Greetings, Seattle Metro Chamber members,
My name is Ada Healey and I serve as Chief Real Estate Officer for Vulcan Real Estate LLC.
I am proud to serve as the 2023-24 Chair of the Chamber’s Board of Trustees, and I’m thrilled to have met many of you in person at the Annual Meeting on September 15th.
I want to thank Pallavi Mehta Wahi, our Immediate Past Chair of the Board, for her stewardship, her energy and humor, and her unwavering commitment to the Chamber. Under Pallavi’s leadership, the Chamber truly had a banner year.
The theme of the 2023 Annual Meeting was Vision and Opportunity. I was inspired by what we can do and advocate for in this next year, including:
- Creating a welcoming environment for all businesses
- Taking on housing affordability by building more types of housing in more neighborhoods
- Upping our game with investments like the recent philanthropic announcement to fundamentally change the Elliott Bay waterfront
We will work to make all those things and more a reality. But for my time as Chair of the Chamber, my highest priorities are going to be public safety, regional transportation, and the revitalization of our economic engine, downtown Seattle.
Public safety and downtown’s recovery intersect – and it’s not just business leaders who understand this – voters do too. According to The Index, 90% of Seattle voters believe that a thriving downtown Seattle is critical to our region’s economic recovery.
For downtown to recover, we need an all-of-the-above approach to public safety, including more police officers, and getting a handle on the drug crisis with both treatment and accountability.
Public safety is also a major topic of local elections this year. While the Chamber no longer endorses candidates or engages in PAC spending, that is not a retreat from the political. We are focusing on the issues, asking the candidates to be clear on their positions, and creating an environment where the candidates who share our priorities can be successful.
I encourage every Chamber member to get involved in elections – talk to the candidates, support those you think have the right ideas by contributing or volunteering, and make sure you vote this November.
And we need our government partners – currently serving and those who will be elected – to make decisions that help, not hurt, the regional economy. City governments around the region are going into budget season, and that means squaring up their spending and revenues. In Seattle, despite record revenue collections, there has been talk of new taxes.
But before raising taxes, we need to look at existing spending, see more progress on the issues, and prioritize existing revenues to meet the city’s core responsibilities, including public safety. Together we can chart a new course predicated on getting results for the residents of this amazing city.
Lastly, we should also double down on our regional transportation work.
Light rail is coming soon to Bellevue, Federal Way, and Lynnwood – and ultimately Tacoma and Everett. We need to build strong regional partnerships to ensure these projects are delivered and that these investments work for our communities.
We must plan for future growth with a system that is integrated with existing services. Plus, let’s add in public-private partnerships on things like electrification. We can do this.
We have amazing milestones happening in our region – from the opening of the Waterfront in Seattle, to the transformation of the skyline in Bellevue, to the FIFA World Cup coming in 2026.
This is the best business community in the world. Working together we can make progress on the big challenges, stay laser focused on growing prosperity in the region, and make the most of the opportunities in front of us.
Looking forward to a great year serving our business community,
Ada Healey
2023-2024 Chair, Seattle Metro Chamber Board of Trustees
Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
Chief Real Estate Officer
VulcanRealEstate.com