ILWU Local 19 has been fighting to keep the area around the Port of Seattle industry-based rather than congested by non-shipping interests. A recent editorial by the Seattle Times’ Danny Westneat backed up their case:
I support bringing back the NBA. But the idea of turning surrounding blocks, especially to the south or west where the Port is, into an L.A. Live glitz district ought to be sent back where it came from. The city, as a condition for final approval of the arena, ought to just zone it out of existence.
Because [Sodo business owner Eli] Reich is right. What kind of jobs do we want in this city? At the least we ought to be trying to keep some of the ones we’ve had since the 1800s.
We don’t need to make “Sodo Live.” It already is.
Read the full article at the Seattle Times