Seattle Democrats feed on pandemic rental assistance fund despite being gainfully employed

December 26, 2021

Andrew Grant Houston ceased paying rent on his $1,695 per month Capitol Hill apartment at the beginning the pandemic while being employed as an interim policy manager for Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda. He currently lists his employment as an architect with House Cosmopolitan.

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Even though Houston was gainfully employed, under the state’s eviction moratorium, landlords could not evict tenants during the pandemic. Though Democrat Governor jay Inslee’s eviction moratorium expired in November, Seattle’s eviction moratorium extends until January 15, 2022. Seattle has also created a program to provide attorney’s to represent delinquent tenants at the city’s expense.

In addition to rental assistance funded through the American Rescue Plan signed into law by President Joe Biden, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and the Seattle City Council provided $22.7 million in Federal rental and utility assistance to support low-income families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legislation included $8 million to the United Way of King County to provide rental assistance and $7 million to provide rental assistance on behalf of tenants residing in publicly-subsidized rent and income-restricted affordable housing as well as $6.2 million to community-based organizations to target rental assistance for BIPOC communities. It is unclear which program or others Houston was the beneficiary of.

Houston’s boasting on social media caught the attention of many who already suspected the former mayoral candidate of financial impropriety.

Houston managed to get more people to give him money through Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program than actually vote for him, in the process raising red flags. Since the start of the campaign, Houston was unlikely to advance to the general election. Though many candidates run with no chance of winning, few do so while bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds.

In 2015, Seattle voters approved a property tax of $3 million to fund the Democracy Voucher Program for 10 years. The Democracy Voucher Program gives each Seattle voter $100 in $25 vouchers to give out to ‘donate’ to the campaign of their choice.

Houston’s campaign gathered more vouchers by far than any other campaign, almost 14,000 vouchers worth $346,325. Yet he only managed to finish in sixth place with 4,535, 2.62 percent of the total vote. He had more than 5,000 donors but is unlikely to pull in as many votes as donors.

Receipts for the campaign so far show a lot of meals and purchases for non- campaign related items like headphones. Houston told The Center Square, "I don't think I would be running if the Democracy Voucher program didn't exist."

$163,817.60 went to Prism Washington, AKA, Prism West, a consulting firm with a history of representing and promoting activist socialist candidates such as socialist Seattle City Council Member Tammy Morales, who advocated for riots during last summer's unrest.

Houston’s campaign focused on door-to-door canvassing to harvest the vouchers and employed an unusually large number of staffers, especially given the large amount of spending on consultants. The staffers were also unionized.

Houston campaign’s spending disclosures show only roughly $70,000 spent on online advertising, mailers, and other traditional voter outreach. No money was spent on TV or other media.

Former Seattle City Council President Bruce Harrell who and Current Council President Lorena Gonzalez, who earned the top two spots to advance to the November general election did not pay anything close to that for their consultants.

To put things in perspective, Gonzalez, raised $276,475 in voucher funds, spent more than $82,000 on TV, almost $60,000 on polls, and approximately $50,000 on direct mailers. Her consulting costs were a mere $24,000.

Harrell, who eventually won the election, took in only $157,725 in voucher funds for the primary. Houston spent approximately $104.66 of voucher money per vote, Gonzalez spent $7.05 and Harrell spent just $3.22.

Houston still had about $80,000 in hand as of a July 26 filing and more filings are not expected until next month. Houston’s spending on fundraising, staff and consultants has caused many to question if the whole campaign was an effort to make money rather than actually run for office.

At the time, Houston was also paying off $60,000 in student loan debt.

According to The Washington Observer, The Democracy Voucher Program, combined with other changes in the city’s campaign finance laws have “moved a big chunk of the political spending in municipal elections onto the taxpayers’ dime. Meanwhile, the vouchers themselves are a kind of pseudo-money that has no other value to the holder. Persuading people to part with them is apparently much easier than asking for real cash.”

In addition to Houston’s campaign, eyes are now turning to his consulting firm and the company's principal partner Riall Johnson.

Prism worked on the disastrous campaign of Ubax Gaardheere for King County Council, who in 2010 threatened to blow up a school bus filled with children. Her campaign was dogged with questionable out of state contributions.