Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 03/10/2026If you build it, they will come. When you give people good bike infrastructure, they use it. Thrilled to see an overflowing bike valet parking lot at Salmon Days today (thank you city staff). 0112
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 02/10/2026Still happy to support any and all polyhedra or other shapes in Issaquah if they reduce costs and get us better transit sooner. #I❤️graphtheory 030
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 29/09/2026What could be better than Issaquah's Salmon Days? Free valet *bike parking*! Why swim upstream with 200,000 other visitors? For the first time, you can drop your bike at the Bike Valet, have it watched, and ride home. No parking fees, no trek from a distant lot. Sammy the Salmon approves. Map below! 060
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 23/09/2026Another Issaquah resident, on what these initiatives won't do: "These measures won't lower gas prices or keep communities safe from wildfires or historic floods." This is a distraction from the real things we should be fixing, and only divides us. Thank you to everyone who spoke up. #NoHateWAState 041
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 23/09/2026Proud of Issaquah. Every speaker at last night's public hearing opposed I-1 (kids' counseling records) and I-638 (girls' sports sex checks). Council voted 7-0 in opposition. One said: "I don't want to have to prove to anyone that I'm a woman because it's none of their business." Vote no on both. 182
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 18/09/2026We can agree to disagree I guess. I want to see government get better and more efficient with the staff it has. From what I’ve seen consultants are usually a crutch that prevents that. 200
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 18/09/2026Consultants also rob an institution of the ability to develop internal expertise, and allow bright people who want to flex into new roles or just learn and grow the ability to do so. Thats my primary gripe with them. 110
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 15/09/2026No new tax data needed. Their table already uses the right tax data per LD from the right source, it's just drawn on the wrong 2022 map. I put the same numbers on the 2024 map. Happy to help @budget-policy.bsky.social if they want any, or they can just take this. 010
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 15/09/2026Or this version, which replaces the LD number labels (which basically nobody knows) with the number of people in their district estimated to pay the tax as the number shown 000
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 15/09/2026Fixed the map with correct LD boundaries after the most recent redistricting, and more detail in the Seattle area where most of the people paying this are (I couldn't help myself, too much of a map nerd). 210
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 15/09/2026Conclusion is of course right, but the map is all wrong and using LD boundaries from before the most recent redistricting. Whoever did this map can download updated map files from geo.wa.gov. Happy to volunteer to help if needed. 010
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 13/09/2026Issaquah Transit Center (Rt 900) is the big loss with more direct transfers to Seattle via MI. None of the above stop at the transit center. 110
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 12/09/2026I think there are two things we can plausibly lobby for: 1) don’t have 556 run on Front street. It should run on Newport instead, and 2) transfer at MI, not Bellevue. Sadly I don’t think a direct bus to Seattle for us is in the cards. Now it’s about improving, and that’s what I’m focused on. 101
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 05/09/2026This calls for some volunteers with a phone to go and record and post. It’s a public meeting. Every word should be recorded and easily accessible. There is no excuse not to do this in 2026. 000
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 22/08/2026No. I can’t. I think there is just a fundamentally different world view at play here. Even imagining a one year old in distress makes me sad. Being in a position of power to help and doing nothing under some legal pretext is literally unimaginable for me. 030
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 22/08/2026I find it really interesting that housing is the one area people, on both left and right, will assert that it is outside basic economics principles of supply and demand that are otherwise universally accepted as the predominant driver of price. I’d love to understand why (mostly to argue better). 020
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 18/08/2026Know what the actual questions were? Not obvious from link. Always curious about bias in polling and how generalizable this is. We just went through this in our east side suburb. Hundreds of people against networked, AI enhanced ALPRs, but no concerns with speed cameras etc. 000
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 12/08/2026There's overlap, but it's superficial. "Eastside pro-housing politicians" like me want government out of the way on dumb housing rules. We also want to build infrastructure, transit, and subsidized units, which takes taxes. ST's version of small government is just low taxes. That's not an alliance. 230
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 12/08/2026And apologies in advance for some of the AI slop in the text; I just care about the numbers, so I'm not going to bother editing or writing this all out, but tell me if you see errors in the data. 010
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 12/08/2026Enough ballots are in that we can predict not only the winners of the primaries, but also the success rates of the big endorsers. I was curious and looked at Seattle Times, Progressive Voters Guide, The Urbanist, The Stranger, and KC Dems. www.wagraphs.com/Endorsement_... 2152
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 09/08/2026Agreed. I like those as well and hope we market the advantages you pointed out as indicated. Intending to say a switch to MI gets us those benefits without the main cons for the bulk of commuters who go to Seattle. Good clarification; thanks. 020
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 09/08/2026ST's own estimate is +7 to +11 min Issaquah to Seattle: www.soundtransit.org/sites/defaul... Probably low westbound too, given the traffic onto Bellevue Way. I'd rather see a MI transfer, which skips that. Letters to ST and Issaquah council with real new transit times would help make that case.soundtransit.org 120
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 04/08/2026I’d be ok-ish with 554 going away if it connected at Mercer Island. I’d still prefer it just stayed, but MI would at least be HOV the whole way. Connecting at South Bellevue is a big part of why ST estimates the additional 10-15 minutes each way I think. 000
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 01/08/2026“What’s a Streatery,” asked my 9 y/o. “It means we can have fun in our streets and not get hit by cars,” answered my 12 y/o. 💯 070
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 27/07/2026More importantly, Ron will be a voice for housing that we need. Happy to have endorsed him and not even going to worry about the other folks 🙂 050
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 21/07/2026That's my perspective on the state's recent actions. My concern is that they are incremental only and didn't address the root architectural problems. Local governments then see that and think, "Oh, they must be ok now." We need to be careful, and always interpret state law as a floor, not a ceiling. 120
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 21/07/2026Yes, I'm happy with this outcome. I think a discussion around fully local (i.e., not physically accessible outside our city) could have been useful. I'm not sure I would have supported that anyway, but did want to discuss. Without that, an indefinite moratorium is the best outcome. 131
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 21/07/2026Great! Here's the ordinance as passed if you'd like to pass on directly: issaquah.civicweb.net/FileStorage/...issaquah.civicweb.net 110
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 21/07/202640% of Issaquah residents are renters. They deserve to know the real cost of housing before signing a lease. If you're a renter who's dealt with surprise fees, we want to hear your story as we draft this. 010
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 21/07/2026🧾 Rental fees: I was proud to introduce this as a new business item. The price a renter sees should be the price a renter pays, every fee disclosed upfront and itemized at signing. Council voted to add it to the work plan; staff will bring back a draft ordinance in 2027. 130
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 21/07/2026📸 ALPR: After months of petitions and public comment, council voted unanimously to postpone all further work on license plate reader cameras indefinitely. No city funds can be spent on this technology without a future ordinance and vote of the council. 261
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 21/07/2026🏠 ADUs: Homeowners can now have a Washington-licensed architect certify their detached ADU plans and skip building plan review entirely. First city in the state to use this new tool. Less permitting time, lower cost, more backyard homes. 240
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 21/07/2026Big night at Issaquah City Council! 🏠 We passed the first ADU self-certification ordinance in Washington state! 📸 We put an indefinite moratorium on ALPR cameras! 🧾 And we added a rental fee transparency ordinance to our 2027 work plan. A quick thread: 190
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 21/07/2026We also voted unanimously to add a rental fee transparency ordinance to our 2027 workplan. Lots of good housing affordability legislation brewing in Issaquah! 052
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 19/07/2026Largely agree with you, and very concerned about the risks. Our mayor has a good faith argument for them. I don’t agree with most of it, so I don’t want to paraphrase as I’ll likely get wrong, though you should reach out if you’d like to discuss. He answers emails, and we all do as council too. 010
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 19/07/2026Good question. I don’t honestly know, though I think we’ve heard very clear feedback from the community about what the *minimum* level of protection they want for all our neighbors from ALPRs is, which is local control. Whether we want these at all is a good next step to discuss. 020
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 18/07/2026The options presented are state law baseline, a cloud-based system with somewhat stricter safeguards, or full prohibition. The administration recommends the second. I'll be raising the local control option Monday, along with questions about enforcement. Public comment is open, in person or online. 030
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 18/07/2026At Monday's Issaquah City Council meeting (7/20, 7pm) the administration presents its proposed license plate camera policy. Three options are on the table, but not the one most of the community asked for: locally stored, closed loop data under city control. 320
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 18/07/2026I think there’s a good argument for a new, well funded, voluntary national service (AmeriCorps^2) as a good use of public funds to give life experience and skills to young people displaced by our new AI overlords. Agree it’s a weird thing to campaign on though given all the fish out there to fry. 010
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 18/07/2026How fitting if it turns out that the Iran war turns out to be the US’a greatest contribution to fighting climate change this decade. 4504
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 18/07/2026If upfront rental pricing matters to you, a short email helps more than you'd think. Two sentences is plenty. Write the council: citycouncil@issaquahwa.gov Or comment live Monday 7/20, in person or virtually. Renters rarely show up in these conversations. Change that. 000
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 18/07/2026The price a renter sees should be the price a renter pays. Monday I'm bringing a proposal to Issaquah City Council: every rental fee disclosed in the listing, mandatory vs optional clearly marked, and rent + fees in one honest monthly total before you sign. issaquah.civicweb.net/FileStorage/...issaquah.civicweb.net 130
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 09/07/2026Actually, an increase to 3% was in HB 2049 in 2025. Then, according to this writeup, Ferguson came out against it and it was stripped out. Hopefully they take another swing at it, but it doesn't look like a simple case of just nobody lobbying WALeg... washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/04/21/w...washingtonstatestandard.comPlan to raise cap on property tax growth collapses in WA Legislature • Washington State StandardDemocrats are ending their bid to raise a limit on property tax growth, one of the most controversial tax ideas they pursued this session. 120
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 08/07/2026We are capable of building great things and solving the housing shortage, but only if we critically look at failed policies wherever we find them. Though I voted no since I didn't believe this went far enough, I'm still comfortable with it passing as a step in the right direction. Much more to do... 000
Kevin Nichols @kevinnichols.org · 07/07/2026Grid scale battery storage is urgently needed. Cities can either stand in the way, or help make the future better. Across the Eastside, the trend is standing in the way. I’m proud of Issaquah for these amendments to our climate action plan to support the future. Not passed yet but 🤞 010