Latest Press Releases

  • AK Election System Helped More Independents Win Office

    New analysis shows open primaries and ranked choice voting cleared the way for greater political diversity in the Alaska legislature, though the system’s effect on age, gender, and racial diversity was less apparent.

    May 22, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Jeannette Lee, Alaska Research Director, Sightline Institute, jeannette@sightline.org   JUNEAU, AK – Ranked choice voting and open primaries likely boosted political diversity and representation in the new Alaska legislature, specifically for Independents. That’s according to new [...] Read more »

  • How Washington Made 2023 the “Year of Housing”

    As Governor Inslee signs into law a suite of housing bills today, a look at how the state got here, what the measures do, and what’s next.

    May 8, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Dan Bertolet, Director, Housing and Urbanism Program, Sightline Institute, dan@sightline.org    SEATTLE, WA – Today, Governor Inslee signs into law a landmark suite of housing bills to create more homes, at more affordable prices, in communities [...] Read more »

  • A Full List of the Housing Bills That Passed in Washington This Year

    Small and large policy changes add up to more housing choices and availability of homes in Washington’s job centers.

    April 21, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Dan Bertolet, Director, Housing and Urbanism Program, Sightline Institute, dan@sightline.org    OLYMPIA, WA – Washington communities have a far better chance of meeting the housing needs of their residents and local job holders, and the state [...] Read more »

  • 2023 Session Delivers Major Housing Wins for Washingtonians

    A suite of bills to address the state’s severe shortage of homes will open up critical options like backyard cottages, duplexes, and fourplexes in cities statewide.

    April 12, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Dan Bertolet, Director, Housing and Urbanism Program, Sightline Institute, dan@sightline.org    OLYMPIA, WA – Several bills to open up more housing types in cities across Washington have passed the state legislature. In a time of soaring [...] Read more »

  • Fully 50 Housing Bills Moving Through Washington Legislature in 2023 Session

    An unprecedented number of transformative measures speaks to the urgency of the state’s housing shortage, which voters feel acutely.

    February 16, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Dan Bertolet, Director, Housing and Urbanism Program, Sightline Institute, dan@sightline.org   FULL ARTICLE: 50 housing bills to watch in Olympia right now  OLYMPIA, WA – An absolute deluge of bills to support more housing options across [...] Read more »

  • Washington State Could Double Voter Turnout with Bill to Let Cities Choose Even-Year Elections

    Senate Bill 5723 would lift Washington’s ban on its cities’ option to align their elections with higher-profile, even-year elections. Doing so can save money, boost voter participation, and ensure the voting public—and their electeds—look more like the general population.

    February 10, 2023  MEDIA CONTACT: Serena Larkin, Sightline Institute, serena@sightline.org   FULL ARTICLE: Hey, Olympia! If you let them, cities could double turnout in local elections  OLYMPIA, WA – Leaders in Olympia are currently considering a bill that would allow [...] Read more »

  • New Poll: Majorities in WA Support State Policies for More Housing Types

    As numerous housing bills advance through state legislative committees, a new poll finds that fully 71 percent of likely Washington state voters support a statewide policy proposal that would change zoning laws to eliminate single-family zoning in cities and towns with populations over 6,000 and allow more homes like duplexes, triplexes, and small apartment buildings.

    February 9, 2023  MEDIA CONTACT: Anna Fahey, anna@sightline.org  POLL RESULTS: sightline.org/WApoll2023   WASHINGTON STATE – Majorities in Washington state favor a wide range of policy changes to make it easier to build multi-family housing to address the state’s housing affordability crisis. [...] Read more »

  • Oregon Has Built Gov. Kotek’s Target Number of Homes Before

    In the 1970s, with more apartments and fewer construction workers, the state managed to build almost 330,000 new homes—not far off from the 348,000 Governor Kotek wants to see in the next decade.

    MEDIA CONTACT: Michael Andersen, Sightline Institute, michael@sightline.org   FULL ARTICLE: Yes, Oregon, there is a way to build enough homes SALEM, OREGON – Oregon’s House Housing Committee On Housing and Homelessness meets today to hear HB 2889, a measure to ramp [...] Read more »

  • WA Legislators Take Up Housing Shortage as 2023 Session Priority

    Sightline Institute explains several key bills addressing middle housing, transit-oriented development, and parking mandates.

    For Release: January 19, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Dan Bertolet, Director, Housing and Urbanism Program, Sightline Institute, dan@sightline.org   OLYMPIA, WA – Washington’s housing shortage and soaring housing costs have leaders throughout the state eager to develop and deploy solutions. The state’s [...] Read more »

  • OR, WA, and BC Must Invest Beyond Gas

    New analyses by Sightline Institute describe the region’s potential for neighborhood-wide networks of ground source heat pumps (“GeoNetworks”) and the need to stop subsidizing new gas pipe infrastructure.

    For Release: January 18, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Emily Moore, Director, Climate and Energy Program, Sightline Institute, emily@sightline.org   SEATTLE, WA – As public concern grows over the health dangers of gas appliances in homes and the impacts of climate-warming fuels on [...] Read more »