Category: LGBTQ+

homelessness, King County, LGBTQ+, Mayor Wilson, Police, Privacy

This Week on PubliCola: August 23, 2026
King County’s uncanny AI “trainer”

KCRHA Layoffs Begin, SPD Chief Files Unfounded Complaint Against Detective, Privacy Advocates vs. Surveillance Cameras and More

By Erica C. Barnett

Monday, August 17

Greater Seattle: Junk Fees, Recalling Wilson, and Ron Davis’ Post-Election Fixation

In his latest column, Josh says Katie Wilson is doing what she said she would do—working to make housing more affordable—even though it pisses off people who supported Bruce Harrell, like the North Seattle couple seeking to recall her. And in what turned out to be a very controversial hot take (at least among Ron Davis supporters), Josh calls the former legislative candidate’s 3,000-word newsletter—which spun a conspiracy theory about why the Stranger didn’t endorse him that the Stranger’s union took the trouble to correct—unhinged.

Tuesday, August 18

As KCRHA Begins Layoffs, Union Suggests Cutting Top Executives First

The King County Regional Homelessness Authority is beginning to scale back, as the city and county take over contracts after a damning forensic audit revealed serious financial issues. The initial layoffs reportedly hit some divisions the agency will still need going forward, while protecting top executives. In a blistering letter, the union representing many KCRHA staff said the agency could save more than half a million dollars by eliminating the jobs of CEO Kelly Kinnison and her deputy William Towey.

As Business-Backed Poll Says Most Support Police Surveillance Cameras, Privacy Advocates Raise Security Concerns

A new business-backed poll showed a huge spike in support for police camera surveillance across Seattle—but the questions are worded in such a pro-surveillance way, it’s hard to know how much organic support the poll represents. Meanwhile, privacy advocates who toured SPD’s surveillance HQ said what they learned made them even more concerned that surveillance footage could escape containment and get into the hands of ICE or hackers.

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Thursday, August 20

King County Enlists Uncanny AI Videos for Ethics Training

King County is using what it calls an “innovative tool” to train 4,000 executive branch employees on how to prevent waste, fraud, and misuse of public dollars: A series of short videos in which an uncanny AI avatar recites scripts about various training topics. The county’s IT department produced the videos using a company called Synthesia, which aims its product at small businesses.

Drop in Mayor’s Approval Rating Follows Anti-Wilson Media Frenzy

The Chamber released another poll result this week: Mayor Wilson’s approval rating has dropped to 37 percent. That’s hardly surprising, given that public opinion doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and the media (particularly TV and radio) have spent weeks calling Wilson incompetent, blaming her (and not SPD) for a delay in information after the Bite of Seattle shooting, and relentlessly covering a doomed recall effort against her.

Report: Police Contract Severely Limits CARE Team’s Ability to Do Their Jobs

A report from the city’s Office of Inspector General concluded that the new contract between the city and the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) drastically limits the ability of the CARE team of civilian first responders to respond to crisis calls. But CARE Chief Amy Barden sees some reason for optimism in the most recent numbers, which show that the team is now responding to more calls than in previous years.

Friday, August 21

Interim Police Chief Sayles Filed Complaint Against Hate Crimes Detective for Speaking At Pro-LGBTQ Rally

Interim police chief Andre Sayles filed a complaint against a longtime SPD detective who spoke out against two right-wing initiatives aimed at LGBTQ kids. The detective had permission to speak at the rally, but after hearing complaints from, among others, right-wing podcaster Brandi Kruse, Sayles claimed she refused to follow his orders and lied about what the initiatives would do—either of which would be a fireable offense. Sayles’ complaint was quickly dismissed (an investigator called it an infringement on the detective’s free speech rights), but the incident led the detective to retire rather than return to work after a sabbatical.

LGBTQ+, Mayor Wilson, Police

Interim Police Chief Sayles Filed Complaint Against Hate Crimes Detective for Speaking At Pro-LGBTQ Rally

“Any further investigation would violate [the detective’s] constitutional rights and open the city to a lawsuit,” an investigator concluded when dismissing Sayles’ complaint.

By Erica C. Barnett

Seattle interim police chief Andre Sayles filed a complaint with the Office of Police Accountability against a veteran detective (and onetime leader of of SPD’s hate crimes unit) over a three-minute speech she gave at a No Hate in WA State rally last November, when Sayles was deputy chief. Sayles accused detective Beth Wareing of failing to follow a lawful order and dishonesty— fireable offenses that could have cost the 29-year police veteran her job, her law enforcement certification, and her ability to testify in court as a police officer.

“In her speech, Det. Wareing made several comments that lacked credible facts related to the potential exposure to sexual assault by adults on youth, especially females and persons who identify as LGBTQ+,” Sayles wrote. “In the attachments, I’ve attached an email along with the video of Det. Wareing speaking.”

The links Sayles provided included two videos by right-wing commentator Brandi Kruse, who attacked Wareing at length on her show on December 11 and December 15, calling her comments “genuinely disgusting.” On the December 11 segment, Kruse said she had contacted SPD about Wareing’s comments and “prayed to God” they would take action against her. Addressing Wareing, Kruse said, “do you really think there is going to be no ramifications for just lying through your teeth as a Seattle police detective?”

Sayles filed his complaint on December 15, the day the second segment ran. The complaint broadly parroted Kruse’s talking points, alleging that Wareing “was insubordinate, violating the guidelines he set out for her, and that she was dishonest in saying inaccurate and untrue things during the press conference,” according to OPA’s summary.

Kruse says she didn’t personally file a complaint against Wareing or talk to Sayles directly. “I made it clear how I felt about her comments on my show,” she said. “A police detective should not be abusing their position to fear monger parents about a topic as serious as sexual abuse. That’s grotesque. I am not surprised there are complaints against her—there should be.”

Investigators who looked into Sayles’ complaint disagreed—and swiftly. On January 8, OPA let the city’s Office of Inspector General, a separate police oversight body, know that they were expediting and dismissing the complaint, finding that Sayles’ claims were unfounded and may have violated Wareing’s right to free speech.

In a memo proposing the dismissal language, OPA noted pointedly that political statements  “are protected free speech and political activity” under state law, legal case law, guidance from the Seattle Ethics and  Elections Commission, and SPD’s own police manual. Wareing, the dismissal continued, “was also not insubordinate as she did in fact follow the guidance she was given” when she sought, and received, explicit permission from Sayles to speak at the rally.

“Any further investigation of [Wareing] would violate her constitutional rights and open the city to a lawsuit,” the memo concluded.

For Wareing, who was on sabbatical pursuing a PhD when she spoke at the rally, the complaint was a shocking attempt to curtail her free speech and smear her after a long career as a hostage negotiator, bias crimes expert, and clinical counselor. As the direct result of the complaint, she said, she decided to retire from SPD and pursue a different career.

“Chief Sayles’s complaint was poorly considered, unprofessional, and an attempted violation of my First Amendment rights,” Wareing told PubliCola. “It was a decisive factor in my decision to retire rather than remain at SPD after sabbatical, ending a career that was my passion for 29 years. This conduct should concern every officer at SPD.”

PubliCola has confirmed that Mayor Katie Wilson knew about Sayles’ complaint against Wareing, and its dismissal, before she chose him as interim chief three weeks ago.

Wareing’s comments at the No Hate rally were a personalized version of the basic talking points against the two anti-LGBTQ initiatives, funded by right-wing billionaire Brian Heywood through his group Let’s Go Washington. No Hate In WA State, known last year as Washington Families for Freedom, argues both initiatives would put children at risk.

The first initiative would give parents access to all their child’s school records, including confidential counseling notes, with no exceptions for parents with histories of abuse. The second would require girls to submit to genital inspections to prove they have vaginas as a condition of participating in sports. Although student athletes are required to have physicals to ensure they can play without injury, there is no genital inspection requirement for girls, nor is any student required to show a doctor their penis or vagina so that schools can categorize them into teams by sex.

Wareing had written authorization from SPD, including direct permission from Sayles, to speak at the event in her own personal capacity, as long as she didn’t say she was representing or worked for SPD, which she did not. In her remarks, Wareing said the two initiatives “serve to stigmatize LGBTQ+ children and put them at greater risk of harassment, assault, abuse at home, homelessness, and death by suicide.”

The anti-trans initiative, Wareing said, “would increase the risk of sexual abuse for girls participating in sports” and “is not something I would put my child through.”

The second initiative, eliminating students’ ability to speak privately with school counselors and staff about sensitive topics, such as gender, abortion, and sexuality, would make abused children especially vulnerable, Wareing continued, “I recall many times teachers and school counselors have been a primary support person for a child at risk, and my heart would be broken for them if they were forced by an unjust law to report a child’s private information, even if it puts a child at risk of injury.”

In an interview with OPA investigators, Sayles admitted that he did not read either of the initiatives he accused his own detective of lying about before filing his complaint, according to OPA’s investigation file.

PubliCola sent Wilson’s office a list of detailed questions on Wednesday, including why she did not consider Sayles’ unfounded complaint against Wareing disqualifying, what Sayles told Wilson when she asked about the complaint, and whether Wilson believed Wareing’s comments were inappropriate

A staffer responded, “We have discussed the investigation with Interim Chief Sayles. He will continue being an inclusive leader, protecting all Seattle residents, workers, and visitors, especially those furthest from social justice, including the trans community. Seattle is a place where everyone should feel safe.”

In response to detailed questions, SPD provided a similar statement, emphasizing that “the employee [Wareing] was cleared of all wrongdoing.” The spokesperson did not mention the finding that Sayles may have violated Wareing’s right to free speech and opened the city up to a lawsuit.

“Since his arrival, Chief Sayles has been a part of the SPD LGBTQ+ committee and remains focused on creating a safe city for all who live, visit, and work in Seattle. He has committed to building community connections to help develop a sense of welcomeness that fosters this safety,” an SPD spokesperson said.

Under Barnes, SPD made a series of unforced errors that alienated many in the city’s LGBTQ community and led to multiple discrimination lawsuits (including one that quotes Barnes’ chief of staff, Alex Ricketts, as saying, “We’re not here for the gays.” SPD has also struggled to hire women under Barnes and is unlikely, at the current rate, to come close to its adopted goal of having a 30 percent female recruit class in the next three years. Wareing, who worked on the 30 x 30 initiative, just became one more female SPD officer on her way out the door.

LGBTQ+, Police

Interim Police Chief Andre Sayles Says He Won’t Be Barnes 2.0: “I’m All About Collaboration”

By Erica C. Barnett

Last week, after negotiating a minimum $741,000 settlement package with former police chief Shon Barnes, Mayor Katie Wilson announced she would be appointing one of Barnes’ two deputy chiefs, Andre Sayles, as interim police chief while the city begins a formal search and hiring process for the next permanent chief.

Barnes recruited Sayles last year from his job as police chief in Beloit, WI, about an hour south of Madison, where Barnes was previously chief. Like Barnes, Sayles has a family home in Illinois, a few miles outside Beloit (Barnes’ family home is in Chicago). where his wife continues to live; his kids also live in the area. His Washington state home, which he describes as his primary residence, is in east King County.

PubliCola sat down with Sayles at SPD headquarters last Friday for a conversation about the future of SPD, how his style and priorities differ from Barnes’, the culture at SPD, and more. I’ve edited our conversation for length and clarity.

Erica C, Barnett (PubliCola): Barnes recruited you to come to Seattle. You’ve mentioned that you’re personal friends. I’m curious why you decided to say yes to the interim chief job, given the circumstances of his departure and the fact that you’re so closely linked with him.

Andre Sayles: I never knew [Barnes] before January 2021. He came to my swearing-in April 2021 when I became police chief [in Beloit], and we kept in contact with each other professionally and developed a friendship personally after that. So when he presented [the Seattle deputy chief position] to me, I said, you know, I know I can be successful here. I can bring my personal touch to it, being a human first, and not being a chief or anything like that, and treating people with dignity and respect, not just inside the police department, but in the community as well. So I said, hey, let’s take this challenge because, you know, challenges help you grow.

PubliCola: What have you learned so far about the differences between policing in a small town like Beloit and a larger city like Seattle?

Sayles: I think sometimes it gets lost in the wording of ‘small’ that Beloit is a very diverse community. We dealt with a lot. There was a time where we were averaging anywhere between 10 and 12 homicides a year, for a city that’s anywhere between 38 and 40,000 people. That’s a lot of work for a quote-unquote small town. I truly believe policing is transferable. My skills and ability can go anywhere in this nation. As a patrol officer, I led homicide investigations. I led the drug and gang unit. It’s [a matter of] scaling your knowledge and skills to where you’re at.

PubliCola: Do you think that SPD has been doing that? Chief Barnes was doing a lot of community meetings, but they weren’t very well attended by actual community members. Will you change anything about how SPD does community outreach?

Sayles: Well, I think we have to remember if there’s 25 people in that meeting, sometimes people talk to 10 other people. So we are reaching people. But it’s a matter of getting more seats filled, more people to come to those meetings. And I think when we leave, we should provide a challenge to our community members: Hey, next time we have this meeting, bring two people with you. Because we want to hear from everyone that’s in this specific community. And let’s continue to do it, because I don’t want it to be a situation where we don’t show up.

But I would be happy if we showed up to a place and there was one person there, because that’s one person that’s dedicated to what we want to do for that community. Then that person is going to say, ‘Hey, they showed up five times. They’re committed to community policing.’

PubliCola: The city’s annual budget discussions are coming up, and there’s been a debate over whether SPD will slow down police hiring to stay within its budget. Can you talk about that possibility?

Sayles: I don’t know if we’re going to slow down, but we’re going to look at some steps to make sure that we’re able to get officers on the street in a timely manner. We may hire the same amount of people, but we may say, ‘All right, let’s take a two-three week break from hiring.’ So we can get people through the field training program, get them through [Basic Law Enforcement Academy], get them through post-BLEA, and then say, ‘All right, now let’s hire a certain amount of people.’ So it’s going to be a collective effort with our recruitment and retention team, and also the mayor’s office, to say, What does that look like? Let’s come up with a plan to say we’re going to hire X amount of officers during [each] quarter. That’s going to help the patrol staffing numbers and give that work-life balance back to our patrol officers to make sure that they can utilize their time away and be with their families.

PubliCola: To talk about the money, though, SPD will likely be over budget this year because you’re hiring more people than anticipated. There’s a huge budget deficit. Mayor Wilson has asked every department, including yours, to come up with very significant potential cuts. Is SPD going to cut its budget or resist taking any cuts?

Sayles: I think our biggest thing right now is to leave the people out of what we may put forward on the budget, because we want people, There’s some things that we may look at. Like—do we need to buy new chairs every year, or can we come up with a rotation for equipment for offices and things that nature, being very cognizant of the budget and being good stewards of the budget, and creating a roadmap and a plan within SPD, presenting it to the mayor’s office, presenting it to council members, and saying ‘This is what we’re committed to do.’ I think that’s what we’re going to do. We’ve been working diligently on that as an executive command staff team. I would like to bring in our captains and say, ‘What do you see in your precincts? What do you see in your unit?’ and have a group session on these things.

PubliCola: I saw that CARE Department Chief Amy Barden posted a photo of the two of you on Instagram this morning. In the past, she’s expressed some frustration about CARE not being authorized to respond to the kind of calls they were set up to respond to. Have you sat down with her and talked about her concerns? And will we see any changes with the relationship between SPD and CARE going forward?

Sayles: I met with Amy twice over the seven days I’ve been interim chief. I met Amy at a community meeting last year, where there was a situation that required CARE, and we co-responded to that situation together.

PubliCola: What was the situation?

Sayles: Then-mayor Bruce Harrell was at a Safeway talking [at an event promoting a food access initiative], and a gentleman was yelling and screaming. And we went over and we calmed down that situation together. So it’s going to be a new approach, because my ideas are similar to Chief Barnes, but they’re somewhat different, and my relationship with Amy is going to be different than Chief Barnes because I’m a different person. I’m a person that that is all about collaboration. Not saying that Chief Barnes was not, but I’m just talking about me specifically.

We’ve had a good conversation over the last week about some of the things that we want to do. So it’s bringing in SPD, bringing CARE to the table, bringing in Fire, bringing in the mayor’s office. And prior to us leaving the room, everybody agreeing that this is what we’re going to do, bringing in [the Seattle Police Officers Guild] and saying, ‘Hey, this is what we’re looking at,’ and putting a lock on that door before we leave, and everybody can walk out saying, ‘I like the collective idea that we came up with together.’

PubliCola: I want to ask a question about the Bite of Seattle shooting. I understand that you’re not going to be able to provide specific information, but there’s been a feeling of lost trust because there’s just still no new information coming out about what happened. What can you tell me about what’s going on with the investigation and why we don’t know anything yet?

Sayles: It’s one of those roadblocks in policing that some day, hopefully, we can get past in regards to the information that we can provide. I think the biggest thing is when we provide information, sometimes it gives that person that we may be looking for the idea and the advance knowledge of, ‘Oh, they know who I am.’ And we unfortunately sometimes have to keep that close to the vest because we have to proceed in our investigation with caution, and say, ‘We have this information. We can’t fully give it out to the community yet because, unfortunately, sometimes people help these suspects in these situations. I had a great talk with our investigators yesterday. Hopefully, in the coming days and coming weeks, there’s some things that’s going to happen that we will be able to talk about.

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PubliCola: I want to talk a little bit about the culture at SPD, which has been criticized as misogynist and anti-LGBTQ. Under former chief Barnes, there were a lot of problematic incidents and missed opportunities, including the way SPD handled the [anti-trans] Mayday USA rally last year. Do you think there’s room for improvement in SPD’s relationship with LGBTQ+ residents, and how will your  approach differ from Barnes’?

Sayles: People have identified that I came from outside, but I was actually a part of [SPD’s] LGBTQ+ Advisory Board until taking the interim position. I hadn’t seen anything in my 13, 14 months that would lead me to believe that’s what occurred. But I can’t be ignorant to what has been put out there and what has been said. So I want to strengthen that relationship. I think we’re making inroads to strengthen that relationship.

I know in July we had a meeting where there was a person that was trying to disrupt the meeting, and everyone in that group, from what I heard, actually was like, ‘Hey, the police are here. They’ve been here. They’ve been supportive of what we’re trying to do. Like, you can’t come in here and try to disrupt this meeting. And we’re developing a great relationship with the police department.’ I think it’s all about relationships and understanding that the things happened in the past, we have to be aware of it, but we also need to move past it and work on strengthening that relationship beyond some of the missteps that happened in the past. 

PubliCola: I’ve heard some critics and commentators say that the next permanent police chief needs be someone with roots in this community who rose up through the ranks at SPD, as opposed to someone who comes from elsewhere, like yourself. What do you think of that critique?

Sayles: I hope that we get a leader that wants to be involved in the community, someone that’s going to lead this department for our people inside this police department and outside this police department, not leading because you want a certain title. I think that’s the biggest thing, and that’s what it should be—a person that’s going to look at what SPD stands for: Service, pride, and dedication. If it’s a person from the inside, by all means, let’s go forward and be great. If it’s a person from outside, let’s forward, let’s go forward and be great.

PubliCola:  Are you applying?

Sayles: I have not had an opportunity to take a second to even think about that. It’s been a long week, and as things start to slow down for me a little bit. I think I’ll take a glance at it. But once again, I’m more focused on the people inside this police department—how can I help them?—and then also on our community members. I’m a person that’s selfless. I don’t really talk about myself and what I’ve done, and here’s this accolade or that accolade. I’m all about the people, and I’m all about a we mentality instead of a me mentality. So, if I decide to put in for it, I’ll decide to put in for it. But I haven’t thought about that because I’m focused on what we need to accomplish now.

PubliCola: Like Barnes, you still have a home in Illinois. What is your long-term plan, as far as moving to this area permanently versus keeping a home out of state?

Sayles: My home is in the Issaquah area. My secondary residence that I worked hard for is in Illinois. I asked the mayor when we talked, I said, ‘I just want to know that I have a place here in Seattle. Whenever there’s a permanent decision made, I would like to remain here.’ I came here because I believe my higher power put me here for a reason, and that is to be a leader within whatever role I have here at SPD.

I think I have shown that I’ve been very involved with our rank and file. I’ve been involved in our professional staff, and I’m getting myself out there in the community more than I have over the last year. I’ve been involved in the community, but now I want to be more involved in the community. And this is a place that I chose to come to. I uprooted myself to come out here because I believed in what the mission and vision was of Seattle before Chief Barnes, during Chief Barnes, and where we’re going to go in the future.

 

Drugs, education, homelessness, human services, King County, LGBTQ+

This Week on PubliCola: June 20, 2026
KCRHA associate director William Towey

KCRHA says the county and city owe it $8 million, county councilmember plans to eliminate successful harm reduction program, and much more.

By Erica C. Barnett

Monday, June 15

Regional Homelessness Agency Says King County and Seattle Owe It $8 Million

In a comment that came as a surprise to many on the county council, King County Regional Homelessness Authority associate director William Towey said the city and county owe the KCRHA $8 million—the same $8 million an audit found the agency couldn’t account for and that may need to be “written off.” KCRHA CEO Kelly Kinnison couldn’t be at the meeting because she was on vacation.

Tuesday, June 16

County Human Services Director Calls Councilmember’s Contract Approval Proposal an “Overstep”

King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski has proposed a budget amendment that would require the county’s Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) to submit a letter for county council review every time they execute or make any amendment to a contract in the Best Starts for Kids program, which was subject to an audit that found potential fraud and abuse in a subset of “high-risk” contracts. DCHS director Susan McLaughlin said the idea was a vast “overreach” that would not improve oversight.

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Wednesday, June 17

County Councilmember Dembowski Wants to Defund Successful Harm Reduction Program

In a separate amendment, Dembowski has proposed eliminating all funding for a county program that distributes safer smoking supplies to drug users. Opponents of harm reduction have targeted the program, which the county credits with more than quadrupling the number of people who come in to clinics where they can (and do) access other services, including case management, STI testing, and treatment.

Thursday, June 18

Right-Wing Activist Accused of Assaulting Security Guard While Trying to Force His Way Into Pro-LGBTQ Event

Jonathan Choe, a former KOMO reporter who now works for the Discovery Institute and Turning Point USA, showed up to the campaign kickoff for No Hate in WA State and tried to force his way inside, allegedly hitting a security guard in the back of the head, according to a police report. The campaign is working to combat two anti-LGBTQ+ statewide initiatives, including one that would ban trans kids from playing sports.

Friday, June 19

Here’s What Being a “Child Care Candidate” Actually Means

In an op-ed directed at all the candidates who say they support universal child care, SEIU 925 political and legislative director Erin Haick lays out a road map for what that means in practice—standing firm against additional cuts, paying child care workers like the professional educators they are, and right-sizing subsidies so they actually make it possible for people to pay for child care.

Also this week:

  • On Seattle Nice, we interviewed DCHS director Susan McLaughlin about how DCHS is addressing the findings of a damning audit that found potential waste and abuse in programs aimed at helping youth, among other topics—like the future of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority.
  • I went on KUOW’s Week In Review this week, where KUOW reporter Scott Greenstone, Republican former city attorney Ann Davison, host Bill Radke and I discussed the news of the week, including a report from a downtown business group that says downtown is struggling and it’s all the fault of taxes on big business (spoiler: It isn’t.)
  • ICYMI, I was also on Crystal Fincher’s Hacks and Wonks podcast last week, where we talked about the city’s data center moratorium, the latest light rail ridership numbers, ongoing challenges the CARE Team of unarmed first responders face, mostly from the Seattle Police Department, and more.

 

LGBTQ+, Media

Right-Wing Activist Accused of Assaulting Security Guard While Trying to Force His Way Into Pro-LGBTQ Event


The Turning Point USA activist was trying to force his way into the “No Hate in WA State” campaign kickoff at Neumos when he allegedly struck a security guard in the back of the head.

By Erica C. Barnett

Security at Neumos on Capitol Hill called police on Turning Point USA activist Jonathan Choe last night after Choe allegedly hit a security guard in the back of the head while trying to force his way inside the private No Hate in WA State campaign kickoff.

A Seattle Police Department spokesman said Choe left the scene after Neumos security called the police to report the assault.

According to a police report on the incident, Choe attempted to push and shove his way into the event, which kicked off the campaign against two far-right statewide initiatives on the ballot in November. The first would prevent trans girls from participating in school sports; the second would eliminate privacy protections for kids who reveal confidential information to school officials, including mental health counselors.

The latter proposal would force school districts to out LGBTQ kids to their parents and reveal private health information, such as whether student has asked about reproductive health care, if they have revealed that information to a trusted adult at school.

Choe, who is Korean American, was filmed outside Neumos yesterday, screaming nonsense like “I identify as a Black man!” “you’re wearing a wig!” and “you’re all white supremacists!” before attempting to force his way inside.

The police report notes that Choe also called the security guard a “white supremacist” for denying him access to the private campaign kickoff.

This is not the first time Choe has allegedly assaulted someone and then fled the scene. In 2024, he punched a trans woman and dragged her down the street by her hair, later claiming without evidence that she had “bumped” him; he fled that scene after throwing a metal baton he was carrying into the street.  Earlier this year, he filmed himself clubbing a protester outside a far-right rally and concert at City Hall; the protester he attacked was arrested, while Choe was not.

Choe even harassed supporters of Mayor Katie Wilson at her inauguration, shouting “he’s trantifa, he’s trantifa” while filming random people at City Hall.

Choe films constantly on his phone, but has never posted video that shows anyone actually assaulting him—despite frequently claiming to be the victim of left-wing violence. His typical MO, documented yesterday in videos that show him trying to provoke people into physical fights outside Neumos, is to claim that someone he is harassing has attacked or touched him in order to claim “self-defense” when he attacks them physically.

At yesterday’s event, Choe predictably yelled “don’t touch me!” at people who were not touching him, posting the video on X and claiming “the transgender mafia targeted me with death threats and also challenged me to a fight.” (Watch Choe’s own edited video to see what a snowflake this man is—in reality, people were pointing out that Asian Americans are also targets of white supremacists.)

Choe describes himself as a journalist. He was fired from his last journalism job, as a reporter the right-leaning KOMO TV station, after promoting the Proud Boys hate group with a promotional video scored with a far-right anthem known as the “Männerbund” In a Twitter post accompanying the video, Choe invited people to attend a Proud Boys rally in Olympia and listen to what they had to say.

We’ve reached out to Neumos management and will update this post if we hear back.

Elections, LGBTQ+, Mayor Wilson

Former City Department Director Admonished by PDC; City IT Director Resigns; LGBTQ Advocates Call for Removal of Civil Rights Director

1. Seattle’s IT director since September 2024, Rob Lloyd, step down on March 27. “Leading IT and our dedicated teams in service to Seattle has been an honor,” Lloyd said in an email to staff. “Thinking more on recent events and transitions, it’s clear that this is the right time. I wanted you to hear this directly from me and as quickly as possible.”

A spokesperson for Mayor Katie Wilson confirmed Lloyd’s resignation but did not respond to questions about whether he had been asked to leave. In an email to IT staff, Wilson did not exactly gush about Lloyd’s tenure.

“We would like to acknowledge and thank Rob for his service and the work he performed during his time with the department,” the mayor wrote. “We appreciate his contributions to our technological operations. I wish him the best.”

Tracye Cantrell, the department’s assistant chief technology officer, will take over as interim director, Wilson told IT staff.

Lloyd, a Bruce Harrell appointee, was a gung-ho AI proponent who advocated for funding a number of new AI programs at the city—including an $800,000 program that will replace permitting functions previously performed by workers at the city’s Department of Construction and Inspections. That program will purportedly “streamline the permitting application process and improve customer services using Artificial Intelligence and data integration.” Lloyd also implemented a public-facing AI chatbot called “SEAMore Voice” and a separate internal generative AI system from Microsoft called NebulaONE.

2. The Friends of Denny Blaine are calling on Mayor Wilson to remove Seattle Office for Civil Rights Director Derrick Wheeler-Smith in response to allegations of anti-LGBTQ bias made by his staff in interviews with PubliCola for a story we published earlier this week. The group of advocates got together after learning that a wealthy homeowner, Stuart Sloan, was working with then-mayor Bruce Harrell to install a children’s playground at the longstanding nude beach, effectively shutting it down.

Several SOCR staffers told PubliCola that Wheeler-Smith and his deputy director, Fahima Mohamed, made insensitive comments and dismissed LGBTQ+ rights in general, including one staffer who said Mohamed laughed in front of staff at a text message Harrell sent Sloan saying “I share your disgust” about the beach. Staffers said Wheeler-Smith, whose previous employer was a Christian nonprofit that does not hire people in same-sex relationships, frequently sidelined LGBTQ+ rights or treated them as insignificant.

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“The Office of Civil Rights is entrusted with enforcing our city’s equity initiatives and safeguarding the rights and dignity of all marginalized communities within Seattle, including LGBTQ+ people,” the group wrote on Instagram. “The statement ‘l share your disgust’ is not neutral language; it perpetuates a long legacy of marginalizing and dehumanizing language targeting LGBTQ+ individuals in public spaces. For SOCR leadership to treat this rhetoric in such an offensive and dismissive manner undermines community trust in the department, and calls into question its legitimacy as a department claiming to hold a commitment to civil rights.”

“This concern is compounded by the broader reporting showing repeated dismissal and minimization of LGBTQ+ civil rights issues within the department,” the post continued. “Seattle’s commitment to LGBTQ+ equality cannot be symbolic. It must exist from the top down, and if the Office of Civil Rights of all offices cannot be trusted to genuinely foster those values and protect the rights of LBGTQ+ people, there can be no trust in any city department, and the sincerity of all commitments to being a welcoming city” to LGBTQ+ individuals must be called into question.”

3. The state Public Disclosure Commission ruled on Tuesday, February 24 that former Seattle Office of Economic Development Markham McIntyre violated election rules when he used an internal City of Seattle Teams chat to solicit contact information from city department heads on behalf of Harrell’s reelection campaign. But they decided not to issue a fine or other penalty beyond a written admonishment. “Staff expect that you will refrain from any use of city equipment, staff or other resources for any effort tied to support or opposition of a candidate or ballot measure,” PDC Executive Director Peter Lavallee wrote.

Lavalee’s ruling reveals that after the Harrell appointee obtained the directors’ personal emails last August, he followed up with an email on September 8. It read: “A little while ago, I asked for your personal information. Part of my intent is to help the campaign. If you are not OK with me sharing your contact information with them, please let me know by tomorrow night. For those you are interested in helping out: we need ideas! Yes, we can do all of the traditional campaign activities (door knocking, phone banking, etc.) but is there something special that we could contribute as City leaders? Now’s the time to get in the game!”

State law prohibits public employees from using their office or any public facilities for campaign purposes. PubliCola reported exclusively on McIntyre’s request for department director’s private contact information in October.

Paul Chapman, who filed the complaint, filed a similar complaint with the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission. SEEC director Wayne Barnett dismissed that complaint on Thursday, writing, “Having reviewed the PDC’s letter of February 24, I agree with their conclusion that the evidence collected (and summarized in their February 24 letter) does not warrant further investigation. Mr. McIntyre is no longer a City employee, and Bruce Harrell lost his bid for reelection.”