Like many in our region, I greeted the resignation of the head of the Department of Government Efficiency with a sense of justice. But as headlines swirl around federal dysfunction, the more pressing question for us is: How is our Washington faring?
The answer is positive but complex. We have the talent, tools and wealth to be a global leader in sustainable communities. Seattle could rival Paris, Singapore or Oslo in linking a hub-and-spoke rail model to other walkable towns and cities. Instead, we’re trapped in endless planning cycles, churning out reports while housing remains unaffordable, transit systems stagnate and communities fray.
Consider our transit infrastructure. Studies on high-speed rail from Eugene to Vancouver, B.C., have been circulating since 1992. The original proposal was estimated at $2.7 billion in 2025 dollars; the latest now carries a $79 billion price tag, at speeds far below international systems already operating. Our ferry issues are well-documented, light rail lags behind needs and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s current expansion will not keep pace with projected demand. Meanwhile, low-income workers and suburban residents bear the cost — spending more time commuting, paying more for housing farther from jobs, and increasing climate emissions we are not yet offsetting.
Our housing crisis is no better. In King County, the average mortgage requires an annual income of $227,000 — nearly double the county’s median. Rather than rising to meet the urgency, over the past year, the King County Growth Management Planning Council spent more time on how to lower housing targets than achieve them. Multiple public meetings took place last year with zero in-person attendance from any committee members.
We have evidence that coordinated public, private and social projects work. The redevelopment of Seattle’s South Lake Union is a case study in what’s possible. It transformed a warehouse district into a walkable, livable, mixed-use neighborhood. Similarly, the recently completed Seattle Waterfront shows how government and business, aligned with community needs, can turn decades of planning into reality. These examples show that our challenge isn’t vision. Its implementation at the community level — not just for a headquarters or when threats of viaduct and seawall collapse demand it.
Washington just completed the 2024 comprehensive planning cycle. These plans take years of work and millions to produce and lack any enforcement mechanisms. Our shelves are full of plans. What we need is accountability that shows our region is serious about tackling the large projects necessary to maintain the culture and priorities we espouse.
We don’t need a state version of DOGE, but we do need leadership that delivers. To move from plans to progress, Washington must mandate enforceable housing targets, tie funding to implementation milestones and empower regional authorities like the Puget Sound Regional Council to implement cross-jurisdictional projects. Coordinated leadership must also extend to landowners and stakeholders to align investment, zoning and development — turning shared vision into shared responsibility and results. Business leaders, too, must play a greater role — not just in proclaiming innovations, but in community investment and influencing growth. Businesses vote with their feet. And without their participation, projects like high-speed rail or safe, walkable mixed-use growth won’t happen. Only coalitions can build.
Washington’s future depends on this kind of shared leadership. We are in an epidemic not only of housing unaffordability, but of disconnect. As the former U.S. Surgeon General stated, loneliness and isolation are an epidemic. Addressing this means more than infrastructure — it means building communities people can access and afford.
DOGE was a warning. While we may be distracted by significant dysfunction in D.C., the risk is closer to home. If we don’t break the planning paralysis, we may find ourselves staring at the same misused land and transit issues for another two decades.
Our Washington is a place of promise. But promise isn’t progress. The problems we face — community, housing, infrastructure, climate — won’t be solved by more studies or stalled plans. They require leadership that shows up, follows through and delivers.
