“The scariest message was one where I said, “LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!” and he responded, “NEVER.'”
By Erica C. Barnett
UPDATE: After this story ran, numerous local elected officials and the King County Democrats, as well as women’s advocates,he called on Wilson, an elected official who can only be ousted by a recall vote, to resign. By the end of the day, the list included Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, Interim King County Executive Shannon Braddock, state Sen. Manka Dhingra, and King County Executive candidates Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay.
“While he is entitled to due process under the law for any possible criminal or civil charges, holding public office is a privilege, not a right. And with that privilege comes the responsibility of holding the trust of the people who have elected you,” Balducci said. “These latest revelations show that he clearly has breached that trust.”
Zahilay said, “The allegations reported today against King County Assessor and County Executive candidate John Arthur Wilson are deeply disturbing. Stalking and harassment have no place in our community, and absolutely no place in the leadership of our region’s largest local government.”
“I am appalled by the stories of County Assessor Wilson’s conduct and want to add my voice to the community and elected leaders calling on him to resign his position,” Harrell said. “While he has a right to due legal process, the published allegations are disqualifying for public office. We need to send a clear message to survivors of intimate partner abuse that this type of behavior by people in positions of trust is not tolerated.”
Original story follows.
King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson, who’s running for King County Executive, has been accused of stalking and harassment by his domestic partner, local public affairs consultant Lee Keller, who obtained a temporary restraining order against Wilson earlier this month and filed for a dissolution of their domestic partnership.
Keller previously obtained a restraining order against Wilson in 2024 but let the order lapse, telling the Seattle Times she and Wilson had worked out their differences and were engaged to be married.
According to Keller’s new petition, she “permanently and clearly ended” her relationship with Wilson on April 15 of this year. “However, as he has done repeatedly in the past, John is now continuing a pattern of harassment, stalking, and coercive control,” sending her old photos and other “mementos of our relationship” along with “letters declaring his undying love. He dismisses my demands to be left alone as ‘just an unfortunate distraction.'”
“The scariest message was one where I said, “LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!” and he responded, “NEVER,'” Keller wrote.
In her 2024 petition, Keller accused Wilson of creating fake social media personas to contact her after she blocked him; tracking her whereabouts; taking photos of her without her knowledge and texting them to her; and showing up at her home late at night, demanding to be let in. In August of 2024, Keller wrote, Wilson contacted the employer of a man she had dated to falsely accuse him of sexually assaulting her, texting her, “He deserves my wrath. Fuck him” and “Tough shit if he gets fired.”
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Wilson responded to a request for an interview with an email claiming he and Keller were still together and that she had already withdrawn her request for a restraining order. “Lee and I have been involved in a personal relationship for over four years. That relationship continues,” he wrote. “We are not going to talk about the details of our private relationship.”
“There is no restraining order. There are no ongoing legal issues involving us,” Wilson said. Court records do not reflect this; the most recent filing in Keller’s case is a notice from her attorney about the dates she’ll be unavailable to appear in court this year.
Shortly after Wilson emailed PubliCola, Lee reached out to say that he was not authorized to speak for her, then sent us a statement through her attorney.
“This is a personal matter that is being resolved. I am not in a relationship with John Wilson. I am not involved in his legal issues with King County,” Keller said. “I’m moving forward and will not be discussing details of the dissolution or restraining order at this time other than to say the restraining order is active and remains in place.”
Wilson has retained his job as King County Assessor—an elected position that pays about $225,000 a year—and most stories about the county executive race have decorously omitted any mention of Keller’s allegations. Wilson has only raised about $65,000, included maxed-out donations from the CEO of a Bellevue liposuction provider, Fremont business owner Suzie Burke, former city attorney Mark Sidran, and Dunn Lumber’s Michael and Leslie Dunn. In contrast, frontrunners Girmay Zahilay and Claudia Balducci, both King County Councilmembers, have raised more than $700,000 and $550,000, respectively.
Why exactly is John Wilson running for county executive? He seems to be running as an old style Republican critical of the Democrats establishment that he’s part of. John should get out of the race now, take leave from his post, and get professional help. He hasn’t just alienated women, he’s alienating everyone.