I enter Cal Anderson Park. It’s 10:15 a.m. The sky is bright blue with long and high clouds. The sun is low. And a seagull stands on top of the city’s best fountain. What’s on its mind? On the concrete rim that circles the fountain’s pooled water, someone wrote with a spray can: “Death to AmeriKKK!” Now that’s on my mind. US fascism.
Unbeknownst to me, Councilmember Eddie Lin is also in the park, also near the fountain. In November 2025, he won District 2’s special election by nearly 40 points. On December 2, he was sworn in. Today, we are meeting at The Stranger’s office for a quick check-in. How is it going so far? Is he working on his promises? Is the job harder than he expected? That sort of thing. While talking on the phone about some community matter, Lin spots me. Does he also notice the contemplative seagull on the fountain or the anti-fascist graffiti?
At 10:35, we are in The Stranger’s conference room. It has a view of the rainbow crosswalk next to the Wildrose and, in the distance, two towers that will soon have the repurposed corpse of a Boeing 747 near the ground floors between them. I was introduced to Eddie Lin in this conference room in June of 2025 for the SECB endorsement meeting for the primaries. The former assistant attorney for the Seattle City Attorney’s Office easily won our endorsement. His big message? Seattle needs more housing, and from all sectors: private, parastatal, social.
“I saw you in the park,” Lin says to me as he places his phone on the conference table. “Funny you should bring that up,” I say. “I was thinking about facism in the US while crossing the park. And [you] being not only a person of color but the one who represents the most diverse district in Seattle, I want to begin by talking about ICE. When they come, they are coming for us. Is there really anything that can be done?” I also live in District 2.
Lin explains that he and Erika Evans, the new city attorney, are looking at the options closely and working with immigrant professionals and activists to prepare and protect all of the members of the community, many of whom are from Somalia, from what’s happening in Minneapolis. But, I say, ICE still just breaks the law. They break into homes without warrants. We saw this happen to an American citizen, ChongLy Thao. ICE just disregarded the law. Treated the Hmong American with no record like a criminal. Trump has made it loud and clear that this agency operates outside of conventional law. They can use excessive force and even act as if they can kill people with impunity. How can Seattle prepare for a federal organization that’s operating like a street gang?
After a moment's thought, Lin puts on his lawyer hat and says it like it is: “There are a couple things for me. One: There are certain crimes committed [by ICE agents] that are not just federal crimes. They're also state crimes. Murder is a state crime that does not [in Washington] have a statute of limitation. And it can't be pardoned by the president, and so, you know, I think, these federal agents need to be worried about that. The president is trying to send this message that he will protect them and pardon them. He can't pardon a state crime. So, he's going to be out of office someday. [And] Republicans will not be in control forever. They can't protect these people forever. So, I think we need to make these agents understand this. Yes, the statute of limitations for excessive force is something like five years. Yes, I would like it to be longer. But that is the way I’m looking at it. You are not protected from state crimes.”
When I ask about how things have been since he took office, he brightens a little and explains that, to be honest, not much has happened. He was sworn in. He made the transition, and he is now settling in. Then I ask about his top priority: affordable housing. Any new developments in that direction?
He is honest. Not much has happened in the immediate sense because housing is always a long-term commitment. “Even if we change zoning rules,” he says, “it’s still going to take years to see the results. The kind of housing crisis we are in now was caused many years ago. … But we still have to deal with the homeless crisis. That has to be done right now. … So, I support things like the tiny home villages or [other forms of] transitional housing. I'm supportive of [Mayor Katie Wilson’s] focus on that and want to do what I can to support her. Whether it's with resources, finding locations, or permitting, or land-use issues. But I think the whole city should be a part of transitional housing. Not just South Seattle.”
I bring up the fact that, though he’s considered a progressive, some think he is a touch soft on cops. He seems a little surprised by this, but it was mentioned in The Stranger’s 2025 primary endorsement. In response, Lin brings up that he, along with Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Rob Saka, voted against the police guild contract because it was woefully inadequate when it came to police accountability. Lin leaves it at that. Action counts more than words.