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City Attorney Ann Davison takes office, with supporter saying she’ll be ‘like no other’

January 4, 2022 8:22 pm
|      80 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Among the elected officials ceremonially sworn in today was the new Seattle City Attorney, Ann Davison. She too had a brief speech after her oath of office. She was introduced by Victoria Beach, longtime chair of the Seattle Police Department African American Community Advisory Council, who said that “Ann has given our city hope” and would be “a city attorney like no other.” Davison herself noted that she’s the first woman to hold the position, making this “a big day for women and girls in Seattle.” Even more than that, Davison said, “this election showed that people are powerful and they’re demanding that we enforce our laws,” after a time in which, she contended, many felt powerless, unsafe, and afraid. “Our legal system must be used as a tool to stand up for victims,” Davison said. She didn’t get into policy specifics but did talk about a duty to “take guns off the streets” so that “misdemeanor gun violations” aren’t followed by felony violent crimes. Davison succeeds Pete Holmes, who came in third in the primary

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80 Replies to "City Attorney Ann Davison takes office, with supporter saying she'll be 'like no other'"

  • Derek January 4, 2022 (8:39 pm)

    I voted against her as I cannot trust ex-Trump supporters and someone being a city attorney with zero experience. Jailing for small crime doesn’t work and hasn’t worked for a century. 

    • DavisonHasNeverSupportedTrump January 4, 2022 (9:05 pm)

      City Attorney Davison voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. She has plenty of imperfections, but she has never supported the disgraced former president.

      • Derek January 4, 2022 (9:24 pm)

        You have proof who she voted for? Then why did she publicly support him? Were you in the voting booth? She sided with Trump on many issues.

      • Lagartija Nick January 5, 2022 (10:10 am)

        I don’t know who she voted for (none of us do) but it is a matter of public record that in 2018 she ran for Governor AS A REPUBLICAN. I mean seriously, she looked at the dumpster fire that was #45’s administration and decided to join that party. That says all I need to know about her judgement, or lack thereof.

        • DavisonHasNeverSupportedTrump January 5, 2022 (12:26 pm)

          Davison ran for Lieutenant Governor as a Republican in 2020. There was not a gubernatorial election here in 2018, and she has never run for governor.

          • Lagartija Nick January 5, 2022 (1:27 pm)

            My mistake and thank you for the correction. But really that just makes it worse, instead of just two years she watched all four years and still decided to join the Trump republican party. You can believe her words that she didn’t/doesn’t support Trump and voted for Clinton/Biden but her ACTIONS objectively say otherwise.

    • Cantwait January 4, 2022 (9:15 pm)

      She’s not a trump supporter. Your comment is evidence that left echo chambers are just as bad as the right. Looking forward to moving more to the middle with the newly elected. 

      • Kevin on Delridge January 5, 2022 (10:37 am)

        The “middle” is upholding of negative peace for your own comfort. It is a lack of understanding or concern for the actual causes, instead shifting blame to the individual. The middle is cowardice.

        “I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”

        “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” – Martin Luther King Jr.

    • What Do I Know January 5, 2022 (12:34 am)

      As I see repeated comments from Derek here on the WSB related to different stories, I have come to realize the context consistently seems to come from another universe. And, all the feedback people provide in respnse appears to fail to sway him as to how the real world works. In response, he clings strongly to his beliefs; is this with the hope of gaining support for them? Or, is he quietly thinking, hmm, maybe there is another point of view l could consider? So, now I wonder, if with age and experience, will these comments change over time? Sort of a social experiment and entertainment for me to watch.

      • tom January 5, 2022 (10:21 am)

        i came to a similar conclusion

      • DavisonHasNeverSupportedTrump January 5, 2022 (12:14 pm)

        Well said. It would be even more entertaining to have an official “Battle of the WSB Keyboard Warriors” and watch Derek and Jort duke it out.

      • Kevin on Delridge January 5, 2022 (1:07 pm)

        I think they understand just fine “how the world works.” They are saying is that the world isn’t working, and the solutions presented to correct them are poor or repeats of failed ideas.

        Are you maybe misunderstanding their argument due to your limited worldview? The fact that you agree with what you believe to be the antithesis to Derek’s position, doesn’t make that argument correct or infallible.

        I love seeing the ageism too. In the absence of any objective reasoning for your own position, you search for something to justify the correctness of your view. Nothing beats an objective number (age), that has no bearing on the resolution of these issues, to prop up your argument as superior. But this must be how you think the world works.

        • What Do I Know January 5, 2022 (2:14 pm)

          Well, in my past l held similar beliefs, participated in protests for what wasn’t working, have been tear gassed, and ended up working many years in the public mental health/chemical dependency system, so l know first hand how that works. I don’t feel superior, just weathered. In my experience, I saw that change came from actually working in the field (MH/SA), and not thorough protests or sitting at a keyboard spending off philosophical thoughts and saying others are responsible. Each of us can be responsible. Currently there are mental health and chemical dependency courts for those who sentence people for treatment. But for other misdemeanors, there needs to be accountability. It doesn’t need to be such that it makes a poor person’s life worse, but enough to stop it from escalating. 

          • Kevin on Delridge January 5, 2022 (5:54 pm)

            First, I want to make it clear that the correctness of your arguments cannot be determined by “weathering” or some other arbitrary justification. While you’ve changed the wording of your claim that age is relevant in the validity of claims, it is a carbon copy. To claim that what you are saying is correct because of your age, the weathering of your ideas, or the shift in your ideas over time is a fallacy, irrelevant, and it isn’t serving any purpose in the discussion.

            Second, your experience, while admirable and appreciated, isn’t relevant. I could also use experience that would support an alternative view, but an argument for results cannot be derived from that alone. I don’t know what to do with the belief that thinking and communicating about issues philosophically is somehow not useful. I’d argue the lack of this is why we’ve arrived at such a poor position with an inability to communicate effectively on this issue (and just about everything).

            “Each of us can be responsible” – of course. And this is where again I think you misunderstand the positions presented here. Responsibility or blame can be ascribed in a multitude of ways for the same action. We’ve seemingly decided as a society to end that inquiry at the individual. Such a position will never produce the desired  result (reducing or eliminating crime) because it is rarely ONLY the individual. Yes, the person that stole is responsible for the theft but we do ourselves a disservice to end our understanding or action at the individual.

            There is a great body of research that provide us insight into the underlying causes for an overwhelming number of crimes such as theft and domestic abuse, among others. We know that poverty and low income level are major contributors. Some of us, armed with this knowledge, would like to eliminate these conditions. And here is another misunderstanding on your part. You’re still playing by the same rules. Such as the idea that crime cannot be prevented, only controlled. There is more evidence to suggest that this is incorrect. We don’t need to wait until someone comes to work with you in order to intervene. We can prevent them from ever needing to make it to you by eliminating many of the conditions that give rise to crime. Which conveniently, makes you more available to help those who may truly need it.

            If someone’s conditions pushed them to crime and then we punish them, but do not change their conditions, how have we deterred them? Maybe it works for a time but they will often return to crime. Maybe they just do it smarter or in ways that we don’t punish as harshly like white collar crimes (maybe some wage theft, starting the cycle again). The reality is that their conditions are precisely the same, so while we’ve punished the behavior we haven’t addressed the root cause. I don’t know of any problems you can solve by not addressing their root cause. As others have pointed out here, there are reasons we don’t want to solve this problem since prison is now profitable, so I would think deeply about who it serves to hold these positions. Does it truly serve the humans who find themselves in these positions? Or is it serving someone or something else?

            The best way to reduce or eliminate crime is to systematically eliminate the conditions that are likely to produce criminal behavior. This issue, like many others in our society, are not improving because we refuse to consider that anything other than the individual can be responsible. Until we stop believing that people don’t deserve a place to live, food to eat, and healthcare until they “pass the test” we will not see improvements. You may experience temporary relief, under these policies, real or imagined, but we are not fundamentally making our society any better. Rather, we are pushing deeper into anomie as we become a society fueled by retribution and the appearance of order which is and will continue to be exploited by the rich and powerful at the expense of human beings (us).

          • What Do I Know January 6, 2022 (11:14 am)

            Completely support feasible, real world, solutions to poverty, but I”m not certain taxing Amazon/Starbucks CEOs is realistic–hence my scepticism. My original comment was also related to how one’s thinking changes over time, to which you seemed to take offense. It was simply based on the following article.   https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/there-are-two-americas-and-age-divider#

          • zark00 January 6, 2022 (5:57 pm)

            @ What do I know – You stated that Derek’s comments come from ‘another world’. You literally called his opinions crazy, and claimed that only your opinions, because you are older, can be considered legitimate. Then you posted a link to an article that clearly states:“We can say, with a great deal of confidence, that people get more conservative when they get older—and a lot more,” says Chicago Booth’s Sam PeltzmanSo you are obviously saying that progressive ideals are “out of this world” and your hard core conservative opinions are the only opinions that can be considered as they are wise and backed by experience. In other words, only conservative ideals are valid, progressive opinions are invalid, even crazy.Not sure if you meant to say that, but that’s exactly what you said: Progressive ideals are crazy and should be ignored in favor of whatever old people think regardless of how the old people formed those opinions. Your experience and age are more likely to limit your ability to understand the nuances of the society you live in today; leaving you with no option but to push for a return to what is understandable and comfortable to you.  That’s what you’re doing here. Reducing any ideal that you cannot understand to ‘crazy’ and promoting conservative ideals that you feel comfortable with as the only option simply because you’ve held them longer and you understand them.If we followed your lead, these are a few things we would not have today:The Equal Rights AmendmentWomen’s SuffrageLegal Same-Sex MarriageMiscegenation LawsChild Labor LawsDo you really want to stand up in opposition to progressive ideals when these are the types of things you are actively fighting against? Might want to start walking back that age is better than intelligence thing now. 

          • What Do I Know January 7, 2022 (2:47 pm)

            As I said before, I don’t believe in making a poor person’s life worse, but there is an alternative way to provide accountability as described in the new, and may I say progressive, Restorative Community Pathways sponsored by the King County Council. But, what do I know?   https://www.restorativecommunitypathways.org/

  • Al King January 4, 2022 (8:49 pm)

    I voted for her. Letting “small crime” committers wander the streets to do more hasn’t worked for a century either.

  • Adam January 4, 2022 (9:01 pm)

    I agree, Derek, it’s the big crime we haven’t been jailing for that I’m worried much more about. That’s why I’m hopeful she’ll begin THAT process. Also, how long after Trump will ppl continue to invoke his name? I swear y’all should be on his payroll with that invaluable advertising. Let’s focus on whose currently not doing their job. We successfully voted that other guy out that you fixate on. 

  • spooled January 4, 2022 (9:06 pm)

    I voted for her because every time I go to the grocery store someone is robbing it and they know nothing will happen to them.  I’ve had my car was stolen outside my front door.  My bicycle was cut from it’s chain outside my back door.  My fuel has been siphoned.  My stereo stolen / auto prowled.  What do I do when then come at the house itself?!  Enough is enough.  The people doing these things don’t “need” help or a diversion. They know the difference between right and wrong.  They just don’t give a damn.

  • TJ January 4, 2022 (9:07 pm)

    Well crime obviously didn’t get better going down your path of not holding people responsible, so that is a proven failure. I dont think anyone is talking about first time offenders getting put in the slammer for a stint, but each additional offense gets more time or serious community service. I dont understand people’s mindsets of looking out for prolific nuisance offenders more than their victims. Whatever happened to personal accountability? 

    • zark00 January 6, 2022 (6:12 pm)

      @ TJ – you’re wrong – take a look at the dashboard.https://www.seattle.gov/police/information-and-data/crime-dashboard
      Crime is down in almost every category in Seattle. From 2019 to 2020 there was a ~48% increase in homicides – that’s literally the ONLY statistic people on KIRO quote, and likely how you were mislead that ‘all crime is up in Seattle’.Here’s another stat – homicides are DOWN BY ~35% from 2020 to 2021 – why aren’t we talking about how much crime has improved in Seattle over the past year?  Curious – it’s almost like people just sort of listen to whatever supports their preconceived belief instead of seeking the truth.Guess what skyrocketed in 2019 and 2020 – gun sales. I wonder if that might have anything to do with the homicide problem in 2020? 

  • Lock em up January 4, 2022 (9:12 pm)

    Catch and release doesn’t work. I would much rather the people who are breaking into our homes, businesses and cars be locked up and punished for their crimes rather than given a slap on their wrists and released immediately to commit more crimes. The city has to take a stand and let people know that crime will not be tolerated here otherwise things will only get worse. Word gets out amongst the criminals and word is out that Seattle is the place to be if you want to commit crime with minimal consequences. Ann is a very welcome change from the coddle the criminal Pete Holmes and I wish her the best of luck in helping to clean up this once great city

    • Derek January 4, 2022 (9:43 pm)

      Locking up all the poor for stealing because they are poor has never and will NEVER work. All jailing does is create more crime because people face only aversion and never reintegrate into society properly. And it’s also cruel. Fix social inequality by taxing the super wealthy like Amazon and Starbucks CEOs so the poor doesn’t need to sell things on black market to get by.

      • wscommuter January 4, 2022 (10:36 pm)

        Where to begin?  Oh gosh.  You pretty much establish your agenda/ignorance when you say “locking up the poor because they are poor.”  No one – at all – gets locked up for being poor.  But offenders can be convicted of committing crimes and the city attorney is empowered to prosecute misdemeanor crimes.  Misdemeanors can carry up to a year in jail, but 99.5% of the time, the offender is actually sentenced to substantially less than that; typically, a matter of days rather than weeks.  But I can guarantee that no Seattle municipal judge has ever sentenced nor city prosecutor ever  prosecuted someone “for being poor.”  No matter how strongly you want that to be your narrative.  The truth is that the city attorney’s office does a decent job of diverting folks with substance abuse problems and mental health problems and those in need of domestic violence treatment and so on.   I don’t even know where to begin regarding your thesis that “jail is cruel.”  The King County Jail is unpleasant; it smells of disinfectant and human sweat and the food is really bad.  People live in close quarters wearing red or blue jumpers and plastic shoes (the really dangerous felons wear white and live on the 11th floor in isolation).  They don’t get to shower daily.  The boredom is probably the worst of it, as well as being indoors with tiny windows.  But cruel?  Seriously?  My guess is that you have no actual knowledge or experience with the criminal justice system, but instead, just your own self-righteous ignorance clinging to class-warfare as the explanation of all that is wrong with the world.  And I hate to break this to you, but you could tax 100% of Jeff Bezos’ wealth and the poor would still be poor.  Poverty is so much more complicated a problem than your simplistic wealth-redistribution “solution” and that you think otherwise speaks poorly of your grasp of this complex problem.  

        • Kai January 4, 2022 (11:01 pm)

          Well said!

        • Seattlite January 5, 2022 (8:54 am)

          WSCommuter:  Thanks for an honest, reality-based comment.  Until one has personal experience with criminals whether it is harming a loved one, yourself, your property, or reading about all of the unaddressed criminal activity going on in greater Seattle, the need for law and order and law enforcement is what civilized society is all about. Personally, I always thank police officers, sheriff deputies for their service since they are putting their lives on the line for me and you each and every day.   I hope that Ms. Davison lives up to her promise of cleaning up Seattle. 

        • Kevin on Delridge January 5, 2022 (10:55 am)

          Your semantic games aren’t convincing. You missed the causality Derek mentioned.

          Poor people steal because they are poor, people who steal will be prosecuted. The claim was not that they are locked up because they are poor, but rather people steal because they are poor, our laws on theft can result in someone going to jail but at a minimum they will go through the system. That system can have ramifications much more severe than jail.

          So the strawman you’ve constructed is easily knocked down, but it gets us no closer to understanding and working this problem. The problem being “Why does the richest nation on earth have so many poor people.” Not “people are stealing.”

          It is truly astounding that you could describe the conditions of jail and claim it is not cruel. If you were to be subjected to it, would you find it cruel? I suspect so. But we know what you’re really saying – “they deserve it.” That is the only thing that can be inserted to make sense of your statement.

          “A society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

          And yes, the problem isn’t as simple as taxation. It is capitalism and our system of forced wage labor. Until we re-think this, we will never address these issues and our society will plunge deeper into anomie.

          • WS Res January 5, 2022 (8:11 pm)

            “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.”

      • 1994 January 4, 2022 (11:07 pm)

        Stealing is wrong if you are poor or wealthy. NO one should steal. Your words imply that if a poor person steals, good for them they deserve what they ‘earned’ via theft so they can sell it on the black market – your words exactly “so the poor doesn’t need to sell things on black market to get by.”

        • Derek January 5, 2022 (12:17 am)

          I’m saying people who steal are usually poor. The data is there. Sure white collar crime is microscopic percentage but jails are large felt filled with lower to poverty class citizens because we don’t invest in community, social programs, universal base income and needs, etc, to give a solid foundation to deter the need or wants to join gangs or steal. Not everyone can or wants to serve food for scraps and live in a tiny bedroom with 4-6 people. That’s the wage for all the the current low wage Seattle jobs. Rules of 3, an average room or studio is over $1000 in the city, and if you want them to try some poorer ‘burb then you create a painful commute on top of painful work with zero incentive or compensation. Of course cat converter theft is more appealing when they can make more doing that than fast food in two days.  Universal income and community hubs are what cubs gangs and violence! Proven in Europe and some Asian and Latin countries. It works. Biggest theft no one talks about is Bezos and Gates stealing wages for years. Must have unions too.

          • smallbizowner January 5, 2022 (3:18 pm)

            Derek, only the poor steal? The drug addicts and the opportunists don’t commit crimes? And of course, they only steal from big businesses, never from small, independent businesses. But even if they did, all small business owners are so rich they can afford the losses. That is until everyone just shops online, which you advocate for, as per your previous post on a different topic concerning businesses in West Seattle. You don’t feel like a hypocrite? Railing against Amazon while simultaneously advocating for everyone to buy online? Pick a lane.

        • Kevin on Delridge January 5, 2022 (11:08 am)

          Did you know Wage Theft is the largest form of theft in this country? Have you considered how that form of theft, which we do virtually nothing about, could lead individual people to theft?

          Do you expect anyone to accept that theft is wrong when they themselves are stolen from? Not only in wage theft but in stolen value from their labor?

          Do you think the stolen labor value is earned by the capitalist class? If so, then someone who steals absolutely deserves what they’ve earned from theft. Until we reject wage theft and forced wage labor, there is no moral ground by which we can look down upon other forms of theft; if we are being consistent.

      • Pessoa January 5, 2022 (12:01 am)

        Apparently this is not what our president believes as he has done as much – or more – than any other elected official to put Americans behind bars, often black men.  You might want to take a look at  the embarrassing 1994 Crime Bill, chaperoned through Congress by the one and only, Joe Biden.   As far as social equity, I agree this sort of accumulation of wealth is grotesque, though there seems to be quite a lot of selective progressive “outrage” (one commenter’s favorite word) concerning a company like Amazon, depending on how it aligns itself politically.   And of course there is the banal provincial aspect too:  Amazon is a monster, but it’s our monster.    

        • Derek January 5, 2022 (12:55 am)

          Agree on Biden. I voted Bernie ;)

        • Lagartija Nick January 5, 2022 (10:33 am)

          1994 Pessoa? That’s almost 30 years ago. Do you still hold the same beliefs you did 30 years ago? I’m no cheerleader for Biden but he has said repeatedly that his support for the crime bill was a mistake. Do you not learn from your mistakes? He certainly would not support such a bill now. If you’re going to criticize Biden, criticize him for relevant policies in the here and now, not something he did 30 years ago.

          • Pessoa January 5, 2022 (12:20 pm)

            Yes, he is accountable and will remain accountable. Does the harm that he inflicted on thousands of lives have no bearing on my evaluaon him? Would give that same consideration to someone of a different political party?  This vacuous  man has been fetching and stepping for powerful interests for 40 plus years – hardly a momentary error in judgment. 

  • Jort January 4, 2022 (9:33 pm)

    You can repeat it literally tens of thousands of times and people will still somehow believe in their heads that the Seattle city attorney will magically gain the power to prosecute felonies. For the thousandth, thousandth time: the Seattle city attorney does not prosecute felonies. Maybe people here think robbery is a misdemeanor. It’s not. The city attorney mainly advises on civil actions and has authority over misdemeanor prosecutions. She’s not your savior. I look forward to her future appearances on Tucker Carlson, disparaging our city to feed the right-wing outrage machine.

  • Pessoa January 4, 2022 (9:38 pm)

    On the other hand, President Trump signed into legislation the “First Step Act” which addressed prison reform, specifically recidivism and sentencing reform.    Give credit where credit is due.  

  • Hold accountable January 4, 2022 (11:19 pm)

    Derek, please educate yourself. I can’t actually believe that Jort has a comment that I agree with and is rational. People do need to be held accountable for crimes. If they aren’t for the small ones, they will eventually escalate. The taxpayers and non-criminals, deserve to not have to have constant worry or fear.This city has become lawless and it needs to start somewhere with accountability. Most criminals start with misdemeanors, if they can be stopped there and realize there is a consequence we are all better off!Life isn’t fair, and poverty isn’t an excuse for crime! I have a million reasons and excuses but life isn’t fair! The moment we started handing out trophy’s to everyone is when civilization started to crumble.

    • Derek January 5, 2022 (12:54 am)

      I’m very educated on this. Jails get fuller and expanded for years. We create laws to basically have legalized slavery and cheap labor because people sold some weed or didn’t have some permit or something minuscule to exist to get them full of cheap labor. Jails existed for a hundred years here and crime and prisoner count goes hockey stick over population growth. Why? It doesn’t work. Needs community based hubs and social programs and UBI. Get it by taxing Amazon and Starbucks and Microsoft and Boeing. They aren’t our overlords. They need to pay on capital gains and income. 

    • Kevin on Delridge January 5, 2022 (3:44 pm)

      “Life isn’t fair.”

      I think this deserves some unpacking. There are a couple different ways to interpret this statement, one of which I think requires an additional yet unstated idea to make sense of the claim.

      The first interpretation is one I think we can all agree on. There are things that happen that are unfair but that can’t be helped (yet). Examples are things like natural disasters, genetic disease, and some freak accidents. These are things that can happen to people that are generally something we cannot prevent.

      The second interpretation is all encompassing and is a circular argument.

      Life isn’t fair.
      Why?
      Because anything that happens to you can’t be helped.
      Why?
      Because life isn’t fair.

      This isn’t super helpful of course. The missing piece is: we choose to make life unfair.

      Life isn’t fair.
      Why?
      Because anything that happens to you can’t be helped.
      Why?
      Because we choose to make life unfair.

      We are making a conscious choice in many societal situations to make things unfair. Life itself is behind a paywall that can only be satisfied by selling your labor for others to profit from. The availability of labor that can sustain your life isn’t guaranteed and asking for it is entitlement. And of course, anything that is deemed an acceptable path is limited and requires capital.

      There are other cases unrelated to capitalism (debatably) where we do this. Traffic and city planning as an example.

      I take issue with us selectively deciding some things should have an inherent unfairness or randomness. Especially when its only function seems to be as some kind of character test. And especially when we absolutely have the means to increase fairness.

      In summation, when you say life isn’t fair here is what I take it as. We are fine with the conditions that produce and reinforce inequality, we will measure and judge people based on their ability to succeed even if we haven’t provided the conditions to do so.

      • Grow up! January 6, 2022 (1:31 am)

        Seriously, life is not fair! If it was, we would all be born with silver spoons in our mouths and trust funds! Regardless of your socioeconomic status, you still need to be held accountable for your actions! People are tired of the catch and release, businesses are TIRED of it! When they all finally decide they don’t want to do business in Seattle….where are you going to go to get your groceries, prescriptions, gas and all of the other things?!? But it only really matters when it affects us personally. Until your small business is repeatedly vandalized, robbed and broken into, it’s not personal. Until your home is broken into while you are sleeping and completely vulnerable, it’s not personal. Until your catalytic converter is cutoff your car, it’s not personal. Until you are in a situation trying to protect yourself, your loved ones, your property….it’s not personal. Ann got voted into office because citizens are tired! They want people who violate their lives, that they are living peacefully, held accountable. Just read thru the last few stories in the blog and once again, it’s catch and release. Broke into schools, stool valuable items, got caught hiding on the premises and released the next day! It needs to end!  We pay way too much in taxes to constantly have to feel like we have to be on alert! But if these same people were to protect themselves with a firearm against these people who are not being held accountable, the world might possibly end! And just for a side not, I was born here and lived here my entire life, all 50 years! 

        • zark00 January 6, 2022 (6:33 pm)

          ! Grow Up – take your own advice.  Anne was elected because the voting age in Seattle has increased and old people lean more conservative. Her opponent was also kind of a nutjob, so that helped.My cat converter was stolen, it was not personal, of course.  Only an amazingly self-centered person would conclude that a random street theft is a personal attack on them.The self-centered, I got mine now everyone else can spin, world view is a huge of the problem here, and why people who share your opinion are actively blocking any real solution.You caps filled rant really say it all doesn’t it?  You are angry, furious, at what you perceive to be personal attacks against you. Reality check – you’re not that important, people aren’t thinking about you as much as you imagine they are.  It made you disregard Derek’s comments wholesale without even an attempt to understand them.  Fact is, Derek has outlined the root cause and an actually viable way to address that root cause.  Your reaction is to scream, literally scream on a message board, that this is all about you and that the only real solution is for you to be held up as a hero for murdering another human being.Also, yo pay next to nothing in taxes. Stop with the ridiculous histrionics that you someone how contribute and are owed something for it. You have voted against any and all tax increases and levies for all 50 years you’ve been here. You know it, I know it, we ALL know it.  You voted against the school levies, and now you claim to be some kind of champion for the schools?? Shameful to say the least.  

  • balderdash January 5, 2022 (2:40 am)

    I welcome the change in attitude and approach after listening to such drivel from the city council and ineffective policies run rampant across the city. “Distrust?”  Hah, the city leaders have abused our trust for too long. Breath of fresh air now. Let’s give her a chance. It can’t possibly be worse than what we have endured so far.

  • anonyme January 5, 2022 (6:46 am)

    The non-prosecution of misdemeanors has been an unofficial policy for a long time.   Misdemeanors encompass a wide array of crimes that have major impacts on victims, and should not be dismissed or ignored as ‘minor’.   What’s missing from the poverty defense is personal accountability, including the reasons for being poor.  While I agree with  Derek on most of the root causes of poverty and how they might lead to crime, not everything can be blamed on society or government.   As for partisanship, I don’t care who says what – it either makes sense or it doesn’t.  Let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater.

  • Al King January 5, 2022 (7:07 am)

    Derek. Universal income??? NO WAY. What do you say to all the businesses that need workers? Sorry, but we’re paying people to do nothing why would they want to work? All your talk is a diversion from the real problem of not wanting to hold people ACCOUNTABLE.

  • Brian January 5, 2022 (7:29 am)

    Just here to say Derek is correct and posted nothing untrue. 

  • W SEA Fields January 5, 2022 (8:02 am)

    Polite society is not a natural, default setting: It requires a framework for societal norms, thoughtful policing, and consequences for those who don’t follow those norms (and assistance for those who, due to mental health issues, truly can’t function under those norms).  Excusing entire categories of behavior under the blanket assumption that it always comes from a place of need or poverty ignores the possibility that people will misbehave if they know they can get away with it – when the risk/reward calculation boils down to “what’s going to stop me and what happens if I do get caught?”  Lower the risk factor and the reward will drive the decision, whether it’s shoplifting, stealing a bicycle or sawing the cat out of a Prius. All crimes have a cost or victim and, if left unchecked due to the removal of consequences, the aggregate behavior will slowly erode the foundations of polite society.  Quality of life is not a red or blue thing and it’s easy to dismiss until your store, home or car is the one that gets violated. 

  • Ivan Weiss January 5, 2022 (9:22 am)

    Time and time again, this dynamic has played out in local and regional politics all over the country. “Lock ’em up,” the fearful cry, and sooner or later, they elect officials who indeed lock ’em up. But jails cost money, prisons cost money, maintaining inmates behind bars costs money, guards and other corrections personnel are unionized, and they demand better contracts, etc., etc.

    Before too long, the costs of the carceral state mount up, and the very selfsame people who cried “lock ’em up” are, invariably, the very first to whine about their taxes going up, and “government spending is out of control,” and “why can’t government balance their budget like I have to do with my household expenses?”

    So what gets cut when governments have to respond to this? You know what. We all know what. Social spending gets cut, school budgets get cut, food assistance gets cut, public health gets cut, rent assistance and housing aid gets cut, and soon poorer people invariably turn to petty crime because the same people who called for “locking them up” have also, either consciously or unconsciously, either actively or passively, acted to remove most or all of their other options.

    Do they ever connect the dots? Rarely, if ever. It’s always “somebody else’s fault.” It’s always “blame the victim,” instead of looking in the mirror and asking themselves: “Is it just possible that I made choices that have helped lead to this situation?”

    Instead, they elect unqualified “perennial candidates” like Raggedy Ann, who is in so far over her head that she might as well be at the bottom of the Marianas Trench, and whose first hire was the crypto-fascist Scott Lindsay, whose overreach will cost Seattle taxpayers tens of millions in unnecessary lawsuits, and solve exactly nothing.

    If this is who and what you voted for, I hope that at the end of this person’s term, you will have the integrity to admit it, and will help the rest of us to seek another path. I’ll believe it when I see it.

    • Lagartija Nick January 5, 2022 (10:03 am)

      Thank you, Ivan. This a great comment and I couldn’t agree more.

    • Jort January 5, 2022 (10:09 am)

      Very good comment, Ivan Weiss. 

    • Kevin on Delridge January 5, 2022 (10:42 am)

      Well said. Until we address the root causes this will continue to get worse.

    • Reed January 5, 2022 (11:54 am)

      Well Ivan as the saying goes “you can’t fix stupid.”

  • bill January 5, 2022 (9:44 am)

    So the Republican city attorney is coming for your guns. That’s a new one!

  • andy January 5, 2022 (10:54 am)

    I wonder what Davison considers “misdemeanor gun violations” to be?

  • Friend January 5, 2022 (11:01 am)

    Certainly beats having an anarchist hold the office.   

  • Alki Resident January 5, 2022 (11:44 am)

    I am a lifelong Democrat, and I voted for her. I am hopeful that she will enforce our laws, and get the criminals off the street, and into jail. Yes- jail is a deterrent and it works.  Yes- she is a republican- so what? If she is best suited for the job then she should be the one elected to do the job. Enough with tribalism. The extreme democrats are just as bad as the extreme republicans.  Tribalism gets unqualified people into jobs they shouldn’t have gotten in the first place. 

    • Ivan Weiss January 5, 2022 (2:14 pm)

      “Yes-jail is a deterrent and it works.”
      —
      Is that a religious belief, or do you have data to back it up? As for your comment about “tribalism gets unqualified people into jobs they shouldn’t have gotten in the first place,” I agree with it 100 percent. Your vote for her is living proof. When the jails are full and petty crime continues unabated, while the cost of incarceration skyrockets, and the city is paying out five-and six-figure judgments from lawsuits for wrongful arrest and imprisonment, maybe, just maybe, you might reconsider if your choice was a wise one.

    • zark00 January 6, 2022 (6:37 pm)

      @ Alki Resident – can you provide some stats or citations that shows prosecuting misdemeanor crimes as a deterrent is effective?I can answer that. You can’t, because those stats do not exist, because it is not, and has never been, and effective deterrent. The death penalty isn’t an effective deterrent yet you believe that arresting jaywalkers will be. Wow.

  • Time for a beer January 5, 2022 (11:54 am)

    Here’s a thought. Those of you waxing philosophically should get together and have a beer and donuts, or whatever, and argue your positions. Film it and post it on YouTube. Then invite folks to watch your debate. I think this comment string has ended my review of comment strings. Signing off. 

  • Mj January 5, 2022 (12:06 pm)

    Catch and release was an utter failure.  Being poor is no excuse to steal.  It’s time to make perps accountable.  We all pay more for groceries and services due to theft and vandelism.

    • zark00 January 6, 2022 (6:39 pm)

      @ MJ – how as catch and release a failure – enlighten us?  Was it the reduction in crime that you consider a failure?  

  • Pessoa January 5, 2022 (2:06 pm)

    “VIdemus nunc per speculum in aenigmate tunic autem facile ad faciem.” We never see things as they really are. Nor do we really want to. A progressive sees a criminal as a mere sum of societal injustice; a conservative believes that environment plays no factor. Both are wrong. Both are inaccurate conceptions of reality 

    • zark00 January 6, 2022 (6:40 pm)

      @ Pessoa – one is A LOT more right than the other.

  • Cranky January 5, 2022 (4:04 pm)

    A lot of talk and conjecture. I figure she is going to do a better job and start a change in the ‘culture’ of this city.  We have put up with a lot over the years with the entrenched city council attitudes. I look forward to this year with a new city attorney.

  • skeeter January 5, 2022 (4:27 pm)

    All these comments are making my head spin.  I just want to know if the catalytic converter on my new Cadillac Escalade is safe or not.   

    • WSB January 5, 2022 (4:46 pm)

      Which has nothing to do with the city attorney’s office as catalytic converters are felony theft.

  • Audifans January 5, 2022 (7:22 pm)

    well, there is plenty to do.  One of her first priorities is tackling the backlog of nearly 4,000 criminal cases that date back over two years and remain unfiled.The backlog includes:

    • 639 theft cases;
    • 355 assault cases;
    • 252 property destruction cases; and
    • 657 domestic violence cases.
  • Jeff January 5, 2022 (8:56 pm)

    Perhaps those who oppose the new City Attorney should have found a better opponent than one who’s whole platform was “f%#! The police!” Elections often come down to choosing the lesser of two evils!

  • Question January 6, 2022 (1:59 am)

    Question for you, West Seattle Blog. Is it possible within your platform to add a like button? It would be so much easier to do that and add support to a comment that we might be in agreement too? Other than having to type a whole thing out and wait for moderation. Just a thought, thank you

  • Carnofcarnage January 6, 2022 (3:48 am)

    If sombody is willing to hire me part time, i would be willing to stop shoplifting food to eat. But nobody is going to say “i got ya dude!” On here because nobody wants to hire a homeless drug addict no matter how hard i promise to work despite. So throw me in jail so a cycle can continue that society made. Because sombody in this position, why would they stop shoplifting if the alternative is to just be hungry and spat on by people. Somtimes its more complicated then the lines yall are trying to paint

  • Balderdash January 6, 2022 (10:01 am)

    At least she is taking the job seriously.  Why were we paying for the last city atty if we have a backlog of 4000 cases unfiled.? See above.

  • Audifans January 7, 2022 (12:06 pm)

    Former Seattle U.S. Attorney Brian Moran is stepping in to help the City Attorney’s Office on issues that include clearing a backlog of 4,000 cases.

    https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/washington/articles/2022-01-07/former-us-attorney-to-help-with-seattle-case-backlog#:~:text=New%20Seattle%20City%20Attorney%20Ann,western%20Washington%20from%202019%2D2021.

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