Recall charges have officially been filed against Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, accusing the radical leftist of failing her city on the issue of public safety due to a number of incidents, including the Bite of Seattle shooting and the forced resignation of Police Chief Shon Barnes while in the middle of conducting a homicide investigation.
Local media outlet KIRO Newsradio spoke with the woman who filed the charges, Melinda Jacobson, who said that she had been considering the action for months before being pushed to pull the proverbial trigger on it by the way Wilson handled Barnes’ resignation. “When she first started, I thought she deserved the benefit of the doubt. But my big thing is public safety, and how she’s failed this city miserably in that regard,” Jacobson went on to say.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but the icing on the cake, so to speak, was when she forced the resignation of Chief Barnes; that did it. Talking to other like-minded people, I decided that if somebody doesn’t do this, I have to do it. So I stepped up to the plate,” Jacobson added. The recall charges will now receive a technical review by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO).
According to a report from My Northwest, if the charges meet all the technical requirements, the KCPAO will then create a ballot synopsis and file it with the Superior Court. A judge will then decide whether the charges meet the bar for malfeasance or misfeasance or demonstrate that Wilson violated her oath of office.
If the recall charges make it through both steps, proponents would then have 180 days to gather enough signatures to qualify a recall election for the ballot. Jacobson was asked if Wilson’s handling of the gang-related mass shooting during the Bite of Seattle or Barnes resignation influenced her decision to file. She said the events “cemented” her decision.
“I have not been a fan of hers. I have been to one meeting where she presided in person; I was not impressed,” Jacobson explained. “I was certainly not impressed with what she did on air for Bite of Seattle, and what she’s done since then. That cemented it, where she has to go. She’s not doing this city any favors by staying in as mayor.”
She then spoke about Wilson’s silence on a number of widespread issues impacting the city, including acts of violence that occurred on Aurora Avenue. Residents have stated that complaints made to the mayor over shootings and prostitution have been made daily, but Wilson has not taken any action to address the problem.
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“One of the things was the Aurora problem. When I talked to some of the people directly involved with the horrible situation there, and found out that she had ignored their phone calls, emails, and attempts to meet in person for over six months. That is appalling. There’s no other word for it,” Jacobson elaborated. “Well, there is another word for it, but I’m not going to say it.”
“Then the business about the World Cup, and she had, quote, unquote, a credible threat, so that’s why she chose to turn the cameras on,” Jacobson continued. “She just turned them off after the World Cup was over. I don’t know where she’s getting these ideas. What is wrong with her thinking? If I hear anything more about studies, I mean, that is ridiculous. That’s passing the buck. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.”
Jacobson later said that even if the recall effort fails, she and others will continue to apply pressure to Wilson and her administration to address the problems she’s been ignoring. KIRO Newsradio then reached out to Wilson’s office and they issued a statement on the situation, saying the petition “does not appear to have merit.”
“We’re 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 statement went on to say. It then explained the different areas the administration has been focusing on since Wilson became the mayor.
“Since taking office, we’re delivering meaningful progress: expanding community crisis responder hours, launching universal 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 courts will address any questions. We will address the needs of Seattle,” the statement concluded.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video