Kevin Nichols
@kevinnichols.org
Issaquah City Councilmember. PhD scientist and data nerd who e-bikes to meetings to try and build a more affordable future. Previously: COVID tests (you're welcome), Gates Foundation, bubble physics. Personal account.
The East King subarea (Bellevue, Issaquah, etc) pays the highest per capita into ST ($712, vs $661 for Seattle). If this becomes a Seattle vs. the burbs issue, we all suffer. Seattle won't get the subsidies it needs, and the suburbs will remain carbound. This should be about finding $ to do it all.
December 20, 2025 at 3:29 AM
The East King subarea (Bellevue, Issaquah, etc) pays the highest per capita into ST ($712, vs $661 for Seattle). If this becomes a Seattle vs. the burbs issue, we all suffer. Seattle won't get the subsidies it needs, and the suburbs will remain carbound. This should be about finding $ to do it all.
Sponsored by a Republican which made me look twice, but this is an L&I agency-request bill. Makes sense: L&I administers this program and identified the fix. For Issaquah where construction costs are brutal, anything making quality modular more viable is worth paying attention to. 🧵 7/8
December 18, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Sponsored by a Republican which made me look twice, but this is an L&I agency-request bill. Makes sense: L&I administers this program and identified the fix. For Issaquah where construction costs are brutal, anything making quality modular more viable is worth paying attention to. 🧵 7/8
I worried about inspectors grading their own homework. But the bill adds conflict-of-interest protections not in current law. Inspectors must be independent from the companies they're inspecting and disclose conflicts. ICC certification meets the qualification standard. Reasonable guardrails. 🧵 6/8
December 18, 2025 at 2:02 AM
I worried about inspectors grading their own homework. But the bill adds conflict-of-interest protections not in current law. Inspectors must be independent from the companies they're inspecting and disclose conflicts. ICC certification meets the qualification standard. Reasonable guardrails. 🧵 6/8
HB 2151 lets qualified third-party inspectors handle this instead. It also adopts International Code Council standards so manufacturers can build components that work across multiple states without custom re-engineering for each state's quirks. Standardization brings costs down. 🧵 5/8
December 18, 2025 at 2:02 AM
HB 2151 lets qualified third-party inspectors handle this instead. It also adopts International Code Council standards so manufacturers can build components that work across multiple states without custom re-engineering for each state's quirks. Standardization brings costs down. 🧵 5/8
Look at the actual L&I form. It requires directions from the nearest commercial airport and: "Manufacturers are responsible for 100% of inspection and associated travel fees including delays due to inclement weather and airline mechanical issues." Brutal. 🧵 4/8
lni.wa.gov/licensing-pe...
lni.wa.gov/licensing-pe...
lni.wa.gov
December 18, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Look at the actual L&I form. It requires directions from the nearest commercial airport and: "Manufacturers are responsible for 100% of inspection and associated travel fees including delays due to inclement weather and airline mechanical issues." Brutal. 🧵 4/8
lni.wa.gov/licensing-pe...
lni.wa.gov/licensing-pe...
Here's the problem: if an out-of-state factory builds a modular home for Washington, a state inspector has to fly out. The manufacturer pays airfare, rental car, lodging, per diem. Most units need multiple inspection trips: floor, frame, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, energy code, final. 🧵 3/8
December 18, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Here's the problem: if an out-of-state factory builds a modular home for Washington, a state inspector has to fly out. The manufacturer pays airfare, rental car, lodging, per diem. Most units need multiple inspection trips: floor, frame, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, energy code, final. 🧵 3/8
Modular and factory-built housing runs about 20% cheaper and 50% faster than traditional site-built. It's not going to singlehandedly deliver all the ADUs and missing middle housing we need, but removing barriers should help. Washington has friction that makes it harder than it should be. 🧵 2/8
December 18, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Modular and factory-built housing runs about 20% cheaper and 50% faster than traditional site-built. It's not going to singlehandedly deliver all the ADUs and missing middle housing we need, but removing barriers should help. Washington has friction that makes it harder than it should be. 🧵 2/8
@pushtheneedle.bsky.social We are paying. ST3 promised light rail to Issaquah. @kellyjiang.bsky.social is right that 554 changes hurt. Issaquah has an ~urbanist council but degrading service makes advocacy harder. But we're all the same team. Ideally suburb support helps Seattle; Seattle helps us
December 15, 2025 at 3:30 AM
@pushtheneedle.bsky.social We are paying. ST3 promised light rail to Issaquah. @kellyjiang.bsky.social is right that 554 changes hurt. Issaquah has an ~urbanist council but degrading service makes advocacy harder. But we're all the same team. Ideally suburb support helps Seattle; Seattle helps us
I wrote a little script that sends text notifications to me within a minute of a KC vote update. I feel like I could sell this as a service to elected officials for dozens of dollars, literally dozens of them.
November 11, 2025 at 11:52 PM
I wrote a little script that sends text notifications to me within a minute of a KC vote update. I feel like I could sell this as a service to elected officials for dozens of dollars, literally dozens of them.
Does ST have the statutory authority to switch any part of that alignment to BRT? If so what would they need to do process wise? Is it just a public hearing? Or is something like that off the table as a part of ST3 entirely?
September 24, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Does ST have the statutory authority to switch any part of that alignment to BRT? If so what would they need to do process wise? Is it just a public hearing? Or is something like that off the table as a part of ST3 entirely?
The latest updates to RCW 46.16A.200, which took effect in January, make license plate covers a primary offense (so you can be pulled over for it). Just isn’t enforced much, it appears.
September 14, 2025 at 3:25 PM
The latest updates to RCW 46.16A.200, which took effect in January, make license plate covers a primary offense (so you can be pulled over for it). Just isn’t enforced much, it appears.
There is something to be said for good intentions but bad engineering. It at least indicates a hopeful future if the engineering side is fixed. Much better than the bad intentions, good engineering quadrant!
August 2, 2025 at 8:03 PM
There is something to be said for good intentions but bad engineering. It at least indicates a hopeful future if the engineering side is fixed. Much better than the bad intentions, good engineering quadrant!
As someone with a deep interest in statistics related to the WA legislature, I'd like to point out that future generations of scholars will be able to better track these data, and their important effects on legislative outcomes, if properly tagged. Perhaps #SweaterOfTheHouse ?
April 18, 2025 at 9:31 PM
As someone with a deep interest in statistics related to the WA legislature, I'd like to point out that future generations of scholars will be able to better track these data, and their important effects on legislative outcomes, if properly tagged. Perhaps #SweaterOfTheHouse ?
W-Nominante for WA Leg. Not a WAR score, but still good times with math and #WAleg data: www.wagraphs.com/W-Nominate/i...
WA State Legislature - W-NOMINATE Analysis Results
www.wagraphs.com
April 11, 2025 at 4:05 AM
W-Nominante for WA Leg. Not a WAR score, but still good times with math and #WAleg data: www.wagraphs.com/W-Nominate/i...
The WA constitution made sense in an era of railroads and horse drawn carriages. If you want a full time legislature, that needs a constitutional amendment and a lot of public support to bring in to the 20th, let alone 21st, century.
March 13, 2025 at 4:00 AM
The WA constitution made sense in an era of railroads and horse drawn carriages. If you want a full time legislature, that needs a constitutional amendment and a lot of public support to bring in to the 20th, let alone 21st, century.
Jeremie Dufault, champion of equality, I think arguing for gender neutral bathrooms in the Legislative Building. Or at least going to interpret that way.
March 13, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Jeremie Dufault, champion of equality, I think arguing for gender neutral bathrooms in the Legislative Building. Or at least going to interpret that way.
Link for convenience. Currently up, Jim Walsh in a lovely green sweater vest. tvw.org/video/house-...
House Floor Debate - March 12 - TVW
The Washington State House of Representatives convenes for floor debate on pending legislation in Olympia. (AFTERNOON/EVENING SESSION)
tvw.org
March 13, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Link for convenience. Currently up, Jim Walsh in a lovely green sweater vest. tvw.org/video/house-...
I've analyzed voting patterns from 2009-2026, letting you compare the breakdown over time. The viz lets you explore House vs Senate, different sessions, and which legislators cross party lines the most. 🧵5/5
March 11, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I've analyzed voting patterns from 2009-2026, letting you compare the breakdown over time. The viz lets you explore House vs Senate, different sessions, and which legislators cross party lines the most. 🧵5/5
W-NOMINATE uses a statistical algorithm to place legislators on a left-right scale based solely on voting patterns. Unlike subjective ratings, it creates a mathematically determined scale from progressive to conservative positions. 🧵4/5
March 11, 2025 at 9:16 PM
W-NOMINATE uses a statistical algorithm to place legislators on a left-right scale based solely on voting patterns. Unlike subjective ratings, it creates a mathematically determined scale from progressive to conservative positions. 🧵4/5
The 2025-2026 results show Jeremie Dufault back as the most conservative House rep after a 2-year hiatus, narrowly beating out Jim Walsh. 🧵3/5
March 11, 2025 at 9:16 PM
The 2025-2026 results show Jeremie Dufault back as the most conservative House rep after a 2-year hiatus, narrowly beating out Jim Walsh. 🧵3/5
On the progressive end, freshwoman Rep. Briana Thomas is narrowly edging out fellow freshman Shaun Scott @organizewithshaun.bsky.social and Sharlett Mena as the most progressive according to the voting data. 🧵2/5
March 11, 2025 at 9:15 PM
On the progressive end, freshwoman Rep. Briana Thomas is narrowly edging out fellow freshman Shaun Scott @organizewithshaun.bsky.social and Sharlett Mena as the most progressive according to the voting data. 🧵2/5