Petition calls on Katie Wilson to resign as Seattle public safety debate intensifies

Change Washington, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on government accountability, public safety, and livability, has launched a petition calling for Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson to resign, pointing to the city’s ongoing public-safety problems and the administration’s handling of the deadly Bite of Seattle shooting as evidence supporting its position.

The petition comes after months of scrutiny of Wilson’s leadership, including questions about homelessness, drug activity, gun violence, and Seattle’s ability to respond effectively when a major crisis occurs.

Those concerns intensified after the July 26 shooting at the Bite of Seattle, where three people were killed and four others were wounded.

More than six weeks later, Seattle still has not provided a complete account of what happened inside City Hall that night. Internal communications released by Wilson’s office showed officials debating who should communicate with the public, whether the mayor should go to Seattle Center, and how the mayor’s office and Seattle Police Department should coordinate. The records also showed Wilson’s public safety director asking police to delay a planned briefing because the mayor was on her way.

The public briefing ultimately did not begin until around 11 p.m., hours after the shooting. Wilson’s office also initially released incorrect information stating that two suspects were in custody. Additional records from the city’s response have yet to provide a definitive explanation for the full delay.

Future 42 has previously raised questions about the administration’s handling of the shooting and the lack of clear information about the investigation in the weeks that followed.

But frustration with Seattle’s public-safety strategy now extends well beyond the Bite response.

On Sept. 10, a coalition organized by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Challenge Seattle, and the Washington Roundtable called on Wilson and the City Council to develop a 100-day public-safety action plan with measurable goals and greater accountability. The coalition included major Seattle-area employers and community organizations.

Five days later, Wilson unveiled a new gun-violence strategy that would reorganize and expand several existing programs, increase bicycle patrols, shift community violence intervention programs into the CARE Department, invest in youth programs and mental-health services, and create new partnerships to evaluate the city’s approach. Wilson said the plan would provide a more coordinated and data-driven response to gun violence.

Some members of the Seattle City Council were not convinced.

Councilmember Maritza Rivera described the mayor’s proposal as “more of the same” and said she was “underwhelmed.” Hours after Wilson announced her plan, the Council voted 7-0, with two abstentions, for Rivera’s separate resolution calling for Seattle to partner with the National Network for Safe Communities on a focused-deterrence strategy.

That proposal calls for a two-year, roughly $418,000 partnership in which the organization would analyze Seattle’s violence patterns, coordinate law enforcement, social-service providers, and community groups, provide strategic guidance, and evaluate the results.

The disagreement at City Hall adds another chapter to a larger debate over Wilson’s leadership and Seattle’s direction.

Change Washington’s petition argues that the Bite of Seattle response, persistent public-safety problems, homelessness and drug activity, and concerns about the city’s economic direction together justify Wilson stepping down.

The petition is not a recall and has no legal mechanism to remove Wilson from office. Change Washington describes it instead as a way for Seattle residents and other Washingtonians who agree with its position to register that view publicly.

Read and sign Change Washington’s petition here.

This petition gives Washingtonians a public way to register where they stand on Wilson’s leadership and Seattle’s direction.

Screenshot: Seattle Channel / City of Seattle