Hey, my name is Nick.
I’m running for Bellevue City Council to fight for affordable housing, clean streets, and real representation.
Why Support My Campaign for Bellevue City Council?
I’m running because Bellevue is at a breaking point. The city we love, that is vibrant and full of opportunity is being hollowed out by corporate greed and short-sighted policies. I’m not just another politician making empty promises. I’m someone who has lived the struggles facing our community, and I’m running to fight for the people who are being left behind.
What Makes Me Different?
My opponents may talk about affordability, but I’ve lived it. I know what it’s like to face a 30% rent hike and know that I’ll have to move, again. I’ve worked minimum-wage jobs, relied on buses with Sprint-level service, and seen friends and neighbors pushed out of neighborhoods they brought alive. Unlike career politicians, developer-backed candidates, or corporate senior directors with million dollar+ compensation packages, I’m not funded by corporate PACs or lobbyists.
My campaign is powered by and for working people who are tired of being ignored.
I bring something rare to City Hall: real-world experience and unfiltered honesty. I won’t sugarcoat the crisis we’re in. Housing isn’t just “expensive” - it’s being weaponized by Wall Street landlords. Transit isn’t just “inconvenient” - it’s failing the people who need it most. And wages aren’t just “low” - they’re trapping families in horrible choices between rent, groceries, and healthcare.
I’m coming with real solutions we can try, real policies we can pilot, real outcomes that I’ll be fighting for.
This city works for those at the top. It’s time it worked for you.
Bellevue for the Rest of Us
Fights worth having.
Good ideas don’t always survive first contact with bureaucracy. Here’s what I believe in, what I’ll push for, and how I’ll navigate the messy reality of making change:
These proposals are starting points. Are they possible? We’ll find out. If we win? I’ll credit the organizers who made it happen. If we can’t deliver? I’ll say who or what blocked it and how we pressure them. No vanishing acts, no sudden amnesia about what we campaigned on.
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Corporate landlords and developers treat homes like stocks while your family gets squeezed into smaller spaces for higher rents every year.
Tax vacant luxury units to incentivize renting them at reasonable rates
Ban corporate landlords from owning single family homes
Public Land for Public Good: Lease city-owned lots to community land trusts for permanently affordable housing.
We’ll measure success by how many teachers, nurses, and other ordinary workers can afford to live here.
Affordable housing should include making homeownership affordable as well. People shouldn’t need to leave when they want to buy in.
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Miles of prime Lake Washington shoreline, a natural treasure that should belong to all of us, is locked behind private gates and $20M estates. The lake shouldn’t be someone’s backyard, but if they want to keep their beach private, they should pay us for it.
Let’s put a property tax on exclusive private shoreline without public access
Funds go to expand public docks, beaches, and waterfront parks
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The worst part of your day shouldn’t be someone’s profit center. Why does a nurse with a Camry pay the same car tax as a tech bro with a Porsche?
ORCA passes for residents: Instead of mandating parking lots: Any developer building near light rail pays for 5 years of free ORCA passes for the neighborhood
No more transit deserts, every neighborhood deserves frequent service.
Protected Bike Lanes: so you don’t risk your life to get to work or school.
Exempt used cars (over 5 years old) from luxury vehicle taxes
Free parking permits for shift workers
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Tax Mansions & Mega-Homes: Implement higher property taxes on mansions, luxury condos, and second (or third, or fourth+) homes valued above a set threshold. If they can afford a $5 million penthouse, they can afford to give back to the community.
Make Them Pay for Their Toys: Add a surcharge on yachts, private jets, luxury cars, and other extravagances. Every splurge helps fund schools, parks, and transit for the community. Let them pay for their third Ferrari. You shouldn’t pay for potholes.
Land Hoarders Pay Up: Levy steep taxes on speculative land and empty lots. Developers sitting on empty plots will be incentivized to build or sell, not profit from scarcity.
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Food isn’t a luxury. Medicine isn’t optional. Here’s how we stop taxing the basics:
Eliminate sales tax on:All groceries (including pre-made meals for workers)
Baby formula, diapers, and period products
Prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicine
Gas, electricity, and water for households under $100K income
Internet bills (because it’s not a luxury, it’s how kids do homework)
Car seats and bike helmets
Winter coats under $100
School supplies
I support a statewide push to classify these as tax-exempt necessities. No more nickel-and-diming everyday people.
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City-run childcare co-ops in public schools and community centers, with fees scaled to income.
Tax breaks for businesses that provide on-site daycare or childcare stipends.
Subsidies for in-home daycare providers to reduce costs and increase availability.
Mandate flexible schedules for city employees (and you bet we’ll be pressuring private employers to follow suit).
Expand paid parental leave for city workers (to set an example for local businesses and other cities).
Free school meals for all students (no paperwork or stigma).
Extended school-day programs with tutoring/activities so parents can work full-time.
On-site childcare & transit vouchers for all public comment sessions.
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No more telling young people to “wait their turn” while selling off their future to donors.
I want to create a city sponsored scholarship flips the script: We should get students proposing solutions about problems our city's leadership are constantly tackling. Affordable housing solutions? Creative transit innovations? Bold climate action? Our kids see the flaws and failures of our system more clearly than any career politician or McKinsey consultant ever could. Instead of throwing money at outdated ideas and nostalgia, let's invest directly in our youth and their vision.
You Shouldn’t Have To Choose
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Growth and Community
We can build housing without bulldozing what makes Bellevue special - but only if we put people before profits.
I've seen how communities thrive when growth is managed for everyone's benefit.
✓ Keeping our neighborhoods diverse and vibrant
✓ Welcoming new residents without displacing current ones
✓ Building a city where teachers can live near their schools and seniors aren't forced out -
Safety and Justice
If we want less crime, we need fewer desperate people. That means good schools, fair wages, and help for those in crisis.
We can have both safety and justice - if we're brave enough to fund what actually works.
✓ Schools that prepare kids for careers, not just college
✓ Wages that let parents be home at night
✓ Help for people before they're in handcuffs -
Innovation and Roots
Bellevue is changing, but progress shouldn’t mean erasing our past. We can embrace new opportunities without turning into a sterile company town.
True innovation isn’t just glass towers and tech campuses, it’s building a city where creativity thrives and community endures.
✓ Where teachers can afford homes
✓ Artists can have studios
✓ Families can stay for generations.
How I’ll Get It Done
By Being Collaborative
I Listen First.
I don’t have all the answers and I’m not arrogant enough to pretend I do. Especially on complex topics that people have spent their lives experiencing and dedicated themselves to studying.
I recognize that:
Those closest to the problem understand it best. Renters navigating our affordability crisis or seniors struggling with unsafe crosswalks.
Data alone isn’t enough, we need lived experience to shape solutions that actually work.
Leadership means creating space, not dominating conversations.
This isn’t about humility or being “nice”; this is about being effective. The best policies come when we combine expertise with empathy.
By Being Iterative
I Believe in Getting Better.
Good government isn’t about stubbornly sticking to a plan. It’s about adapting as we learn. Unlike career politicians who treat their policies like trophies, I believe:
Complex problems evolve: What works for Bellevue’s housing crisis today may not in 5 years
No policy is perfect on the first try: We need mechanisms to measure, adjust, and course-correct.
Accountability is a strength and not a threat: I’m not here to defend my record. I’m a neighbor who’ll push for regular policy “check-ups” with transparent metrics.
Whether that means first testing solutions on a small scale first before enacting them into permanent laws or requiring policies to be re-evaluated after two years with new data, I think true leadership means admitting when something isn’t working and having the courage to fix it.