SEATTLE — Two Seattle residents filed recall charges against Mayor Katie Wilson on Tuesday, August 11, alleging she has neglected her legal duty to maintain public safety and peace in the city.
Melinda Jacobson and Dale Osterud submitted the charges to the King County Elections Office, accusing Wilson of dereliction in addressing crime, gun violence, open-air drug activity and related issues across multiple neighborhoods during her first eight months in office. The filing also criticizes her decision to seek the resignation of Police Chief Shon Barnes.
The charges are the initial step under Washington state law for seeking a recall of an elected official. The charges must undergo technical review by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. If these meet requirements, prosecutors will prepare a ballot synopsis for King County Superior Court, where a judge will determine whether the allegations meet the legal standard of misfeasance, malfeasance or violation of the oath of office. Only then could proponents circulate petitions.
If approved, organizers would have 180 days to gather roughly 70,000 valid signatures from registered Seattle voters — equal to 25% of the total votes cast in the previous mayoral election. Sufficient verified signatures would trigger a special recall election.
Wilson, a democratic socialist and former community organizer who co-founded the Transit Riders Union, took office January 1, 2026, after narrowly defeating incumbent Bruce Harrell in the November 2025 election by less than 1 percentage point, the closest Seattle mayoral contest by margin since 1906.
The recall filing comes amid fallout from a July 26 shooting at the Bite of Seattle festival at Seattle Center, where three people were killed and others wounded in what police described as a possible gang-related exchange of gunfire involving multiple suspects, including a 15-year-old who was charged and a 19-year-old suspect who died at the scene. City officials faced criticism over delayed and inconsistent public communications after the incident.
Wilson accepted Barnes’ resignation on July 30 and appointed Deputy Chief Andre Sayles as interim chief. The charges call the move a “hasty, rash decision” that created instability in the department, arguing Barnes had provided stability, improved recruiting and community engagement. Wilson has cited communication gaps between her office and the department as a factor.
Other allegations focus on neighborhood conditions. In North Aurora, the filing claims residents contacted the mayor’s office from January through June about gun violence, prostitution and sex trafficking without response, and that temporary barriers installed by neighbors to stop “gun battles” were removed on the mayor’s order before the city later installed trial barriers.
In the Chinatown-International District, proponents cite ongoing open-air drug sales, shootings and stabbings near 12th Avenue and Jackson Street. Similar concerns about drug activity and crime are raised for Belltown and Third Avenue. The charges also allege Wilson deactivated or failed to activate closed-circuit television cameras in areas including the Stadium District, Little Saigon, near Garfield High School and Capitol Hill — some funded by federal grants — despite requests from residents and businesses.
Mayor Wilson did not responded to questions of the recall.
