Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson to skip upcoming recall petition hearing

SEATTLE - Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced Wednesday that she will not personally attend an upcoming civil court hearing regarding a petition to recall her from office, opting instead to be represented by legal counsel.

A King County Civil Superior Court judge is set to review the petition at a scheduled hearing to evaluate the allegations.

Mayor responds to recall efforts

The recall effort follows public debate surrounding the city's response to the "Bite of Seattle" shooting. Despite the pending legal action, Wilson indicated her focus remains on city administration and affordable housing initiatives.

"That is a legal process that we'll be playing out," Wilson said while signing an executive order on affordable housing. "I'm focused on leading the city and on making it an affordable place for people to live and that's the work that we're here to discuss today."

When asked directly whether she would appear in court for the legal proceedings, Wilson confirmed she would not be present.

"I personally will not be there," Wilson said. "I will be represented by counsel."

City officials have not yet responded to inquiries regarding who will represent the mayor or whether public funds will cover the legal representation.

Recall petition grounds and CCTV audit

The petition seeking Wilson's removal cites several issues, including public safety concerns in the North Aurora neighborhood and the Chinatown-International District, the firing of Police Chief Shon Barnes, and the mayor's management of city CCTV cameras.

Attention surrounding the city's camera system heightened following a shootout in Pioneer Square, where cameras had been turned off after the World Cup, alongside a recent poll indicating 75 percent voter support for public safety cameras. Wilson reiterated that decisions regarding any expansion of the surveillance system will depend on an ongoing review.

"We're continuing to follow the course that I laid out earlier this year, which is that, as we speak, there's an audit being conducted of our— of privacy, data security, storage-sharing practices for our CCTV system," Wilson said. "We expect the results of that audit to be coming out, I believe around the end of September."

Next steps in the legal process

The upcoming court hearing will determine whether the petition allegations meet statutory requirements, specifically, whether the mayor committed serious misconduct or broke the law, and whether the ballot summary is adequate.

Under state process, neither the mayor nor the petitioners are required to attend the hearing in person, which remains open to the public.

The recall initiative is currently in its initial judicial review phase and has not yet advanced to the signature-collection stage. Voters seeking information on local election processes, voter registration, or election administration can consult King County Elections or the Washington Secretary of State Elections Division.

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