City Council, Development, housing

“I’m Losing My Temper”: Moore Accuses Morales of Calling Her Council Colleagues “Evil… Corporate Shills”

By Erica C. Barnett

City Councilmember Cathy Moore accused her colleague Tammy Morales of “vilifying” her colleagues, calling them “evil… corporate shills,” and being less than “civil” after a council committee voted down Morales’ bill to reduce red tape for affordable housing developers last week. The bill, which Morales has been working on for the last two years, would provide density bonuses and zoning flexibility to developers who partner with community groups to build low-income housing.

“I’m gonna have to stay very calm,” Moore said Monday. “I just wanted to give a heads up that I will be carefully reading the council rules to utilize tomorrow, if I feel that there are any ad hominem attacks being made on fellow council members who chose not to vote this bill out.”

Then, addressing Morales directly, Moore continued: “This vilification of your fellow council members in the media—it is uncalled for, it is unprofessional. We can have a respectful difference of opinion without [saying] that we are evil or corporate shills or we have no concern for our fellow human beings or we’re opposed to affordable housing. None of that is the case, and I am tired of that being the narrative that I hear coming [from you]. And so I’m just—again, I’m going to stop because I’m losing my temper. But I want this to be a respectful conversation tomorrow based on policy, not personality and no impugning of my or my fellow colleagues’ motivations.”

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Morales told PubliCola she never called colleagues corporate shills or evil. She has expressed frustration with the sudden opposition to her bill, telling reporters she was “disappointed” in the decision. According to the Seattle Times, Morales said, “Despite the fact that everybody’s talking about the need for more affordable housing, when it comes down to it, there’s either no understanding of how we actually get there, or no willingness to really take action.”

PubliCola was unable to find any evidence that Morales has ever personally vilified her colleagues, called them corporate shills or anything remotely similar, or said they were evil or did not care about humanity. Former councilmember Kshama Sawant did say things like this, but (despite being a brown, progressive woman) she is not Morales—and is no longer on the council.

This isn’t the first time Moore has said she feels threatened by people who disagree with her, but it does seem to be the first time she’s directly threatened to use council rules to silence a colleague for a purported lack of civility. Earlier this year, Moore said she felt “physically threatened” by advocates for refugees who banged on windows after being ejected from council chambers, suggesting that, if left to their own devices, the demonstrators would smash through the windows and violently storm the dais.

The council will discuss and vote on Morales’ proposal at its 2:00 full council meeting this afternoon.

13 thoughts on ““I’m Losing My Temper”: Moore Accuses Morales of Calling Her Council Colleagues “Evil… Corporate Shills””

  1. @some lurker Cathy Moore is out walking around Aurora and other troubled areas and listening to neighbors’ concerns every day. I am having a meeting with her during her many open office hours this month. I was at her standing-room-only public safety meeting last week.

    The supposed “affordable housing” initiative from Morales was voted down for good reason. Only 20-30% “affordability” allowed suspension of design review. The size of permitted buildings (up to 6 stories) would be wildly out of scale with neighborhoods where they were proposed, and the lot coverage guaranteed blocks of treeless hardscaping. These 35 pilot projects were seen, rightfully, as a Trojan Horse that would set precedent for allowing large blocks of apartment buildings anywhere in the city.

    The “equity” argument says low income people deserve to live in desirable neighborhoods with trees and gardens. Then the level of development proposed completely changes the character that makes the areas desirable in the first place. Once a large development like this comes in, the adjacent houses sell out and the properties all become 6-plexes or towers. Take away trees, gardens, light and privacy and what do you have left? It might as well be Highway 99 or 15th NW with a few less cars.

    1. Don’t you worry, Moore is there to make sure poor people don’t come to your neighborhood. She’s the best of all worlds!

  2. Wow that evil corporate shill is a real crazy person. Got to hand it to the business lobby that spent millions to get their people on the council. Way to pick people. They can’t understand legislation when it’s just about cutting red tape for building low income housing; that act like it’s a massive citywide emergency when rideshare companies want to remove a $5 fee and cut their driver’s pay; and now a crazy person is “loosing her temper” because people won’t stop talking about how she’s transparently a corporate shill, and she blames Morales. Is it because she’s the only one that isn’t?

    Maybe all those sociopaths who think it’s “democracy” to buy themselves as city government think being a sociopath is normal, so this crew of incompetent, do nothing crazy people is the best of all worlds to them.

    1. “Evil Corporate Shill” is pretty much the Seattle leftist version of BENGHAZI BENGHAZI BENGHAZI.

      Nice job filling out that bingo card. What are you, like, 12 years old or something?

      1. Benghazi? Gibberish to you pal. I’m sure you real fun at parties. /sarc

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  4. This new council is a breath of fresh air. Finally adults are back in charge, although the children still throw an occasional tantrum.

    1. If that’s humor I commend you because the story is about Moore throwing a childish tantrum over some offense she made up in her own head.

      1. Um, she is proposing that something be done about the “flesh market” of Aurora north and just got pummeled by folks on this very blog who think sex worker rights are more important than preventing actual human trafficking. Do try to keep up,

      2. “Um, she is proposing that something be done about the “flesh market” of Aurora north and just got pummeled by folks on this very blog who think sex worker rights are more important than preventing actual human trafficking. ”

        There’s that human trafficking meme again. Yeah, pretty easy to pummel something that was entirety made up. Or wait, you got verifiable data? Or I guess that would be too “childish” for you to provide.

        What a twit.

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