King County’s homelessness authority CEO steps down after two years
(The Center Square) – King County Regional Homelessness Authority CEO Marc Dones is stepping down from the role after serving as head of the agency since 2021.
In a letter addressed to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and King County Executive Dow Constantine, Dones compares the role as CEO of the agency to “a relay race,” adding that the time spent as head of the homelessness authority was more of a sprint.
“As a queer black person, I have watched many members of my community burn out trying to hold too much for too many and I have watched them become unable to contribute the full breadth of their talent or vision to the work,” Dones said in a letter. “ I have watched them become bitter and destructive and what I know is that I don’t want that for myself.”
Dones played a major role in the design of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. Since the agency started, 100 people were hired, 13 long-standing homeless encampments were resolved and an emergency housing voucher strategy was implemented. The CEO’s salary was $247,200 a year, according to The Seattle Times.
However, Dones’ time as the head of the agency came with controversies. In April 2022, Dones chose to use funding on other projects, rather than on a tiny house village owned by the Low Income Housing Institute, which would shelter 50 to 60 people who are unhoused.
The village ultimately received the necessary funds from a private foundation grant to begin services.
The King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s recently proposed five-year plan also received pushback from officials throughout the county for its price tag of $11.8 billion.
Recently, the authority had asked Continuum of Care Board Co-Chair Shanéé Colston to step down from her role following a board meeting where she shouted down a fellow board member who spoke out against the appointment of a new board member who is a registered sex offender.
Dones provided recommendations for the agency in the letter. This includes revisiting the structure of the agency’s Implementation Board, as it has not provided a critical oversight over the last two years, according to Dones.
The other recommendation included in the letter was to focus less on who is to blame for the homelessness crisis and more on identifying the underlying causes of the crisis instead.
Constantine and Harrell published a joint-statement following Dones’ resignation and announced King County Regional Homelessness Authority Deputy Chief Executive Officer Helen Howell will take over as the interim CEO in June.
