Tag: John Arthur Wilson

King County

County Assessor Wilson Jailed on Allegations of Stalking, Violating Protection Order

 

Lee Keller speaks to reporters at the King County jail after a court hearing for County Assessor John Arthur Wilson, who was arrested outside her home Wednesday night.

By Erica C. Barnett

UPDATE: On Thursday afternoon, King County District Court Judge Jill Klinge released King County Assessor and County Executive candidate John Arthur Wilson on $50,000 bail and issuing a new domestic-violence no-contact order against him.

Wilson, who was arrested and jailed for violating an existing no-contact order by showing up at Keller’s home repeatedly on Wednesday night, did not appear in court on Thursday. His attorney, John Polito, argued Wilson should be released without bail because he was unlikely to flee, given his age (71) and longstanding ties to the local community. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office asked for $100,000 bail, arguing that Wilson had repeatedly violated an existing order prohibiting him from coming within 1,000 feet of his ex-partner, Lee Keller.

Polito suggested Wilson was being targeted because he’s a public figure who has recentlybeen the subject of significant media attention.  “If my client’s name was John Smith, your honor, I don’t think we’d be here with the request for $100,000 bail,” he said. “There’s no doubt that these two are involved in a publicly rancorous dispute in a relationship that’s lasted for a long time,” he continued, but “there’s never been any threats of physical assault.”

Speaking in court on her own behalf, Keller said she was “very concerned” for her safety, given Wilson’s ongoing violations of her restraining order. “His violations have increased. They’ve become more bold and aggressive this week,” Keller said. “Last night, I was inside having dinner with my mother, and thank goodness for my neighbors who saw him behind the trees watching my home, where I couldn’t see him.”

“It seems as though he doesn’t feel like pertains to him, and that’s what’s so troubling to me. I’m afraid to leave my home. I’m afraid in grocery stores. I’m afraid when I attend events for business. I go out of my way to avoid places that I think he might be but I can’t get away from him.”

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Keller said it was “an awful feeling to feel sort of trapped in your home and scared about what’s going to happen next. … To find out that he was in jail last night was horrifying, and then also just an incredible relief, like I actually could rest and not worry about him coming to my door.”

Casey McNerthney, a spokesman for the King County Prosecutor’s Office, said that if the Seattle Police Department refers Wilson’s case to prosecutors for a charging decision, it will fall to Snohomish County District Court to decide whether to file charges against Wilson, in order to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest stemming from the fact that Wilson works for King County.

ORIGINAL STORY FOLLOWS:

On Wednesday night, Seattle police officers arrested King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson for stalking and violating a restraining order obtained by his ex, Lee Keller. Wilson reportedly showed up at Keller’s house repeatedly on Wednesday. He was arrested when he returned to her home while police were present to take a report after Wilson drove to her home earlier in the evening.

PubliCola broke the news about Wilson’s arrest exclusively on Bluesky at 11:00 Wednesday night.

Keller obtained a restraining order against Wilson in May. Since then, Wilson has been seeking to have the restraining order lifted, arguing that he does not pose any threat to Keller.

The two briefly reconciled in May, a fact that Wilson has used to argue that there is no reason for the restraining order. In June, Wilson posted a photo of himself and Keller together shortly after the restraining order took effect, saying that she looked “happy and not at all afraid” of him as evidence that her restraining order was frivolous. In a post on LinkedIn, Wilson posted intimate information about Keller that he later removed from the post.

In a recent court declaration, Keller acknowledged reconciling with Wilson briefly in May. “I have been in a cycle of leave and return from a coercive and abusive relationship,” the declaration says. “It is not unexpected that I would have doubts and return to the cycle. But this time I realized very quickly that this is what was happening and chose to break the cycle. The law anticipates this and puts the burden on the restrained party to stay away.”

Shortly before his arrest, and after he showed up at Keller’s home the first time, Wilson posted a photo of himself at Daniel’s Broiler on Facebook with the caption, “Been a busy but great day. Came to one of my favorite places to have a great celebration. Yay!”

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Wilson has never publicly denied any of Keller’s specific allegations about his behavior, much of which is documented in text messages entered into the official record at King County District Court. In addition to showing up at Keller’s house repeatedly when she has asked him not to do so, Wilson called the workplace of a man Keller had been seeing and falsely accused him of sexual assault in an attempt to get him fired.

In a statement, Keller’s attorney Paula Kurtz-Kreshel said Keller “will not be commenting on the unfortunate turn of events in this case other than to thank Seattle Police for their quick response last night, and to express gratitude for the protections afforded to her by the court.”

Wilson has portrayed criticism of his actions as a witch hunt, condemning the King County Council for a unanimous resolution calling for his resignation. In his post claiming Keller’s restraining order was baseless, Wilson praised the Seattle Times, which ran an editorial arguing it was unfair to condemn him for his actions and that he deserved “due process” instead of demands to resign.

In recent court records seeking to have Keller’s restraining order dismissed, Wilson has claimed she is waging a political battle against him, using the fact that she “liked” a Facebook post from one of his opponents, Claudia Balducci, as evidence.

Wilson’s first appearance in court is scheduled for this afternoon.

The Seattle Police Department would not provide a copy of the police report, telling PubliCola to file a public disclosure request—a process that, as we’ve reported previously, takes months or years because of SPD’s practice of “grouping” multiple requests and fulfilling each one in full before moving to the next one.

homelessness, King County, Women

Reagan Dunn Joins Chorus Calling for Resignation of Assessor Accused of Stalking; Advocates Appeal Ruling Upholding Burien’s Sleeping Ban

1.  King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn, who was the only council member absent from last week’s 8-0 vote demanding the resignation of King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson, took a “point of personal privilege” at Tuesday’s council meeting to say that he, too, believed that Wilson should resign over allegations that he stalked and harassed his ex-fiancée, Lee Keller.

The no-confidence motion notes that the claims against Wilson include allegations that he “improperly used county resources to engage in the stalking,” potentially including the use of private information he’s able to access through his job as the county’s tax assessor.

“Assessor Wilson has been accused of extremely serious allegations in a domestic dispute, including stalking, harassment and improper use of county resources for the purposes of stalking,” Dunn said. “While all of this is disturbing, the real linchpin for me is the allegation of improper use of county resources. … I find that all of these allegations are extremely disturbing, and Mr. Wilson’s public behavior to be inconsistent with the professionalism expected of an elected official. Had I been able to vote for Resolution 16829, I would have voted yes.”

In text messages to Keller, Wilson repeatedly claimed to have Dunn’s support.

Keller has obtained multiple restraining orders and filed several petitions for dissolution of her partnership with Wilson over the past two years, providing documentation of Wilson’s actions, which include calling and texting her incessantly, tracking her movements and the location of her car, and calling the workplace of a man she dated to falsely accuse him of sexual assault in an attempt to get him fired. Last Friday, a judge denied Wilson’s request to have the latest restraining order lifted.

Wilson has not denied Keller’s allegations, many of which are documented in text messages that are part of the public court record. However, he has claimed that his behavior “never posed a threat to” Keller, and has weaponized a photo the two of them took during a brief reconciliation in May to claim that Keller is being irrational and blackmailing him for rent money. (A text message in the court record shows that she asked if he could help with rent on one occasion during the period when they were speaking to each other; previously, they had lived together).

In the post, Wilson noted when and where the photo was purportedly taken—”after I bought her lunch,” he adds—and says an unnamed local reporter agreed with him that Keller looks happy and unafraid of Wilson in the image.

“I have never posed a stalking threat or harassed Ms. Lee Keller, my former fiancé. I have posed no danger to her whatsoever,” Wilson wrote, adding later, “Ms. Keller was never at any danger from me.” Wilson is still trying to get a judge to lift Keller’s protection order against him “[b]ecause of the looming August primary,” he wrote. Wilson is running for county executive.

Wilson also thanked the Seattle Times for its editorial opposing the county council’s unanimous vote of no-confidence in him, which grudgingly allowed that, “to be sure, such accusations are disturbing” before arguing that “due process” should require independently elected officials to keep quiet about his behavior.

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2. The Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness has appealed a King County Superior Court ruling that upheld the city of Burien’s total ban on sleeping in public, a law that effectively banishes unsheltered people from the city. As PubliCola reported, the Coalition and three plaintiffs who’ve lived unsheltered in Burien argued that the total ban on sleeping in public constituted cruel punishment under the Washington State Constitution, among other claims, because it bans people from engaging in a biological necessity—sleep—if they have nowhere to live except outdoors.

Elizabeth Hale, one of the three homeless plaintiffs in the lawsuit, died on May 30, about three weeks after the ruling that she and her co-plaintiffs could be arrested for falling asleep in public.

In a statement, Coalition director Alison Eisinger said, “Beth’s untimely death reminds us that real human beings bear the brutal costs of collective failure to respond to homelessness with urgency and enough resources. The Coalition on Homelessness joined this lawsuit because any law that excludes people from their community must be challenged. Washington state’s constitution must apply to all who live here, regardless of how much money we have in our pockets, or whether we have a place to lay our heads and call home.”

King County, Women

UPDATED: Judge Declines to Lift Protection Order Against County Assessor Accused of Stalking

By Erica C. Barnett

On Friday June 13, a judge denied King County Assessor’s John Arthur Wilson’s motion to terminate his former partner Lee Keller’s protection order against him.

In response to Wilson’s attempt to have the order dismissed, Keller filed a declaration calling Wilson’s motion a “frivolous motion based on half-truths and outright lies.”

She acknowledged meeting with Wilson twice while the restraining order was in effect, and said she briefly agreed to sign off on a statement his campaign staff wrote that said she would drop the restraining order. Text messages show that Keller did briefly agree to drop the restraining order after Wilson had to leave an event honoring the late state Sen. Bill Ramos because Keller was there.

However, Keller added that she “immediately” regretted agreeing to drop the restraining order after Wilson “came to my house that evening and began berating me about speaking with a male friend of mine who was being contacted by the media. He then proceeded to text me until 2:30 a.m. with abusive statements such as ‘You are a two-bit whore,'” Keller wrote. Wilson doesn’t use that precise phrase in any of the texts in the court record, but Keller and Wilson did argue by text over his use of the phrase during a verbal argument.

The “male friend” was a man Keller was briefly involved with, who contacted KUOW in late May, according to text messages between Keller and Wilson. In the texts, Wilson acknowledged contacting the man’s employer and accusing him falsely of sexual assault in order to get him fired; several Wilson’s texts include graphic, lurid details.

After the court hearing, Wilson posted a photo of Martin Luther King, Jr. at the March on Washington, with the text, “Today, thanks to a court ruling, we started to bend the arc towards justice. It moves slow, but it is headed in the right direction. So we will continue fighting for justice for all the residents of King County, and for my own personal journey.”

When the King County Council voted to call on Wilson to resign from his position as county assessor, the only member absent was Republican Councilmember Reagan Dunn. The text messages reveal that Wilson contacted Dunn seeking support in May. “You should hear what Reagan Dunn has to say about you,” Wilson wrote on May 24.

Original story follows:

King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson, who was the subject of a no-confidence vote by the King County Council earlier this week, has filed a motion to dismiss his domestic partner Lee Keller’s temporary restraining order against him, arguing that she is emotionally unstable and is trying to harm him politically.

PubliCola broke the news about the new stalking and harassment allegations against Wilson in May. The Seattle Times covered earlier allegations against Wilson in January.

Wilson, who is running for King County Executive, has never publicly denied Keller’s allegations, including several dating back to 2024, that he texted and called her incessantly, showed up at her home uninvited, followed her movements using tracking apps, and called the workplace of a man she had been seeing to accuse him of sexual assault in an attempt to get him fired. These actions, among others, were the basis for the county council’s call for Wilson to resign as county assessor, a position that affords him access to personal data about King County taxpayers.

Many of Keller’s allegations, including one in which Wilson said the man he’s alleged to have falsely accused of sexual assault “deserves my wrath,” are documented in text messages and phone records. Keller’s latest filing includes a text exchange in which she told Wilson, “LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!” and he responded, “Never,” following up with several more unanswered texts.

Wilson posted a link to his declaration on Facebook, writing:

“As King County Assessor, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the State of Washington – including those cherished principles of the rule of law, the presumption of innocence, and due process.

The King County Council, by voting 8 to 0 to demand my resignation, has shown utter contempt for these principals. They want to deny your choices at the polls and rig the election. Yesterday’s hearing was nothing more than a kangaroo court.

I will NOT resign. I will NOT give up my campaign fighting for the everyday people of King County. But the craven behavior of Councilmembers Balducci and Zahilay show they are unfit to serve the people of King County—let alone as Executive.”

King County Councilmembers Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay are the frontrunners in the race for county executive; Wilson has consistently trailed both in fundraising and endorsements.

In a statement, Keller’s attorney, Paula Kurtz-Kreshel, said Wilson’s “media campaign against my client continues and is troubling not only for its obvious attempt to disparage, intimidate, and otherwise strong-arm a protected party into dropping a restraining order—but also for the fact that his efforts are taking place during hours of employment when one would think he should be working for the people of King County.”

In his new motion, Wilson claimed that he, rather than Keller, was the victim of abuse, pointing to an incident in April 2024 in which he claims Keller “shoved me and nearly made me fall down a flight of stairs.” He called the police, Wilson wrote, because he “felt I had been threatened and was personally at risk.”

A police report by an officer responding to Wilson’s call in 2024 tells a different story. According to the 2024 report, Wilson told the officer that he and Keller “got into a verbal argument” after Wilson went into Keller’s text messages and discovered she had been communicating with an ex. In his telling, Wilson calmly “talked to Keller about not being transparent” and she became “enraged.” Wilson claimed Keller pushed him “in the chest,” which “caught [him] off guard”; he did not mention anything about stairs.

Keller also called police about the incident, meeting with the same officer who had interviewed Wilson at the hotel she was staying in after she fled the home she and Wilson shared. She told the officer that Wilson “hacked” into her messages without her permission and told her they needed to talk, saying he had “proof” that she had been lying to him.

Keller told the officer she and Wilson got into a shouting match while she was standing in the entry to their home and Wilson was standing on the stairs, and said she “never laid a hand on him.” Keller told officers Wilson had tried to push his way into the laundry room where she was feeding her dog before she left for a hotel, and that she broke a ceramic dog bowl while trying to shut the door.

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While the officer was interviewing Keller, he noted in the report, Wilson “called her approximately 15 times and sent roughly 10 text messages saying that there was an emergency and that she needed to call him.” Wilson continued trying to reach Keller, the officer noted, even after the officer picked up one of Wilson’s calls and asked him to stop calling and texting her. Wilson has not publicly disputed any of this; in fact, he included Keller’s police report in the exhibits attached to his filing.

Kurtz-Kreshel said the police reports filed at the time refuted Wilson’s claim that Keller pushed him. “These reports are filed with Mr. Wilson’s motion and ironically spotlight his stalking and harassment of my client.”

Along with the statement, Kurtz-Kreshel provided a copy of an email Wilson sent to the King County Sheriff’s Office two weeks after the April 2024 altercation, in which Wilson said he had “exaggerated the incident as far more serious than it was. Ms. Keller never hurt or injured me when in the heat of our argument she moved me back from standing in front of her. In addition, I never felt in fear of Ms. Keller, or thought for an instant she might want to hurt or injure me.”

In his new motion to dismiss Keller’s restraining order against him, Wilson claimed that Keller’s “instability” and “volatility,” not Wilson’s documented behavior, is the problem. “Unfortunately, as much as I love Lee, her volatility and instability has become a real issue for me both personally and professionally,” Wilson wrote, adding that “once Lee calms down, she wants to see me.”

There are many different reasons that women return to men who are abusive or drop restraining orders against their partners, and the decision to drop a restraining order is not proof that a woman filed the order frivolously or that the relationship is not abusive.

Wilson said the two met in a public place on May 23, 11 days after Keller for the restraining order, and “Lee seemed genuinely happy to see me,” but said things turned sour after Wilson refused to help pay her rent.

“I firmly believe that victims of domestic violence should be protected. However, restraining orders should be a shield for victims and not a sword because someone is mad at you and is lashing out, especially when that someone has a long history of volatility and instability as it is evidenced by the number of times Lee has filed a Petition and then dismissed it,” Wilson wrote.

On June 3, Keller said in a statement that the “restraining order against John Wilson remains in place. I will not be changing my mind, despite his repeated efforts to coerce me to dismiss it. A hearing on the restraining order will be held on June 30, 2025. I welcome the opportunity to address John’s reference to a signed agreement at that time, and inform the court of John’s continuing violations of the very active restraining order.”

Wilson responded to my request for comment by saying, “Your reporting has been so horrendously biased, inaccurate and loaded that I really have no interest in talking to you” and encouraging me to “start by reporting on” his filing.

Also on Thursday, Jayson Morris, a longtime local Democratic Party activist and Wilson ally, filed a complaint with the King County Democrats, alleging that they had violated their own rules by dual-endorsing Balducci and Zahilay in the county executive race.

Morris’ complaint also claims that the Democrats violated their commitment to Democratic Party values by endorsing candidates whose “conduct”—voting for the resolution calling on Wilson to resign—”has created ethical issues that reflect poorly on the party.”

King County Democrats chair Beth Bazley said that while the Democratic committee itself can’t propose dual endorsements, members themselves can propose multiple endorsements, and added that the vote for each endorsement was “overwhelming.”

Elections, King County, Women

In Motion to Dismiss Restraining Order, County Assessor Calls His Ex-Partner Unstable and Vengeful

By Erica C. Barnett

King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson, who was the subject of a no-confidence vote by the King County Council earlier this week, has filed a motion to dismiss his domestic partner Lee Keller’s temporary restraining order against him, arguing that she is emotionally unstable and is trying to harm him politically.

PubliCola broke the news about the new stalking and harassment allegations against Wilson in May. The Seattle Times covered earlier allegations against Wilson in January.

Wilson, who is running for King County Executive, has never publicly denied Keller’s allegations, including several dating back to 2024, that he texted and called her incessantly, showed up at her home uninvited, followed her movements using tracking apps, and called the workplace of a man she had been seeing to accuse him of sexual assault in an attempt to get him fired. These actions, among others, were the basis for the county council’s call for Wilson to resign as county assessor, a position that affords him access to personal data about King County taxpayers.

Many of Keller’s allegations, including one in which Wilson said the man he’s alleged to have falsely accused of sexual assault “deserves my wrath,” are documented in text messages and phone records. Keller’s latest filing includes a text exchange in which she told Wilson, “LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!” and he responded, “Never,” following up with several more unanswered texts.

Wilson posted a link to his declaration on Facebook, writing:

“As King County Assessor, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the State of Washington – including those cherished principles of the rule of law, the presumption of innocence, and due process.

The King County Council, by voting 8 to 0 to demand my resignation, has shown utter contempt for these principals. They want to deny your choices at the polls and rig the election. Yesterday’s hearing was nothing more than a kangaroo court.

I will NOT resign. I will NOT give up my campaign fighting for the everyday people of King County. But the craven behavior of Councilmembers Balducci and Zahilay show they are unfit to serve the people of King County—let alone as Executive.”

King County Councilmembers Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay are the frontrunners in the race for county executive; Wilson has consistently trailed both in fundraising and endorsements.

In a statement, Keller’s attorney, Paula Kurtz-Kreshel, said Wilson’s “media campaign against my client continues and is troubling not only for its obvious attempt to disparage, intimidate, and otherwise strong-arm a protected party into dropping a restraining order—but also for the fact that his efforts are taking place during hours of employment when one would think he should be working for the people of King County.”

In his new motion, Wilson claimed that he, rather than Keller, was the victim of abuse, pointing to an incident in April 2024 in which he claims Keller “shoved me and nearly made me fall down a flight of stairs.” He called the police, Wilson wrote, because he “felt I had been threatened and was personally at risk.”

A police report by an officer responding to Wilson’s call in 2024 tells a different story. According to the 2024 report, Wilson told the officer that he and Keller “got into a verbal argument” after Wilson went into Keller’s text messages and discovered she had been communicating with an ex. In his telling, Wilson calmly “talked to Keller about not being transparent” and she became “enraged.” Wilson claimed Keller pushed him “in the chest,” which “caught [him] off guard”; he did not mention anything about stairs.

Keller also called police about the incident, meeting with the same officer who had interviewed Wilson at the hotel she was staying in after she fled the home she and Wilson shared. She told the officer that Wilson “hacked” into her messages without her permission and told her they needed to talk, saying he had “proof” that she had been lying to him.

Keller told the officer she and Wilson got into a shouting match while she was standing in the entry to their home and Wilson was standing on the stairs, and said she “never laid a hand on him.” Keller told officers Wilson had tried to push his way into the laundry room where she was feeding her dog before she left for a hotel, and that she broke a ceramic dog bowl while trying to shut the door.

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CLICK BELOW to become a one-time or monthly contributor.

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While the officer was interviewing Keller, he noted in the report, Wilson “called her approximately 15 times and sent roughly 10 text messages saying that there was an emergency and that she needed to call him.” Wilson continued trying to reach Keller, the officer noted, even after the officer picked up one of Wilson’s calls and asked him to stop calling and texting her. Wilson has not publicly disputed any of this; in fact, he included Keller’s police report in the exhibits attached to his filing.

Kurtz-Kreshel said the police reports filed at the time refuted Wilson’s claim that Keller pushed him. “These reports are filed with Mr. Wilson’s motion and ironically spotlight his stalking and harassment of my client.”

Along with the statement, Kurtz-Kreshel provided a copy of an email Wilson sent to the King County Sheriff’s Office two weeks after the April 2024 altercation, in which Wilson said he had “exaggerated the incident as far more serious than it was. Ms. Keller never hurt or injured me when in the heat of our argument she moved me back from standing in front of her. In addition, I never felt in fear of Ms. Keller, or thought for an instant she might want to hurt or injure me.”

In his new motion to dismiss Keller’s restraining order against him, Wilson claimed that Keller’s “instability” and “volatility,” not Wilson’s documented behavior, is the problem. “Unfortunately, as much as I love Lee, her volatility and instability has become a real issue for me both personally and professionally,” Wilson wrote, adding that “once Lee calms down, she wants to see me.”

There are many different reasons that women return to men who are abusive or drop restraining orders against their partners, and the decision to drop a restraining order is not proof that a woman filed the order frivolously or that the relationship is not abusive.

Wilson said the two met in a public place on May 23, 11 days after Keller for the restraining order, and “Lee seemed genuinely happy to see me,” but said things turned sour after Wilson refused to help pay her rent.

“I firmly believe that victims of domestic violence should be protected. However, restraining orders should be a shield for victims and not a sword because someone is mad at you and is lashing out, especially when that someone has a long history of volatility and instability as it is evidenced by the number of times Lee has filed a Petition and then dismissed it,” Wilson wrote.

On June 3, Keller said in a statement that the “restraining order against John Wilson remains in place. I will not be changing my mind, despite his repeated efforts to coerce me to dismiss it. A hearing on the restraining order will be held on June 30, 2025. I welcome the opportunity to address John’s reference to a signed agreement at that time, and inform the court of John’s continuing violations of the very active restraining order.”

Wilson responded to my request for comment by saying, “Your reporting has been so horrendously biased, inaccurate and loaded that I really have no interest in talking to you” and encouraging me to “start by reporting on” his filing.

Also on Thursday, Jayson Morris, a longtime local Democratic Party activist and Wilson ally, filed a complaint with the King County Democrats, alleging that they had violated their own rules by dual-endorsing Balducci and Zahilay in the county executive race.

Morris’ complaint also claims that the Democrats violated their commitment to Democratic Party values by endorsing candidates whose “conduct”—voting for the resolution calling on Wilson to resign—”has created ethical issues that reflect poorly on the party.”

King County Democrats chair Beth Bazley said that while the Democratic committee itself can’t propose dual endorsements, members themselves can propose multiple endorsements, and added that the vote for each endorsement was “overwhelming.”

King County, Women

In Unanimous Vote, King County Council Calls for Assessor John Arthur Wilson, Accused of Stalking, to Step Down


By Erica C. Barnett

The King County Council voted late Tuesday afternoon to approve a motion stating they have “no confidence” in King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson and calling on him to resign. As PubliCola reported exclusively last month, Wilson’s ex-partner Lee Keller has accused him of stalking and harassing her and obtained a restraining order against him for the second time this year.

Councilmember Claudia Balducci, who sponsored the motion, said Wilson’s behavior since the new accusations came to light was classic DARVO, a term used to describe the way many men accused of mistreating women during MeToo behaved. DARVO stands for “deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender,” and Balducci said Wilson has done everything but deny the allegations against him: He’s denied he did anything wrong, attacked people who have criticized him and demanded he resign, and pretend that he himself is the victim.

“The only way to remove an elected official from office is through a recall election, which is not in our power to initiate or to do,” Balducci said. “But I believe we should make very, very clear that we have a line, and this behavior is beyond that line.”

Balducci was one of the only elected officials to call out Wilson publicly the first time he was accused of harassing Keller, in January, when the Seattle Times reported that Wilson had found Keller when she was hiding from him, refused to leave or stop texting and calling her, and even tried to get someone she dated briefly fired by calling his boss and falsely accusing him of sexually assaulting Keller. She didn’t call for his resignation at the time, she told PubliCola, because ““I was concerned at the time that the focus should be on survivors and supporting survivors.”

Councilmember Jorge Barón said he had supported the council’s decision to give Wilson a week to respond to the call for him to step down, but said he did not agree with Wilson’s defenders who have said the council should let the allegations work themselves through the court system before passing judgment.

“I think it’s important to note that this isn’t a judicial proceeding,” Barón said. “This is about our assessment, about whether this elected official has sound judgment … and the confidence of this body, as representatives of the residents of King County, to continue to carry out [his duties]. And I believe that the answer to the questions is clearly, no, we don’t have that confidence because of the way that Mr. Wilson has acted.”

The vote came after the council withdrew to a conference room for a nearly 40-minute executive session.

Since we first reported on the allegations against him, Wilson has been defiant, telling other reporters he has no plan to step down and putting up self-pitying posts on Facebook. In one, he posted a photo of a church in Seattle and said going to church “gives me a chance to ask God for forgiveness for those who I might have hurt and to forgive those who are bearing false witness against me. May that person find peace,” he concluded—an apparent reference to Keller.

In another, he wrote that it was “[g]reat to have friends that stick by you and don’t simply parrot what’s being said by the chattering class. #Onward!!!!”

In a third, he posted a photo of a plaque displayed at former state House Speaker Frank Chopp’s memorial, of a famous quote from a Theodore Roosevelt speech now known as “The Man In the Arena.”* The excerpt, which is frequently quoted by politicians frustrated with their critics, is about how critics, “those cold and timid souls,” stay on the sidelines and point fingers while the man of action strides forward to victory or valiant defeat. “This quote from Teddy Roosevelt seems particularly timely for me,” Wilson wrote on June 1.

“After seeing a glimpse of what accountability for unacceptable behavior looks like during the MeToo movement, I refuse to have to continue to operate in a society that just expects women to deal with stalking, harassment, assault,” Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said. “I refuse to tell my daughter that she will have to continue to grow up in a society that just expects that of women. … So I hope that this act today will be one more effort to ask him to step down and to see that he has lost the trust of this body.”

The motion passed unanimously, with only Reagan Dunn—a Republican council member who was present via Zoom earlier in the meeting—absent.

* Politicians love to quote this one partial (partial!) paragraph from this one fucking speech, which is in reality almost 9,000 words long and probably took at least an hour to read out loud. The speech, “Citizenship In A Republic,” is a lengthy jeremiad against extremism in political and personal affairs, with a populist tilt favoring men who do “the rough work of a workaday world.” Unsurprisingly for such a long speech, it’s a bit all over the map—there are references to pioneers conquering an “Indian-haunted land” and Gamaliel the Old (had to look that one up), and at one point TR encourages his audience to “perpetuate the race” by having as many children as possible. What the speech does not encourage is grandiosity or self-pity, which is usually the context in which it is quoted.