Tag: This Week on PubliCola

City Council, Density, Mayor Wilson, Poverty, Transit

This Week on PubliCola: July 18, 2026

A marathon debate over transit funding, Katie Wilson’s flight patterns, a bill that would limit endless land-use appeals, and more news from the past week.

Monday, July 13

Seattle Nice Discusses Mayor Katie Wilson’s Track Record at Six Months

On the first of two podcast episodes this week, we discussed how the mayor is doing at six months, focusing on her approach to encampment sweeps (she’s doing them), her progress toward her shelter goals (falling short, but better than her predecessor Bruce Harrell), and the likelihood of budget cuts this year (thanks in large part to spending commitments Harrell made, without regard for future budget impacts, right before the 2025 election.)

Tuesday, July 14

Voting “Yes” On Prop. 1 Will Fund the Library System We Deserve

Guest columnist Brittney Moraski, who’s the advocacy chair for the Seattle Public Library Foundation Board, makes the case for the August library levy measure, which will expand collections, spiff up the aging downtown library, and fund programs like No Late Fines and Peak Picks—not to mentiona quarter of the library’s staff.

Seattle May Actually Limit Anti-Housing Land Use Appeals

Legislation from Councilmember Eddie Lin would get rid of land-use appeals to the city’s hearing examiner, which currently give people who oppose density the ability to stop zoning legislation and comprehensive plan updates in their tracks. The bill would still leave two other post-legislative appeal options open.

More People Will be Eligible for Utility Discounts

City Councilmember Dan Strauss’ legislation expanding eligibility for the city’s Utility Discount Program, which provides deep discounts to ratepayers who qualify, passed easily this week.

Wednesday, July 15

As Mayor, Katie Wilson Doesn’t Travel Much. When She Does, You’ll Find Her in 23F.

Unlike her predecessor Bruce Harrell, who spent large chunks of his term traveling, along with his wife, to conferences and junkets around the nation and world, Mayor Wilson has only left Seattle on city business two times in her first six months, and only once on the city dime. Also unlike her predecessor, Wilson travels in coach—Harrell used his personal wealth to pay for first-class upgrades, including five-figure plane tickets and five-star hotels.

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Thursday, July 16

Land Use Appeal Reform Moves Forward

The land use appeal reform bill we covered earlier in the week passed out of the land use committee, and heads to an uncertain vote at the full council.

Council Splits on Funding for School Meals

The city council appears to be split on a Families and Education Levy spending proposal from Joy Hollingsworth and Dionne Foster that would delay funding for universal school meals, which Wilson previously identified as one of her key accomplishments, and use the money instead to pay for take-home food vouchers for low-income kids. Eddie Lin told us it would take a lot to convince him to vote against universal school meals.

Friday, July 17

After Marathon Meeting, Council Committee Passes Wilson’s Transit Measure Mostly Intact

It took almost three and a half hours of speeches (and one called question—someone on the council’s reading Robert’s Rules!) but a committee of all nine council members ended up approving Mayor Wilson’s proposed transit sales measure mostly intact. Proposals to cut the size and duration of the tax failed, and there are lots of directives to report on this and that, but chalk this one up as a victory for the mayor. Once it passes full council, the proposal will head to voters in November.

Seattle Nice: Taxing for Transit, Nude Beach Ruling, and Mayor Wilson’s Frugal Flights

On the second episode of Seattle Nice this week, we talked about that marathon transit discussion, along with my story on Wilson’s travel and a court ruling this week that will allow the nude beach at Denny Blaine Park to remain nude, but not “lewd.”

Also this week:

I was a guest on Rachel Horgan’s The Weekly podcast, where I talked about what it takes to sustain a podcast long-term, the story of how Josh and I founded this independent news site in 2009 and how my business model works now, and what’s been going on in Seattle politics lately. Rachel covers local business news and a lot more every week.

If you’d like to read an entertaining blow-by-blow of Thursday’s big transit tax debate, I covered it live, in way more detail, on Bluesky.

 

homelessness, housing, Mayor Wilson, Police, public disclosure, Transit

This Week on PubliCola: July 12, 2026

A wide-ranging interview with the mayor, a proposal to replace universal free meals at school with means-tested vouchers, serious questions about public disclosure at the homelessness author, and more.

By Erica C. Barnett

Monday, July 6

Sound Transit’s Bespoke Wayfinding System Is Unnecessarily Baffling

The regional light-rail agency has made significant changes to its wayfinding signage over the past few years, in what the agency calls an effort to make the signs easier to understand. But many of the new features, such as the removal of location information from station exits, are more confusing than clarifying.

Tuesday, July 7

Wilson Turns Off Stadium Surveillance Cameras

Mayor Katie Wilson kept her word on surveillance cameras in the stadium district, cutting power to the cameras immediately after the World Cup games ended. But the future of police camera surveillance in Seattle still hangs in the balance as the city waits for a security audit by the NYU Policing Project to wrap up later this year.

Homeless Authority Director Tells Staff Not to Trust the Media

After the city and county announced they were taking control of the region’s homeless service contracts, a process that will lead to layoffs at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, KCRHA’s director Kelly Kinnison sent an all-staff email telling her employees not to believe what they read in the media, “especially outlets with low journalistic standards with a history of one-sided, agenda-driven, or incorrect reporting.”

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Thursday, July 9

Mayor Katie Wilson at Six Months In: “Incredibly Proud of What We’re Accomplishing”

In part one of my interview with Mayor Wilson, she discussed the accomplishments she’s proudest of in her first six months; why the city is still sweeping encampments without providing shelter or services; the prognosis for her plan to add 1,000 new shelter beds in her first year, and much more.

Council Proposal Would Delay Universal School Lunch Program, Fund Means-Tested Food Vouchers Instead

A proposal from City Council President Joy Hollingsworth would undo one of the items Wilson ticked off on her list of signature achievements, by replacing a plan to use the city’s families and education levy to fund universal school meals with one that would provide vouchers for meals on weekends and holidays to low-income kids. Hollingsworth said her proposal was more fair because it would largely benefit low-income Black kids in places with more food insecurity, as opposed to helping all kids, including some whose parents could afford to pay for school lunches.

Mayor Katie Wilson Says She’s “Doing a Reset” on Housing Agenda, “Very Hopeful” About Police Chief

In part 2 of our interview, Mayor Wilson talked about some of the pushback she’s gotten on her affordability agenda. We also discussed the $175 million budget deficit the city is facing next year, and whether the police department will face cuts or if other city departments, as usual, will have to take bigger cuts to keep SPD’s budget growing.

Friday, July 10

KCRHA CEO Sought to Shield Records From Public Disclosure, Emails Suggest

Emails between KCRHA CEO Kinnison and agency staff suggest that Kinnison sought to exempt many of her emails from public disclosure through a number of methods, including “sensitivity labels” designed to ensure some emails wouldn’t show up in records request searches. Kinnison also appears to have put an IT manager, rather than a certified public disclosure officer, in charge of doing initial searches for records. Kinnison’s decisions raise questions about whether the agency has withheld records from disclosure that it is legally required to produce.

City Council, Density, homelessness, Mayor Wilson, Media

This Week on PubliCola: July 4, 2026
KCRHA CEO Kelly Kinnison

KCRHA contracts yanked, opponents rail against plan to eliminate one avenue for challenging density, news vouchers pushed back a year, and much more.

Monday, June 29

KCRHA Spins the News that Homelessness Is Growing

At a meeting of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s governing board, KCRHA leaders put a positive spin on the news that more people are homeless in the region than ever, noting that the overall rate of increase has slowed. As we discussed on the Seattle Nice podcast, however, unsheltered homelessness grew substantially, making Seattle an outlier among US cities.

Tuesday, June 30

News Vouchers Delayed Until 2027

Mayor Katie Wilson’s office confirmed this week that a planned ballot measure to fund local, independent journalism has been delayed a year; initially, the mayor’s office had planned to introduce a proposal this summer.

Stranger’s Editor Out

The Stranger’s editor, Hannah Murphy Winter, was fired this week after two years on the job. The timing—one day before the paper released its primary election endorsements—sparked speculation, but the decision seemed to be unrelated to the endorsements.

Ex-Cop Fired for Punching Handcuffed Woman Involved in Fracas at Pride

Adley Shepherd, a former SPD officer who was fired after punching a woman who was handcuffed in the back of his police car, was apparently providing security for a street preacher at a Pride event when a melee erupted, ending when someone restrained Shepherd to break up the brawl. Shepherd appears to have been standing on someone’s wheelchair, ignoring people who asked him to let the person move.

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Wednesday, July 1

Regional Homelessness Agency “Right-Sizing” Will Largely Restore Pre-KCRHA Status Quo

King County Executive Girmay Zahilay and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced they’ll transfer the region’s homelessness contracts back to the city and county, effectively ending the King County Regional Homelessness Authority as it has existed for the past five years. Although both demurred when asked if the authority was a failure, KCRHA CEO Kelly Kinnison told reporters, “As it was launched, [KCRHA] is a failed experiment.”

Thursday, July 2

“Ballard is an Environmental Disaster”: Opponents Rail Against Plan to Eliminate One Avenue for Land Use Appeals

A public hearing on a proposal to eliminate one of several avenues for appealing city land use decisions drew the usual crowd of opponents, who argued that allowing more housing for renters in Seattle would kill orcas, “clear-cut” the city, and lead to dangerous urban heat islands. They also testified against planting new trees, arguing that saplings do nothing compared to existing trees.

Friday, July 4

Proposal to Temporarily Cut Fees on New Housing Is Dead (For Now)

In an 11th-hour decision, Mayor Katie Wilson decided not to propose legislation that would temporarily reduce fees on new market-rate housing that help fund affordable housing projects, saying the proposal needed more process. Housing development has fallen off a cliff in the last year, and developers asked for a two-year, 80 percent discount on the fees so that projects that are currently in limbo could move forward.

Council Amendments Would Slash Transit Funding Plan, Subject Measure to Annual Council Vote

The city council has its hands on Mayor Katie Wilson’s proposal to increase the sales tax that funds additional King County Metro bus service in Seattle, and some councilmembers are asking for major changes. Bob Kettle wants to cut the tax to a level that will require cuts to service, and Rob Saka wants to divert funding for service hours to transit police and security officers on buses.

Also this week: On the latest episode of Seattle Nice, posted today, we discussed the big KCRHA news and what it means for the future of the region’s homelessness system, and the arguments for and against giving developers a break on affordable housing fees.

 

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.

 

City Council, Civil Rights, homelessness, Mayor Wilson, public safety

This Week on PubliCola: June 13, 2026
Upheaval at the Mayor’s Office, KCRHA Gets a Lifeline, SPD Hiring Surges, and nine other PubliCola stories you may have missed this week

By Erica C. Barnett

Monday, June 8

Morning Fizz: Wilson Backs Down on Tenant Protection Rollbacks

Fire Department Funding Plan Fizzles

Privacy Advocates Push Back on Surveillance During World Cup

Three stories in this week’s first Morning Fizz.

First up: Mayor Katie Wilson, who had been considering rollbacks to tenant protections requested by local affordable housing developers, has decided not to propose changes to the just cause ordinance that would have made it easier for landlords to evict tenants with three day’s notice and made it harder for renters to take in roommates and family members.

Second, a proposal to address the city’s budget deficit by moving much of the Fire Department’s funding onto a special taxing district—a story PubliCola broke last month—is dead, after the firefighters’ union declined to get on board with the mayor’s plan.

Finally, privacy advocates who supported Wilson’s campaign expressed skepticism at the mayor’s claim that she has seen evidence of a “credible threat” that justified turning surveillance cameras on at the stadiums during the World Cup games.

Tuesday, June 9

Seattle Turned on the Surveillance Cameras Before It Wrote the Rules

In a guest op/ed, anti-surveillance advocate Phil Mocek argued that Wilson decided to turn on police surveillance cameras near the stadiums before the city has even come up with rules for when and how surveillance will be deployed throughout the city.

City, County Plan to “Embed” Consultant to Address Financial Issues at Homelessness Agency

After a flurry of discussions last week, the city and county pulled back on a planned announcement that they would be taking over the homelessness contracts currently managed by the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. Instead, Mayor Wilson and King County Executive Girmay Zahilay announced plans to “embed” a consulting team at the agency to work on addressing financial issues identified in a recent forensic audit.

Wednesday, June 10

New Council Legislation Could Make Your Utility Bills Cheaper

Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss is proposing legislation that would expand eligibility for the city’s utility discount program to people at higher income levels over the next few years. Tenants without their own City Light accounts whose landlords use “ratio utility billing systems,” or RUBS, will continue to be ineligible for the discount program.

Auditor: KCRHA’s Corrective Action Plan Fails to Take Audit Findings Seriously

Responding to a “corrective action plan” KCRHA proposed to address the findings in a recent (devastating) forensic audit, the auditors urged local leaders to be skeptical of the KCRHA’s claims. The KCRHA has adopted a fairly dismissive attitude toward the audit, suggesting that most of the serious financial issues identified in the audit have been corrected, are being corrected, or resulted to forces outside their control; the auditors strongly disagree.

Thursday, June 11

Another Upheaval on Mayor Wilson’s Staff as Communications Director Departs

In a staff shakeup that PubliCola has heard won’t be the last, Mayor Wilson asked her communications director, Seferiana Day, to step down, and announced a major overhaul of her org chart (though no new hires). Sources said there’s an ongoing debate over who’s to blame for bad (or a lack of positive) press—the comms team or the mayor and her policy staff.

Friday, June 12

Morning Fizz: Police Chief Says No Plan to Slow Hiring Amid Budget Crunch

City Attorney Says “SOAP Orders Don’t Work” at Aurora Ave. Safety Event

At an event outside Council Chambers to announce actions the city is taking to address gun violence and sex trafficking on Aurora (including street closures and taking back guns from people accused of being involved in shootings), Police Chief Shon Barnes said the department has no plans to slow down on hiring, despite a budget presentation showing that SPD is on track to hire more new officers than it has funding to pay for.

During the same event, City Attorney Erika Evans took a strong position against Stay Out of Areas of Prostitution banishment orders—a bold position in a crowd of SOAP advocates, including the original SOAP sponsor, former councilmember Cathy Moore.

There was some backstage drama surrounding the event, which was originally planned as a council event excoriating the mayor for her lack of action on Aurora. Council-mayor relationships, which range from chilly to hostile, haven’t improved; lately, the council has been refusing invitations to mayoral press conferences as a kind of protest against Wilson’s tendency to announce big initiatives without talking to them first.

Afternoon Fizz:

Union Urges Wilson to Act After Investigation into Civil Rights Director Concludes

KCRHA Proposes 7 New Hires

Two more stories to close out the week. First, PROTEC17, the union that represents workers at the city’s Office for Civil Rights, urged Mayor Wilson to dismiss OCR Director Derrick Wheeler-Smith after an investigation into widespread misconduct claims affirmed at least some of the allegations staff made against the director earlier tthis year.

The KCRHA’s finance committee recommended making seven new hires at the beleaguered agency, despite a recommendation from the city, county, and auditors that the agency institute a hiring freeze.

 

City Council, homelessness, Mayor Wilson, podcasts, Police

This Week On PubliCola: June 6, 2026

AI use by SPD, doubling taxes for transit, fare gates at light rail stations, and more.

By Erica C. Barnett

Monday, June 1

Seattle Nice: How Badly Did Sound Transit Screw Seattle Over?

On the first of three (three!) Seattle Nice podcasts this week, we disdid a deep dive on the Sound Transit board’s decision last week to indefinitely defer the voter-approved light rail extension to Ballard, a stretch that boasts by far the highest projected ridership of any line in the Sound Transit 3 package voters approved ten years ago. Is Ballard light rail doomed? Tune in to get our takes.

Aide to Councilmember Saka Sought Restraining Order Against Constituent

Elaine Ko, the longtime—and now retired—chief of staff to City Councilmember Rob Saka, got so fed up with a rude and persistent District 1 constituent that she sought a restraining order that would prevent him from contacting her about city business. A judge said the man’s behavior didn’t constitute harassment, but not all our readers agreed.

Tuesday, June 2

Wilson Proposes Doubling Transit Sales Tax to Fund Local Bus Service Expansion

Mayor Wilson rolled out a propsal to double the amount of sales tax Seattle residents pay to get extra transit service in the city. In announcing her plan to increase the regressive sales tax, Wilson said she decided not to impose a vehicle license fee on car owners, in part, because she thought it would prove too “controversial.”

Wednesday, June 3

New Federal Guidelines Put Funding for Permanent Supportive Housing at Risk

After a delay that resulted from a legal battle over an earlier proposal, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed new funding guidelines for housing and services for people experiencing homelessness. Local providers and advocates are still discussing the implications of the guidelines, which could restrict funds for permanent supportive housing but appear less restrictive than the earlier, deeply problematic proposal.

Seattle Nice: Is Seattle’s Housing Market In Trouble?

On this week’s second episode of the podcast, we talked to Redfin’s chief economist, Daryl Fairweather, about the recent slowdown of Seattle’s housing market and whether it means renters and home buyers might see some relief on housing costs.

Thursday, June 4

At City Club Event, Mayor Answers Questions Like “Why Isn’t Pizza Cheap Yet”

FOX 13 anchor Han Kim interviewed the mayor at an event sponsored by City Club Seattle, hitting Wilson repeatedly with bad-faith questions and insisting that she respond to delusional claims about homeless people by D-list former reality star, crystal aficionado, and LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt.

No More Laissez-Fare: Pilot Program Will Install Fare Gates at Up to 14 Stations

Sound Transit announced a “pilot” project that will add fare gates to as many as 14 light rail stations, citing high rates of fare “evasion” by riders who board trains without paying at ORCA card readers . The proposal would cost between etween $79 million and $88 million, according to staff, and bring in an additional $30 million a year.

Friday, June 5

Investigation Found That KCRHA Director Retaliated Against Staffers Who Complained

An investigation last year found that a “preponderance of the evidence” supports the conclusion that King County Regional Homelessness Authority director retaliated against two former stffers, Edmund Witter and Xochitl Maykovich, after the two voiced concerns about Kinnison’s leadership at a contentious staff meeting last year.

SPD’s Chief Spokesperson Asked AI for Help with Interview Prep, Rewriting Blog Posts, and More

The Seattle Police Department communications director, Barbara DeLollis, used unapproved AI chatbots to produce a number of SPD-related documents, including a “Comprehensive Communications Toolkit for a Police Department Exiting a Consent Decree. The prompts included “a request to rewrite a published blog post to “ake this a better story for the public of a city that doenst liek crime or disorder” (sic).

Wilson Caves on Stadium Surveillance, Two More Cops Allege Discrimination as SPD Settles Earlier Claims for $2.6 Million

Two stories in this week’s late-Friday Fizz. First, Mayor Wilson decided at the last minute to turn on police surveillance cameras around teh stadiums for the upcoming World Cup games, citing unspecified “general but serious” security threats. She has been under intense pressure from conservatives and police to activate the cameras but had pledged she would not do so unless a credible threat emerged.

Second, four female police officers who sued the city over gender discrimination settled with the city for $2.6 million—right around the time that two different officers, a woman and a gay man, filed a tort claim against the department, alleging they were denied promotions due to anti-woman and anti-gay discrimination by Police Chief Shon Barnes.

Saturday, June 6

Seattle Nice: Mayor Wilson Doubles Down on Transit Sales Tax

On the third episode of Seattle Nice this week, we discuss the mayor’s proposal to double the local sales tax that pays for extra bus service in Seattle. The sales tax is regressive, but it’s one of only two options the city has for increasing local transit service. Wilson rejected the other option, a flat vehicle license fee, as risky; her transportation advisor, Alex Hudson, said this week that the fee would cost car drivers too much for what transit riders would get in return.