(The Center Square) – A hearing on the merits of a recall petition filed against Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is scheduled for Aug. 31 in King County Superior Court as a new poll showed a majority of voters want her to leave office.
The 9 a.m hearing before Judge Patrick Oishi was scheduled Wednesday after the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office reviewed the petition by a North Seattle couple, Melinda Jacobson and Dale Osterud, and forwarded it to the Superior Court.
The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office review is the first step in the review process.
The hearing will determine whether there is sufficient evidence that the petitions meet the requirements of Washington State law for malfeasance or violation of an oath of office.
Jacobson and Osterud argue that the mayor’s mishandling of public safety issues meets the legal standard and provides sufficient grounds to remove her from office.
The recall petition states that a five-hour delay to hold a press conference after the Bite of Seattle food festival shooting on July 26 that killed three, continuing crime on North Aurora Avenue and in the Chinatown/International District, and a decision to turn off surveillance cameras after the World Cup, all point to the mayor’s failures.
If the judge were to accept the petition as valid, the couple would have 90 days to gather 69,000 valid signatures to hold a recall.
Jacobson says she had been gratified to see online support in favor of the petition,
“Right now, there’s a strong sentiment that the mayor should be recalled,” she said. “But it’s in the hands of the judge.”
Jacobson and Osterud are entitled to bring a lawyer to the hearing, but Jacobson said the effort is grass-roots and she and her husband don’t have the funds to bring legal representation.
Mayor Wilson’s Interim Communications Director, Dawn Schellenberg, didn’t comment on the pending hearing on Wednesday. Wilson would also be allowed to bring a lawyer.
But in an email on Tuesday, Wilson defended her public safety record, saying crime was down overall in the city, including on North Aurora Avenue and in the Chinatown/International District.
“Citywide shootings are down more than 20% and homicides down more than 30% in the first half of this year. While that’s real progress, we know we have more work to do, and we are not going to stop until every person in every neighborhood feels safe,” she said.
Meanwhile, a new poll by the conservative-leaning organization Change Washington released Wednesday found that 60% of voters surveyed said Wilson should be recalled or resign.
About two-thirds of participants disapproved of her job performance.
“The most significant finding is not simply that Wilson is unpopular,” said Change Washington’s press release announcing the poll. “It is that dissatisfaction has spread deeply among Democratic and independent voters, the very Seattle constituencies a progressive mayor must be able to count on.”
The poll was conducted Aug. 13 through 17 by text message and surveyed 452 voters.
According to the poll, 53% of Democrats say Wilson should resign or be removed, while just 37% say she should remain in office. The rest were undecided.
Sally Poliak, a Change Washington board member, said what was striking about the results is the strong disfavor with Wilson among independent voters, just months into her term.
“This is your typical Seattle voter,” she told The Center Square of independent voters.
Most members of the Seattle City Council have expressed displeasure with Wilson over public safety, including her request that former Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes resign last month.
Barnes resigned after negotiating a settlement worth around $700,000 from the city.
But none of the council members have taken a position on the politically sensitive issue of a recall. Not one responded to The Center Square’s request for an interview on Wednesday.
