The non-violent occupation, which occurred from September 22-28, 1992, was covered in the November and December 1995 issues of Real Change. The story of the self-managed shelter which then began at the IBEW Local 46 building appeared last month.
In the Fall of 1992, Seafirst Bank owned the Pacific Hotel. In order to persuade Seafirst Bank to sell the Pacific Hotel, OH needed to make our campaign a local cause celebre. It is not easy to move a mountain, but it is almost impossible to do it alone.
While the shelter campaign had kept homeless people involved with OH, we needed opportunities for other supporters-housing advocates, service providers, community leaders, and the general public-to participate in the effort to save the Pacific from redevelopment or long-term abandonment. Our first major action after the eviction was a community rally and march to the Pacific in mid-October of 1992. Over 100 people attended the event, which began with speeches and music in front of City Hall. Members of the occupation stood on a platform shoulder to shoulder with community leaders. Local musician Jim Page treated the crowd to "The Ballad of the Pacific Hotel," a song he wrote about the takeover.
After lunch, we marched to the Pacific, stopping at the Seafirst Bank headquarters along the way. At the Pacific, religious leaders such as The Rev. David Bloom of the Church Council of Greater Seattle decorated the Pacific and we prayed that one day the empty building would again be used to house people.
Hope
Within a month of the eviction, Seafirst Bank began talks with Plymouth Housing Group, a local affordable housing developer interested in purchasing the Pacific Hotel. The beginning of negotiations encouraged us. Before the takeover, the Pacific had been marketed to luxury hotel developers. Purchase by a nonprofit housing developer was prohibited by the high price tag on the building, $3.9 million.
Now, Plymouth Housing Group's Director, Chuck Berry, was preparing a purchase offer that included applications for funds for a major rehabilitation of the building. Knowing that such a development process often takes years, OH suggested that the fully functional building be used as interim housing as soon as Plymouth controlled the property. Berry agreed.
While OH was not involved in the purchase discussions between Plymouth Housing Group and Seafirst, we were active in discussions and planning for interim occupancy of the Pacific. We met with a non-profit agency to ask them to sponsor us and brainstormed about funding sources for the minor repairs needed to the boiler. We earned the endorsement of the King County Labor Council and other community groups.
We hoped that once Plymouth Housing Group acquired the Pacific, residents of the IBEW shelter could occupy the Pacific on an interim basis until renovation work began. As talks with Seafirst progressed, the reports from Chuck Berry were more and more optimistic that Seafirst was going to sell the building.
Seafirst Refuses to Sell
In mid-December 1992, Seafirst shocked Seattle's housing advocates by rejecting Plymouth Housing Group's purchase offer. Readers of the first two installments will recall that during the occupation of the Pacific, Seafirst had publicly released a letter saying their goal was to "get the property into the hands of a non-profit housing provider who will make it available as affordable housing as soon as possible."
Seafirst officials now said that they wanted to consider "other options" for the building. According to rumor, one such option was a Seafirst employee health center. The rejection of the sale offer had come "from the top," said Berry. Seafirst's offer to repay the pre-development expenses that Plymouth had incurred left us the impression that the door to negotiations was not just closed, but also locked.
Campaign to Force Sale Escalates
As usual when something bad happens, we had a meeting. Despite the bad news, we took an inventory of our assets and gained confidence. Over 100 activists were involved in the campaign and 50 IBEW shelter residents had an immediate self interest in seeing the Pacific Hotel sold to a non-profit housing developer.
As for allies, we had the IBEW and a handful of local churches and community organizations. Thanks to the publicity during the occupation, the Pacific Hotel was a visible issue. Our target, Seafirst Bank, was a business highly dependent on an image of responsibility. Seafirst's President and CEO, Luke Helms, had a reputation for being an image-conscious executive.
At the meeting, we planned the campaign to persuade Seafirst to sell the Pacific Hotel. By posing questions familiar to community organizers and groups in struggle, we formed our strategy. We first asked ourselves, "Who has the power to sell the Pacific?"
The answer was not simply Seafirst, but more specifically Luke Helms, Seafirst's top dog. Thus, one strategy we would employ in the coming months was to personalize the target and direct our energy at Helms himself.
We then asked ourselves "How can we make it in Seafirst's interests to sell the Pacific?" One answer was that if not selling the Pacific proved to be costly, Seafirst would be more inclined to sell. Although affecting the bottom line of the state's largest bank is no easy task for an all-volunteer community organization, we did have the ability to communicate with the bank's customers.
We asked ourselves one final question, "What does Seafirst need that we have the power to take away?" The answer was public confidence. In September of 1992, Seafirst had publicly asserted their goal of using the Pacific Hotel as housing. Now, in December there was talk of "other options" and health clubs. In the coming months, we would repeatedly question the trustworthiness of the bank and its President.
The tactics of the campaign were public demonstrations, petitioning and surveying Seafirst customers, confrontations with Seafirst decision makers, coalition building, and a boycott of Seafirst Bank. We sought media coverage during each action of the campaign. We hoped that coverage about Seafirst's irresponsibility would erode the public's confidence in the bank.
Demonstration
and March on the Bank
During the week before Christmas, we held a public demonstration in front of the Pacific Hotel. Several people burned Seafirst bank cards after we announced a boycott of Seafirst. The next day's Seattle Times ran an article about our campaign with a photograph of two demonstrators lighting a Seafirst Bank Card on fire.
We then marched to the Columbia Seafirst Center, the location of Seafirst's executive offices and a branch bank. We marched with picket signs through the food court and distributed hundreds of flyers titled "Can We Trust Seafirst?" to the lunch crowd. We were not able to get to Luke Helms's office, but we had other plans anyway.
For the climax of the demonstration, we took advantage of Seafirst's "5 Minute Service Guarantee." At the time, Seafirst would pay five dollars to any bank customer that had to wait in line for more than five minutes. During the lunch hour, the lines are so crowded that all tellers are needed to avoid paying the five bucks. We added an additional 25 people to the line, disrupted business as usual, and netted lots of five dollar bills. We financed the printing costs of our flyers and, needless to say, had lots of fun.
Direct Action and Petitioning
Later that week, we went Christmas caroling at the home of a Seafirst Vice President, Tim Turnpaugh (Luke Helms was out of town). About 15 OHers went on Christmas Eve to Turnpaugh's Magnolia home. Members of the group had adapted familiar Christmas Carols to describe Seafirst's refusal to sell the Pacific.
During the caroling, Turnpaugh appeared in his doorway and asked us to leave. Because we were on the public sidewalk, we just continued to sing. KING Radio ran a story about the caroling and recorded us singing one of our adapted songs: Seafirst Bank, Seafirst Bank, Profits all the way! to the tune of Jingle Bells.
Throughout our campaign to force the sale of the Pacific, members of OH petitioned and surveyed Seafirst customers at several branch locations. The hundreds of petitions enabled us to identify people who supported preserving the Pacific Hotel as housing. The surveys showed that Seafirst customers supported our campaign to use the Pacific Hotel to house people.
Coalition Building
While we attacked Seafirst's public image with demonstrations and press reports, we began to narrow in on Luke Helms. While we could not confirm that Helms himself rejected the purchase offer, we knew that he had the power to decide the future of the Pacific Hotel.
Getting a meeting with Helms was out of the question, although we asked anyway, figuring that the rejection would justify future direct actions. Sure enough, the rejection letter came. Hal Green, Seafirst's negotiator during the occupation, responded in February 1993 writing a short note ending with, "A meeting at this time would not be useful."
Unable to reach Helms, we decided to look for "secondary targets," people who may have influence over Helms and would be sympathetic to our position. Our search for such individuals led us to the Governor's Task Force on Economic Development and Environmental Policy.
One way in which Governor Mike Lowry thanked his 1992 electoral coalition was to appoint key Labor, Environmental, Minority, and Church leaders to his Task Force on Economic Development and Environmental Policy. To complete the Task Force, Lowry appointed the state's most prominent banker, Luke Helms. The purpose of the Task Force was to set priorities and parameters for the state's economic growth.
OH approached selected members of the Task Force one by one. They each supported our goal of saving the Pacific Hotel as affordable housing. In March of 1993, four key members of the Task Force-Dr. Robert Jeffrey of the Black Dollar Days Task Force, Ron Judd of the King County Labor Council, Darlene Madenwald of the Washington Environmental Council, and Reverend Elaine Stanovsky of the Church Council of Greater Seattle-wrote a letter to Luke Helms urging him to sell the Pacific Hotel.
We also approached Mayor Rice, for he and Helms had cooperated on several recent endeavors. After months of prodding him, Rice also wrote to Helms. Rice's letter started with "Dear Luke" and ended with, "I know that you recognize the need for additional low-income housing in our community and will look at the potential use of the Pacific Hotel in that light." We may have said it differently, but the Mayor made his point.
Following Luke Home
While we built a coalition, we continued to put the responsibility for the vacant Pacific Hotel directly on Luke Helms. One tactic we employed repeatedly was to show up whenever Helms appeared in public. Whether it was a speaking engagement, conference or simply a meeting, we distributed our "Can We Trust Seafirst?" flyers in public areas. Our repeated presence was no doubt an irritant and possibly a source of embarrassment to Helms.
One of the difficulties of the campaign was measuring our effectiveness. Even if it was possible to gauge public opinion, a supportive public did not guarantee a saved building.
Our boycott of Seafirst was largely symbolic. Burned bank cards and canceled checking accounts would not appear on the bottom line of the state's largest bank. They do, however, further the perception of public dissatisfaction.
Our coalition building efforts would only be successful if Helms needed the support of the other Task Force members and Mayor Rice. If he could get what he needed through other means, he might not be inclined to act on the urging of his peers.
Among all the uncertainties in our campaign, a clear and positive sign emerged: In early Spring of 1993, Seafirst and Plymouth Housing Group renewed discussions about the sale of the Pacific Hotel.
The Final Action
By April 1993, news that Seafirst was reconsidering selling the Pacific to an affordable housing provider energized the campaign. We decided to escalate our direct confrontations with Luke Helms. In mid-April, a group of OHers demonstrated in front of Helms' Mercer Island home.
It was a Saturday morning, and Helms was either not home or hiding. We distributed information to Helms's neighbors and wrapped his car in the hundreds of petitions (copies, of course) which demanded the sale of the Pacific.
The event received good media coverage, but perhaps its real power was in its potential. We knew where Helms lived and now he knew we were will willing to take our cause to his doorstep. By going to Helms's house, we crossed the personal/professional boundary. Whereas our previous tactics occurred within Helms's professional arena, a demonstration at his house was clearly upping the ante.
Seafirst Gives In, Sells Pacific Hotel
On May 19, 1993, Seafirst officials held a press conference to announce the signing of a purchase and sale agreement for the Pacific Hotel with Plymouth Housing Group. At the conference Luke Helms thanked Mayor Rice and Plymouth Housing Group. Seafirst sold the Pacific for $2.1 million, substantially less than the asking price eight months before.
Not surprisingly, Seafirst officials did not invite Operation Homestead to the press conference. We learned about our victory when a reporter called for a comment about Seafirst's decision. The Seattle Times reporter got his quotation when member Jim True shouted "Yes, yes, yes!"
To wrap up the campaign to save the Pacific Hotel, we celebrated at the next OH meeting. Later, we sent over 50 thank you announcements to the many individuals and groups that had advocated for the sale of the building.
From the takeover planning meetings to the demonstration at Luke Helms's house, OH's campaign to save the Pacific Hotel lasted almost one year. The path the group blazed in order to save the building left members with much to be proud of.
A week-long occupation had brought together hundreds of people from different backgrounds. The tragedy of abandoned buildings and Seattle's shelter crisis became front page news.
We opened a self-managed shelter in the IBEW Local 46 auditorium that got 50 people off the streets every night and kept a community of people together. SHARE continues to provide support to the shelter, which had its third anniversary this past November.
An alliance of religious, environmental, minority, labor, and housing leaders and organizations joined forces to advocate for affordable housing. Speaking as one voice, this alliance made a strong statement to the state's largest lending institution in favor of a more resourceful use of abandoned housing.
Our membership gained confidence from the victory and set its sights on future abandoned properties.
Finally, we accomplished what we set out to do. We made sure that a 106-unit building would provide housing to people who need it most.
With struggle, there is progress.
Plymouth Housing Group closed the sale of the Pacific Hotel in early 1994. SHARE facilitated an overnight shelter in the building from April-December 1994, when major renovation work began. In October 1995, The Pacific Hotel reopened as permanent housing for homeless men and women.