Mayor Slay to renounce eminent domain and punish Paul McKee?

A small but dedicated group of 5th Ward and 19th Ward residents have fought for and were granted a meeting with the Mayor's office Wednesday June 4 at 10 a.m. This group, spearheaded by Sheila Rendon, spokesperson for Neighbors for Social Justice
(justice@ststb.org) is asking Mayor Francis Slay to renounce the use of eminent doman, wants to know the status of Alderwoman April Ford-Griffin's 5th Ward Plan, and demands a crackdown on Blairmont's many code violations which have largely gone unchecked.

Residents of the area have long complained that Blairmont properties have been given a free pass by the city to accumulate multiple building, health and safety violations without ending up in court. Neighborhood groups and churches have begun to protest this activity, coming together to form the Develop with Dignity Coalition, which has an online petition designed to stop what the group perceives as unethical development practices.

The group met Monday night at Vashon High School to compile a list of questions to bring to the Mayor's office. Those attending the meeting included residents who had already lost homes to McKee's development practices. The meeting ended with residents agreeing to present the mayor with a non-negotiable statement of their civil and human rights, strongly stating that the city's failure to enforce the law equally amounts to collusion with the developer to proactively blight the area, drive out residents without due compensation and launch an end run around the regular legal process for clearing land.

The Vital Voice will have more on this story as it develops.