Hold Bush-Bunney & Home Depot Accountable

While Calvin Goings planned with us to raise this issue at the October 14 County Council, Shawn Bunney and Roger Bush have delayed a vote that would stop evicting many retirees and disabled residents from manufactured home communities.  The decision to hold a public hearing is now scheduled for October 21, after most absentee voters have cast their ballot. 

We are changing our activity to October 21 but we ask you send to your message now to hold them accountable and stop Bush-Bunney raids on retiree housing. 

Dodging the vote on an eviction moratorium, Roger Bush would rather debate "Temporary Storage of Mobile Homes That are Displaced Due to Mobile Home Park Closure" next week.  Residents have repeatedly communicated that storage makes no sense.  Once lived in, most manufactured homes rot with mold if vacated and are no longer "mobile" beyond 1 move.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Mr. Bush & Mr. Bunney: Support the Moratorium. Stop Evictions

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

We request that you expedite passing Councilmember Going's proposed moratorium on evicting retirees and disabled residents from manufactured home communities and reverse your decision to delay this public hearing and ordinance vote.

You represent the districts which contain the Country Aire Manor and the majority of Pierce County's manufactured home communities and we expect your leadership.

We are concerned with the epidemic of property developers sweeping in to evict mostly fixed-income retirees and disabled residents in your districts.

We know you that for months you acknowledge that Pierce County faces a crisis, needing over 18,000 affordable housing units now and a Pierce County Housing Authority on the brink of bankruptcy. We know you acknowledge this crisis is only growing with the national home foreclosure crisis. We know you have passed resolutions that recognize the travesty at Country Aire Manor and calling for County intervention. Yet your local policies continue to eliminate affordable housing and create poverty-wage jobs at companies such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Kohls. Where will more poverty-wage workers live?

The growing homelessness of our elderly, disabled, and poverty-wage workers should not be delayed until after most absentee ballots are cast. Somehow, you have found time to raise taxes on us rather than charge new developers for the impacts of their projects on schools and roads.

You have the time to dedicate County land for corporate executives' private jets. You raise sewer rates on low-income residents to fund a luxury golf course, try to give yourself a 21% pay hike, and cut pre-apprenticeship training programs for youth. We request that you set aside political games, find the time, and address the urgency of these issues that you have recognized for years.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
October 13, 2008


Background Information

Home Depot has teamed up with Pierce County Councilmembers Roger Bush and Shawn Bunney to raid retirees' affordable housing in Bush's district.  Based on Home Depot's plan, residents will be evicted into the cold of February 2009.  

Calvin Goings Steps Up:  Pierce County Council and Home Depot have a Choice

After months of Bush-Bunney stalls, Council Member Calvin Goings is taking leadership and proposing on October 21 a moratorium to evicting residents of manufactured home communities so that the County can enact a more humane approach to Big Box store and luxury condo development.  The community has asked the Council and Home Depot politely for months to stand with the residents of Country Aire.  Most residents are low-income retirees and disabled.  These evictions increase local homelessness.  New Home Depots and Wal-Marts destroy living wage jobs by reducing worker hours at living-wage paying stores. 

Will Bush and Bunney support Going's proposal?  Or will they evict fixed-income retirees, destroy communities, and rely on local churches and charities to pick up the pieces like in Chelan County?  Or will they support residents taking control of their homes and lives and stabilizing their community like in Thurston County, Snohomish County, and MLKing County?  The Council's own Affordable Housing Task Force recommends a moratorium on conversions, right of first opportunity of residents to buy community land, open unused County property for replacement housing, and incentives to park owners to avoid conversions.  So far, Bush and Bunney would rather pander to luxury developers raising taxes on us rather than charge new developers for the impacts of their projects on our government services.  They have used County land for corporate executives' private jets.  Bunney has raised sewer rates on low-income residents to fund a luxury golf course and said that the County's Sustainability Plan is "full of crap."  He gave himself a 21% raise but then cut pre-apprenticeship training programs for youth.

For details about the Justice We Want more info, see the "Background" section.