Mayor Wilson walks back opposition to surveillance cameras, Councilmember Lin wants to repeal stadium district housing law, state commission deals a blow to public defense, and more.
By Erica C. Barnett
Tuesday, February 17
State Ruling Represents a Blow to Public Defense
A state commission ruled that King County was not required to bargain with unionized staff for the county’s Department of Public Defense (DPD) before moving inmates from the King County jail in downtown Seattle to the South Correctional Entity (SCORE), a decision with potentially serious implications for caseloads and staffing levels at DPD and other public defense agencies.
Settlement In SPD Killing of 23-Year-Old Will Cost Taxpayers Millions
A $29,011,000 settlement in the 2023 killing of pedestrian Jaahnavi Kandula, who was struck in a crosswalk by a Seattle police officer driving 74 miles an hour in a 25-mile-an-hour zone, maxed out the city’s insurance policy, which has a $10 million deductible and a maximum of $20 million. Rising insurance claims, including from settlements with SPD, are putting a strain on the city’s budget.
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Wednesday, February 18
In State of the City, Wilson Punts on Key Issues—Including Sweeps and Police Surveillance
In her first State of the City speech, Mayor Katie Wilson outlined a policy agenda that was still short on details—and punted on major issues, such as how she plans to add 1,000 new shelter beds this year and whether she will expand police surveillance cameras into more Seattle neighborhoods.
Seattle Nice Interviews Progressive Legislator-Turned-Chamber Leader Joe Nguyen
Our first guest on Seattle Nice this week was former Democratic state legislator-turned-Seattle Chamber leader Joe Nguyen, who told us he sees no contradiction between his past as an pro-tax progressive legislator and his present job as the head of the city’s anti-tax business lobby group.
Thursday, February 19
City Council Proposal Would Repeal Law That Allowed Housing Near Stadiums
Seattle City Councilmember Eddie Lin is introducing legislation to repeal a law that would have allowed apartments in the Stadium District just south of downtown, undoing a longstanding priority of housing developers and handing a significant win to the Port of Seattle and unions representing port workers.
Friday, February 20
In an exclusive interview, Mayor Katie Wilson elaborated on her plans for her first year, telling us how her position has changed on police cameras since taking office and how she plans to balance her campaign commitment to add 1,000 new shelter beds by the end of the year with a budget deficit and the need to build permanent housing.
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City Council weighs in on mayor’s pick for Seattle’s highest-paid job
CITY LIGHT|Wilson’s firing of CEO Lindell, choice for her replacement draw complaints.
By DAVID KROMAN – Seattle Times staff reporter
Members of the Seattle City Council are putting conditions on Mayor Katie Wilson’s pick to lead Seattle City Light, reflecting their concern by her decision to fire the utility’s previous CEO and her initial pick for her replacement.
Wilson last month fired CEO Dawn Lindell and announced that a longtime City Light worker, Craig Smith, would step in as interim before former EPA administrator Dennis McLerran would take over as acting CEO early next month.
Though grumbling about staffing decisions is common whenever a new mayor takes office, the reaction to Lindell’s firing was even more heightened than usual. The local electrical workers union, IBEW77, collected more than 6,000 signatures demanding she be rehired and the MLK Labor coalition passed a resolution calling for a more open and transparent process for naming a new CEO.
Members of the council, too, were frustrated with Wilson’s decision, with some saying they were not alerted ahead of time. Councilmember Bob Kettle read out loud an email he received from an angry City Light employee during a council meeting and some made a case to Wilson to reverse course and rehire Lindell, to no avail.
Now, in a letter to Wilson this week, Council President Joy Hollingsworth and Councilmember Dan Strauss said they were “concerned” about the stability of the utility’s leadership and listed four qualifications for the new CEO — several of which McLerran does not meet.
“During the Enron financial scandal, Seattle had a CEO of SCL who was a good person and an experienced administrator but lacked utility experience,” the letter reads. “This lack of utility experience led to a 58 percent rate increase and $500 million in additional debt while neighboring Tacoma, who had a CEO with utility experience, responded with grounded leadership and avoided the harm SCL experienced.”
It’s significant that Hollingsworth and Strauss sent the letter, despite neither chairing the committee that oversees City Light (that falls to Interim Councilmember Debora Juarez). As president and chair of the finance committee, those two must sign the paperwork to get Wilson’s picks on the payroll. In their letter, they say they’ve signed Smith’s, but don’t commit to doing so for McLerran — nor do they ever use his name — saying only they are “providing the qualifications we invite you to have represented in any future interim or permanent candidate for Seattle City Light CEO.”
Mayoral spokesperson Sage Wilson, who’s unrelated to the mayor, said McLerran would not be Wilson’s permanent pick to lead Seattle City Light, despite some early confusion. He promised a broader search, though no timeline has been set.
Lindell was tapped to lead City Light by former Mayor Bruce Harrell in 2024. Before that she was general manager of Burbank Water and Power in California.
During her year and a half on the job, she oversaw the utility’s first foray into new sources of clean energy beyond hydro, including solar and wind, to bolster the city’s electrical supply ahead of forecast shortages beginning in 2028.
She also managed the fallout from revelations that an entire team of front-line workers were drinking on the job, part of an investigation that began before she took over. Lindell doled out the punishment, including firing five people.
Steve Kovac, who leads IBEW77, praised Lindell, saying he never filed a grievance against her despite the discipline she gave out to members of his union.
“I will say in my 45 years that I’ve been associated with City Light, she is by far the most knowledgeable CEO and general manager I’ve dealt with,” he said.
Wilson’s administration has not offered a full explanation for her decision to fire Lindell.
After she left, Craig Smith, a longtime executive at both Snohomish public utilities and Seattle City Light, took over. He is overseeing things until McLerran’s planned March 4 start date and is then planning to retire.
McLerran, a lawyer, has a long history in environmental policy work, including as regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, covering Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
However, he does not have any direct experience overseeing a utility. That has been a concern for both union representatives and members of the Seattle City Council.
“Historically, you can look back at the CEOs who didn’t come out of the utility industry, they were fired because they couldn’t do the job,” Kovac said.
City Light is at a crucial moment in its history. The clean hydroelectricity it’s depended on for more than 100 years is forecast to come up short, starting in just a matter of years, as demand for electricity rapidly climbs.
At the same time, the utility faces broad infrastructure issues, including $3 billion worth of underground cables that need replacing.
Meanwhile, the utility is in the process of relicensing its Skagit and Tolt river dams, which are highly complex and diplomatically sensitive efforts.
To top it off, it’s still reeling from revelations of the investigation into drinking on the job and sexual harassment that implicated 40 employees.
After winning election, Wilson initially sounded interested in continuity in department leadership over change. But while she’s retained some key figures, including police chief Shon Barnes, she’s made big changes elsewhere, including to the departments and offices in charge of transportation, arts and culture, parks and recreation, housing, economic development, the environment and sustainability, and neighborhoods.
David Kroman: 206-464-3196 or dkroman@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @KromanDavid. David Kroman is a reporter at The Seattle Times who covers politics and Seattle City Hall, focusing on the City Council, mayor, city attorney’s office and other city agencies.