Welcome to The Newsfeed.

The homelessness crisis continues to confound local leaders in Washington.

New King County Executive Girmay Zahilay hopes to tackle the issue with his set of priorities.

We sat down with him to talk about his plans, which he calls "Breaking the Cycle," acknowledging that there are so many issues contributing to the problem.

The three category areas that I think about when I think about solving this problem are coordination, resources, and accountability.

When it comes to coordination, it's the idea that if all of these systems have a role, whether it's the jail or our public health system or our housing system, then they all need to be talking to each other more.

They need to coordinate better.

Number two is resources.

The scale of the housing crisis and the homelessness crisis is so large.

That's why I want to explore this housing levy concept.

I'm not committed to it yet, but having a dedicated source of money, especially in light of all the resources we're losing from the federal government, is key.

And finally, it's accountability.

I want to make sure that every single dollar that we collect in taxes goes to its highest use, and we're funding all of the things that work.

You mentioned that levy that you're considering.

Yeah.

Do you think that that's something that could pass?

I think people are conflicted, just like I am.

The cost of living is going up.

At the same time, we can't abandon our commitment to the most vulnerable people in our community, and that means making sure that the big shelter in SODO that is set to close in May of 2027.

That's a problem because we can't just displace hundreds of unhoused people out into the streets.

That's something that our taxpayers and our communities don't want either.

All this week, we're bringing you parts of our sit-down with Executive Zahilay.

I'm Paris Jackson.

Thank you for watching The Newsfeed.