Category: Blog

“Hello! My name is Claudia Alexandra Paras. I’m a mixed-race Filipina American immigrant with citizenship privilege. I moved to the U.S. in 1998 with scholarships to attend the University of Redlands in Southern California. After graduating, I moved to Seattle (on a whim to be near water again) and started planting my PNW roots through cultivating deep friendships, learning how to organize in our communities and centering social justice in my work.”

“I worked at Sage from 2012 to 2016, starting as a coalition organizer who supported the workers organizing at SeaTac Airport. I helped create and build the Interfaith Economic Justice Coalition (IEJC) that stood with airport workers in their fights for a living wage, which became the landmark $15 SeaTac ballot initiative in 2013 which had rippling effect on minimum wage fights around the country. I’m very proud of the role Sage played in that campaign and my contribution to organizing a dedicated coalition of interfaith leaders to stand with workers through all their challenges. After this campaign win, my role at Sage changed to Lead Organizer and then later on to Deputy Director.”

“I have over 20 years of experience in immigrant adult education, grass-roots community organizing, campaign and coalition organizing, fundraising, managing government contracts and strategic planning. For the past three years, I’ve been a consultant with a focus on supporting non-profit organizations, unions and government departments to create strategic plans, fundraise and develop leadership. I love what I do – it gives me the chance to work with a lot of people of color leaders and their staff who are value centered, super-skilled and care deeply for working people and their families.”

“Last year, I facilitated the creation of Sage’s new Strategic Plan for 2025-2030, which has felt like completing a large orbit in my professional life, returning to an organization I have always loved and seeing what has changed and grown in my absence. I’m grateful to be part of implementing Sage’s long-term vision in my role as Interim Executive Director for the next 4 months, especially as we continue to navigate the challenges of our current political climate.”

Favorite memory of working at Sage? “Organizing the IEJC contingent for May 1st Rally in 2014 to defend the SeaTac Ballot Initiative. My Mom (also an immigrant) came to that rally and it was a sweet moment for the political and personal.”

Favorite food in the CID? “Szechuan Noodle Bowl – the dumplings!!”

Favorite Movement Quote? “We need dreamers who act, not actors who dream” by Lorena Barros

On February 13th, Sage’s Aretha Basu and Eliana Horn along with Yordanos Teferi of Multicultural Community Coalition (MCC) and Chelsea Lee from Eastside for All, traveled to Olympia representing the King County Equitable Development Initiative Coalition to talk with legislators about Sage’s first bill in Olympia, SB 5138 which would change the uses of AIRBNB tax, otherwise known as short term lodging tax, to include equitable development in King County.

Seattle already has the ability to use the AIRBNB tax for equitable development and it is a consistent portion of funding for the Seattle Equitable Development Initiative (EDI). With an EDI starting up in King County, we are fighting to make sure the County has the same ability as the City of Seattle. And great news, the day before arriving in Olympia, our bill passed the Senate because of your support! We spoke with seven legislators about this bill and are looking forward to continuing to move it through the House in the coming month!

Our Senior Climate Policy Manager Debolina Banerjee also joined Front and Centered’s Advocacy Day this past month to lobby for HB 1903, which calls for a statewide energy assistance program. No one should have to choose between energy and their other basic needs. While there are a variety of energy assistance programs out there, according to Washington State Department of Commerce only about one in five low-income households who qualify were being served by such programs as of 2023.

Make sure to follow our partners at Front and Centered to get updates on this important bill!

Puget Sound Sage is part of the GREAT for All CID coalition, a collective of BIPOC organizations, small business owners, grassroots groups, workers and tenants who come together to discuss equitable transit-oriented development and land stewardship in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District.

We envision a Chinatown-International District that remains stable and prosperous for our working class, immigrant and multiracial communities.

As a coalition, we call on the City of Seattle, King County and Sound Transit to undo the institutional harms of generations past that have seen the Chinatown-International District simply as a place to get through for other people, with little care for the people who call the neighborhood home. We call for a North South option for Sound Transit station location, which allows the neighborhood to grow and thrive for working class communities for the next 100 years.

The Chinatown-International District, like Seattle, should remain livable and affordable for communities that are poor, working class and whose labor and presence keep this city vibrant, cultural and authentic. Learn more about our vision here.

Check out our new website to read more about our vision for the future and how you can get involved, including upcoming advocacy and organizing opportunities. Our website is available in English, Chinese, and Vietnamese.

Since the progressive tax was first passed in 2020, revenue from JumpStart has been solely dedicated to funding critical community services with a long-term spending plan on affordable housing, climate resilience and equitable development programs. JumpStart has become the single largest source of funding for affordable housing in Seattle, accounting for $240 million of the Office of Housing budget between 2022 and 2023. It is also the only funding source for community environmental justice programs, and has become a major funding source in nearly 35 community-led projects intended to root families in place and fight displacement in a city with an ever-skyrocketing cost of living.

JumpStart is a progressive tax on big businesses, specifically those with at least $8 million in annual payroll. It was initially projected to make $227 million by 2024, but as we near the end of the year, it is poised to make $440 million.

Every budget season Mayor Harrell has attempted to take money made from the JumpStart revenue to rebalance the city budget. This incoming budget cycle Harrell plans to change the legislation altogether, changing JumpStart’s spending restriction so the City can use it to backfill the city’s general fund. With this, Harrell also plans to increase the budget of the Seattle Police Department by $60 million.

A drastic increase of this revenue means that the disparity between rich and poor in Seattle is greater than ever before. What is needed is not more policing or encampment sweeps, but a doubling down on investments towards social safety nets, equitable community-driven projects and climate resilience programs to make sure no one is left behind in the name of “progress”.

Puget Sound Sage, along with a broad coalition of progressive organizations, are advocating to stop this proposed legislation. Stay tuned for more updates on JumpStart during this budget season!