Why are Realtors spending big bucks on Seattle City Council races this year?

Groups representing local real estate agents are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on four City Council races in Seattle this year.

Taylor Shanaman, government affairs director for Seattle-King County Realtors, said part of their goal is to elect “pragmatic” candidates — meaning business-friendly types who will return their phone calls.

The National Association of Realtors is ponying up more than $200,000 to buy ads in Seattle through its political action committee arm, according to state PDC filings. And local real estate groups are partnering with other businesses to spend hundreds of thousands more, through various committees such as "Friends of SE Seattle."

The groups are backing four candidates in Seattle this year: Bob Kettle in District 7, which includes downtown; Tanya Woo in District 2 in South Seattle; Joy Hollingsworth in District 3, which includes Capitol Hill and the Central area; and Maritza Rivera in District 4 in Northeast Seattle.

According to Shanaman, real estate agents, along with other members of the business community, want to elect candidates who will move the city more to the center on issues like homelessness and public safety.

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In part, Shanaman said, that’s just what the majority of folks in the real estate business personally believe, ideologically. But improving what Shanaman calls “quality of life” in Seattle is also good for business. Think: property values.

Real estate groups also prefer candidates who will advance their legislative priorities when it comes to housing and land use policy. In general, they want fewer regulations or real estate taxes, for example.

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However, some of the candidates who got backing from these real estate-aligned PACs aren’t totally aligned with their views on certain issues, like rent control. Real estate groups opposed to price controls on rents say it would deter developers.

But Joy Hollingsworth and Tanya Woo told KUOW they would support some form of rent control, while a third real-estate backed candidate Maritza Rivera said she "maybe" she would support it.

Only one of the candidates agreed with the real estate lobby wholeheartedly on the issue of rent control.

Bob Kettle, who is running against incumbent Andrew Lewis in Seattle’s District 7, said he would vote against any form of rent control.