Time for Real Results: Why I Wrote the No-Confidence Resolution for the Yakima County Homeless Coalition

Saving Lives and Demanding Excellence: A Call to Fix Yakima’s Homelessness Crisis

For too long, Yakima’s hardworking taxpayers have watched their dollars disappear into a void of ineffective programs, endless talk, and empty promises about tackling homelessness. As Deputy Mayor, I’ve heard their outrage loud and clear: voters across our city and county are fed up with millions spent and nothing to show for it. They demand accountability, transparency, and real solutions that actually shrink the number of people suffering on our streets. That’s why I wrote the resolution of no confidence in the Yakima County Homeless Coalition, passed by the Yakima City Council on March 4th with a 5-2 vote. This isn’t just words on paper—it’s a battle cry to save lives, get people off the streets, and show humanity to the least among us, all while holding government to a standard of unrelenting excellence.
READ THE FULL RESOLUTION

The facts are harsh and undeniable: Yakima County ranks among the top 200 counties for highest homelessness rates per 100,000 residents out of 3,144 counties nationwide—a shameful stain on our community. In a county of roughly 250,000, hundreds are huddled in doorways, under bridges, and along medians, left to face the elements. People are dying out there—not because we lack heart, but because government keeps tripping over itself. The Yakima County Homeless Coalition, tasked with leading this fight, has flat-out failed. As I put it in the resolution, the coalition “cannot effectively manage homelessness programs without significant structural and leadership reforms.” The evidence is undeniable: the numbers don’t budge, and the streets tell the same grim story every day.

This isn’t just about statistics—it’s about lives at stake. Every person struggling on our streets and every family facing desperation deserves genuine compassion, backed by results. Voters have made it clear: they expect action, not more excuses. Over five years, despite the coalition’s growing budget, there has been no measurable decrease in homelessness. Millions in local, state, and federal funds have been spent, but tangible progress remains elusive. The 2019-2024 Five-Year Homelessness Housing Strategic Plan has failed, lacking clear objectives or measurable outcomes. Five years of missed opportunities and wasted time—this is unacceptable. Yakima residents deserve better, and it’s our responsibility to deliver.

This failure isn’t unique to us. Across Washington, cities and counties are suffocating under the same inability to defeat homelessness—a statewide crisis that’s hit Yakima hard. But we don’t back down. We fight back with what works: enforcing laws—because it’s government’s ironclad duty to restore order and protect our streets—while tearing through bureaucracy to deliver real help. This isn’t just about cracking down; it’s about saving lives with permanent supportive housing, mental health care, and lasting jobs, pushed through with urgency and funded with precision. My resolution demands a “full independent audit of finances and expenses,” “clear performance benchmarks” to kill the guesswork, and replaces the county’s Health and Human Services Department with a leader who’ll live for results every single day. Government—law enforcement included—must rise with unrelenting excellence or step aside. No more timid delays, no more hollow promises.

The stakes are life-and-death. "When it gets cold or it gets hot, people die," I told the council, and I stand by every word. Every wasted day, every squandered dollar, is a betrayal of our most vulnerable neighbors. Voters don’t want perfection—they want a system that delivers "fewer homeless people, more permanent supportive housing, cost efficiency, safer streets, and better service coordination," as I laid out in the resolution. They want hard data, tracked quarterly, proving we’re winning this fight. They’re right to demand it, and we’re wrong to keep them waiting.

This no-confidence vote isn’t the finish line—it’s the starting gun. It’s our shot to reset, demand strategies that actually work, and hold ourselves accountable. The resolution gives the coalition 90 days to shape up, or the city will consider yanking our funding—between $350,000 and $900,000 a year—and charting our own course. That’s not a bluff; it’s a pledge to Yakima’s people that we’re done with the same old failures masquerading as effort.

We’re perched on a razor’s edge, with one fleeting shot to turn raw anger into relentless action—to rip Yakima County from that shameful top 200 among 3,144 counties and smash homelessness with a force that lasts. This is about saving lives, proving our humanity, and delivering the fierce excellence our people deserve—I don’t claim to have every answer, but I know when the old playbook’s burned out and it’s time to demand something new. The voters have roared their charge, and we can’t let another five-year plan rot in the dust. It’s time to stop dumping cash into failure and start crushing this crisis with solutions that hit hard. We demand answers—real ones—or we risk losing everything. Will we grab this now, or watch more lives bleed out on our streets while government shrugs again?