Seattle’s socialist mayor, Katie Wilson, faces a recall challenge over her handling of public safety, as her approval rating tumbles.
City residents Melinda Jacobson and Dale Osterud filed the petition, accusing Ms. Wilson of dereliction of duty in maintaining order and enforcing the law during the roughly eight months she has been in office.
A King County Superior Court judge will review the petition Monday in a hearing. If the judge sides with the petitioners, the recall can proceed with a signature campaign for a special election ballot.
The recall movement would need nearly 70,000 signatures to force a special election.
Ms. Wilson said in a statement that her administration is “aware of the petition that has been filed. While it does not appear to have merit, our focus remains where it belongs: on making life safer and more affordable for the people of Seattle.”
The petition specifically calls out Ms. Wilson’s “hasty” decision to push out former Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, the mayor’s inability to crack down on turf wars between pimps on North Aurora Avenue, persistent open-air drug use in the tourist-heavy Belltown and Chinatown neighborhoods and the mayor’s decision to shut down CCTV surveillance cameras throughout the city.
Some of those safety issues have made national news, such as when North Aurora Avenue residents erected makeshift barriers on side streets to prevent rival prostitution rings from speeding. The pimps would trade gunfire on the avenue, leaving nearby homes pierced by stray bullets.
Ms. Wilson’s move to shut down the CCTV cameras connected to Seattle police’s Real Time Crime Center follows through on a campaign promise to audit the surveillance apparatus and the data it gathers.
But during the FIFA World Cup, in which Seattle hosted six matches over the month-long tournament, Ms. Wilson opted to reactivate the cameras around Lumen Field for security reasons — before unplugging them again once the matches had ended.
Her judgment on public safety was hammered following last month’s deadly mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival. A suspected gang-fueled shootout killed two bystanders and a 19-year-old man who police said was one of the shooters. Four others were wounded, including a 2-year-old boy.
Investigators charged a 15-year-old boy in the shooting but determined that his weapon was not responsible for any of the fatalities. Police have yet to bring murder charges.
Members of the Seattle City Council, such as Public Safety Committee Chairman Bob Kettle, have skewered Ms. Wilson for lackluster behavior during the incident.
“We can’t rely on a wish strategy or hope strategy,” Mr. Kettle, a Democrat, said last week at a news conference. “This isn’t rocket science, but we don’t have a plan.”
He said it remains unclear how the mayor’s administration coordinated with city agencies to deliver a cohesive response to the shooting.
For example, police delayed giving a public briefing about the killings because key department officials had not been reached. Former Chief Barnes was out of town and could not attend a news conference on the festival shooting.
Ms. Wilson asked Chief Barnes to step down due to the communication lapses afterward.
“Since taking office, we’re delivering meaningful progress: expanding community crisis responder hours, launching universal school meals this September, banning rental junk fees, accelerating shelter expansion, expanding transit, investing in our libraries, and taking on unfair pricing at grocery stores. That work continues,” the mayor said in a statement about the petition. “The courts will address any questions. We will address the needs of Seattle.”
The tumult is affecting public perceptions of Ms. Wilson, who narrowly defeated incumbent mayor Bruce Harrell, a Democrat, in 2025.
A poll released last week showed approval ratings for the mayor have fallen 20 percentage points since April. The poll was commissioned by the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce.
In total, 62% of voters held an unfavorable view of her and 37% had a favorable view.
The online survey of 500 voters gave Ms. Wilson a “D” rating on multiple public safety topics, from “making the city safer” and “reducing crime and homeless camps” to evaluating the city’s response to the Bite of Seattle shooting.
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