🎧 Power of Place Episode #10 | Dreams of Abundance - Roger Valdez

Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest

Join us in this episode for a conversation spanning Realpolitik, capitalism and moral philosophy with affordable housing activist Roger Valdez, founder of Seattle for Growth. As the chief lobbyist behind Washington State’s 2005 cigarette ban, Roger understands that social and policy change is incremental and often glacial. Washington’s legislation came a full 40 years after the Surgeon General’s warning – a lesson that advocacy requires stoicism and perseverance. Hear Roger’s prescient economic analysis, influenced by Nobel Laureate F.A. Hayek, of Seattle’s housing crisis and his arguments in favor of further development. Propelled by his Christian faith, Roger embraces urban density as an opportunity for neighborly love and community. “Abundance does create opportunity, and it creates competition between producers, which benefits the consumer.” - Roger Valdez