Canada IS Washington state’s biggest trading partner and our country’s closest ally. Dump Trump’s tariffs. NO TRADE WAR. 🇺🇸🇨🇦
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Dude Seattle’s median income is insane. There are tens of thousands of tech workers who earn well over $200,000/year. There are LOTS of wealthy progressives, but they don’t use their money, generally because they are new, not old money people.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
I just had my fare checked on light rail for the first time in 7 years! 🥹🥰
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
And before you ask: no, @thestranger.com is absolutely NOT that. They do hardly any original reporting, their copy is bad, and it’s so snarky that it can’t be taken seriously. Seattle needs a @inlander.com or @laist.com or @wweek.com or @rangemedia.co, but resourced to the Seattle region’s scale.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
With such an absurdly captured media environment, and lots of wealthy progressives, I don’t understand why Seattle can’t seem to make a legitimate alternative media outlet work at scale. The Urbanist and Publicola are good, but a ~25-reporter center-left outlet could make a real difference.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I was wildly incorrect about this yesterday. I thought it would be a group like Spokane’s task force—which proactively works with individual developers to speed up permit reviews and other work for individual projects, and provides incentives. Another stakeholdering process ain’t it.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
In Spokane if you propose a housing projects, the city (quickly!) proactively helps identify incentives you could qualify for, identifies things that might slow down permitting (like stormwater or sewer infrastructure) and works collaboratively with you to speed things up.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
As I’m looking at this in more detail, yes, it’s bad. Our version literally is an interdepartmental strike team that works together to speed up permitting/ensure fast reviews for specific housing projects and find additional incentives.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Spokane did this to great effect. Good move!
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Alaska’s top-four primary, ranked-choice general is at least, I’d say, the best system in existence at the moment. We can all say we want PR or approval voting but the lift for that is much higher than adopting Alaska’s or Maine’s system.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Would love if we moved to the Alaska System.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
That’s because Bellevue is basically just a neighborhood of Seattle when you’re talking to domestic or international companies. The region’s economy rises and falls together. Seattle’s policy moves have ripple effects.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
backsliding on this under her tenure should be seen as a serious failure!
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I definitely don’t think the service planners are to blame. As I said, the service standards aren’t fit for purpose if what gets output on the other end receives this much opposition and concern. This is a policy failure, not a process failure. Rewrite the standards.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The Seahawks! There can only be one good team at a time!
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I think when you have situations like this where there is clearly significant opposition, it’s worth considering whether the service guidelines need to be re-evaluated. The system is growing. Aggressively forcing connections to light rail may not make as much sense as it once did.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
once again asking why katie wilson shouldn’t be held accountable for ensuring pike place stays people-first
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Newly-released data shows that Seattle is expecting more than 2.1 million cruise visitors in 2026 across more than 300 ship arrivals, a new annual record. These visitors stay at local hotels, dine at local restaurants, and shop at local businesses. Cruise is an essential part of the PNW economy.
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
That’s the thing! For most people doing it, it’s entirely accidental!
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
imo mayor wilson should be held accountable for this abject failure
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Anthony Gill @anthonyegill.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I think the mayor should be blamed for more things like this. It’s not hard to just say, “we’re doing this” and require all of the board and commissions and staff to get in line. Do we really believe that Mayor Mamdani would be outsourcing this to community orgs to decide?
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Lauren @lpangborn.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Spokane’s speed and red light cams are the *sole* funding source of traffic calming projects, which are incredibly popular, politically. There is clear daylight between Flock and the speed and red light cams here — namely, the latter only take photos of guilty parties and are highly regulated.
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M. Nolan Gray 🥑 @mnolangray.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Reforms to reduce/end unfunded IZ mandates often *increase* the number of affordable units, as in markets where they do the most harm, market-rate rentals are already close to median incomes, and the filtering literature suggests big benefits across the market. www.metroabundance.org/how-inclusio...
metroabundance.org
How "inclusionary" are market-rate rentals? - Metropolitan Abundance Project
An ambitious new state law championed by Maryland Governor Wes Moore will allow denser multifamily housing within three quarters of a mile of the state’s many rail transit stations. The law also inclu...
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