Some time on Tuesday night a garbage filled RV/Trailer was left directly in front District 1 Councilmember Lisa Herbold's home in Highland Park. The person who did it, and even the owner are unclear at this time, but it's more than likely a political stunt. The problem of parking RV's and trailers has been part of the Seattle housing and homeless issue for the last few years. Herbold issued a statement about the matter saying:

"This is not the first time a RV has been parked in front of my house.  What is a first for me are the stunts like the one we saw last night – with individuals taking matters into their own hands, and doing so to create political theatre, not productive solutions.

The City’s RV Remediation program, for which I fought hard to secure funding last year, is in place to address the issues we all face – even Councilmembers – in many neighborhoods across our city. 

The program addresses issues related to clusters of illegally parked RVs. SPU is the lead on an interdepartmental team that identifies the groups of RVs.  The team then ranks those locations every month, according to objective public health and public safety impacts at the sites.  The team does not rank the locations they prioritize in response to threats and intimidation of city officials.  The team then notifies the vehicle owners that they are in violation of City law and then cleans the right-of-way after the RVs leave the site.  According to SPU’s 2018 Annual Report, the RV Remediation Team completed 51 RV remediations in 13 neighborhoods. So far, in 2019 there have been 42 remediations.  In fact, the majority of cleans occur in the South Precinct, due to the quantity of high-ranking RV sites located in this area. 

The Council is currently in budget deliberations. The Mayor has proposed to expand the RV remediation program.  Instead of mocking the people who live in RVs, the person responsible for this charade could participate in the City’s efforts to work towards a solution."

Herbold's opponent in the upcoming election Phil Tavel said, "I understand that people in Seattle are frustrated, but I am disappointed that this is the outcome. I have spoken with Councilmember Herbold about the incident and we agree, civility is central to collaborative progress for our community. Right now, the best way you can make your voice heard loud and clear is to vote."