Erica C. Barnett

Review Finds Multiple Police Failures Preceded Violent Response to Counterprotests During Anti-LGBTQ Event in May - PubliCola Police didn’t engage with community before the anti-LGBTQ event, weren’t familiar with Capitol Hill and its history, and referred to…

"Perception sometimes is people's reality," Barnes said. "And you know, one photo of your back turned to the wrong person could give the impression that we are supporting one side or the other." In fact, an official review found SPD showed bias against pro-LGBTQ counter-protesters.

As context, Seattle police have a long history of pepper-spraying protesters in the face at point-blank range, tackling people to the ground, and being chummy with protest targets, like the organizers of a far-right rally at the heart of the city's LGBTQ neighborhood.

Barnes agrees heartily that sometimes a "one-second clip or photo [is] given to the community" that suggests police are treating protesters differently than the object of their protest.

At a presentation by Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, Councilmember Bob Kettle asked how, in the future, SPD will deal with the "visuals" that might give the false impression the police are helping the people who are being protested (whether it's ICE or an anti-trans rally).

Civil Rights Office Director Put On Leave Over Employee Complaints, Union Alleges Interference in Investigation - PubliCola By Erica C. Barnett Derrick Wheeler-Smith, director of the city’s Office for Civil Rights, has been put on administrative…

Civil Rights Office Director Put On Leave Over Employee Complaints, Union Alleges Interference in Investigation

The director, Derrick Wheeler-Smith, alerted the city's investigations unit in advance to expect some "false" complaints from what he described as "a few disgruntled staff."

I realize there are more pressing issues than City transparency, but it is wild to me that the city of Seattle, unlike the state and county, continues to keep this public information secret after promising to bring it back "soon" in 2021.

The reason for the delay is unclear. Ordinarily, the city has provided a .csv file within weeks of my request, but this time, they're saying it will be at least April, or 10 months after I requested a directory that was current as of last June.

If anyone has wondered why PubliCola hasn't updated our City of Seattle employee directory, which we've maintained ever since ex-mayor Jenny Durkan took it off the city's website 5 years ago), it's because the city hasn't provided the records. I asked in June, and just got another delay notice.

The Smart Home Never Quite Worked. Now It’s Getting an A.I. Reboot.

better headline: No One Needs This Shit

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/t...

The Seattle Social Housing Public Development Authority was established three years ago. In that time, it has created zero homes. It has created no development pipeline. It has, however, spent and obligated millions of dollars to hire and fire a CEO who never lived in Washington state, pay questionable consultants and embark on a hiring spree.

braindead argument. The social housing developer JUST got approval to receive its very first tranche of tax dollars LAST MONTH! The Seattle Times has no shame and will publish false information as long as it's under the banner of "opinion."

Just flagging this account, created exclusively to harass me, for folks to add to their block lists. And then blocking. 😘

Wilson Announces First Steps Toward 1,000 Shelter Beds: Simpler Leases, Larger Tiny House Villages, More Money for Shelter - PubliCola By Erica C. Barnett Mayor Katie Wilson introduced three pieces of legislation on Wednesday that she will reduce barriers to…

Wilson Announces First Steps Toward 1,000 Shelter Beds: Simpler Leases, Larger Tiny House Villages, More Money for Shelter
The package of proposals represents a subtle shift away from "housing first" to "enhanced shelter first" for people with behavioral health needs.

publicola.com/2026/03/04/w...

The press conference, at a warehouse in SoDo, started a little after 1. The mayor's office said she had a meeting scheduled at 2. Given that this is her number-one issue, I was very surprised that she didn't stay around to take questions from the many reporters who attended.

Staff didn't know answers to the questions reporters had afterward (they were swarmed), like whether land has been identified for these new, larger shelters; best practices for shelter size; and whether the legislation has a council sponsor yet, which it needs to move forward.

Just got back from a presser for Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's announcement that she's introducing three new bills to allow larger shelters/tiny house villages and expedite their construction. The only thing missing? Mayor Katie Wilson, who left shortly after she spoke and didn't take questions.

An Alternative Approach to Creating Affordable Housing: Inside-Out Urbanism - PubliCola By Josh Feit The city of Seattle was supposed to be done with its 10-year comprehensive plan update more than…

An Alternative Approach to Creating Affordable Housing: Inside-Out Urbanism
While Seattle continues to slow-walk its overdue comprehensive plan update, here are some things that could happen now to allow more housing.
New from @joshfeit.bsky.social
publicola.com/2026/03/03/a...

An Alternative Approach to Creating Affordable Housing: Inside-Out Urbanism - PubliCola By Josh Feit The city of Seattle was supposed to be done with its 10-year comprehensive plan update more than…

An Alternative Approach to Creating Affordable Housing: Inside-Out Urbanism
While Seattle continues to slow-walk its overdue comprehensive plan update, here are some things that could happen now to allow more housing.
New from @joshfeit.bsky.social
publicola.com/2026/03/03/a...

As City and County Consider Banning New ICE Facilities, Local Jails Are Exempted from Seattle's Ban - PubliCola By Erica C. Barnett City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck’s proposed legislation to bar new detention centers in Seattle, originally introduced…

As City and County Consider Banning New ICE Facilities, Local Jails Are Exempted from Seattle's Ban
The city council sponsor faced internal pushback on language that also barred new jails, while King County's legislation prohibits new jails and federal detention centers for a year.

They've fixed it! Wonder what that lady said earlier that made everybody clap. (Alas, I can't go to every council meeting in person!)

The Seattle City Council is currently just letting people talk into a dead microphone, making them inaudible to anyone watching online.

Rivera says "fiscal responsibility" is important for households, so it should be for cities too. (Ooh, it's one of my favorite inept analogies—cities are not houses that need repair!) She says "my family lives paycheck to paycheck." 🤔 apollo.pdc.wa.gov/financial-af...

Dan Strauss says the JumpStart conversation "is an important one" because we actually haven't built enough housing to meet the need.

A staffer is explaining inflation to the council—a primary reason the city's spending has increased faster than, for example, population numbers.

He continues that "good governance" means looking at cuts to spending. It's interesting how little the talking points some of the newest council members have changed since they ran on "audit the budget" in 2023.

Bob Kettle is complaining that the "chattering classes" still talk about the fact that JumpStart was a tax passed explicitly to pay for housing, Green New Deal, and other progressive new spending. The council turned it into an all-purpose slush fund, which Kettle calls "[Jumpstart] of today."

Rivera is now saying the budget has grown much faster than population. This is basically never a linear relationship.

There are of course levy oversight bodies for all these levies that meet throughout the year, so it's unclear if she's insinuating the city's existence due diligence is inadequate, if she's just vaguely suggesting that taxes are too high, or if she disagrees with elements of some existing levies.

"If we're collecting all this money and we're not actually meeting the need, we just need to make sure that, is it that we need more money, or is it that the money that the choices we're making are not actually getting to meet the need we're trying to solve for?"

Maritza Rivera (who didn't know Seattle doesn't pay King County's library levy) concludes with an "audit the budget"-style warning:

It's a bond, but it isn't "the city paying ourselves back" so much as taxpayers paying back money the city got through up-front financing. IDK, I just don't get why so much of our City Council meetings is still taken up by staff explaining basic stuff.