Erica C. Barnett

Can you see this? I have bridging enabled on my BS account

Seattle Nice Interviews Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson! - PubliCola By Erica C. Barnett We had Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson on Seattle Nice this week for a wide-ranging interview about her…

Seattle Nice Interviews Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson!
We discuss homelessness, the budget deficit, bus lanes, police accountability and more with Seattle's next mayor.

publicola.com/2025/11/20/s...

Check out my appearance on City Cast Seattle, a new show about Seattle news and politics! Really enjoyed our time talking about important local issues, including federal funding cuts to permanent housing that could profoundly impact the Seattle region.

Former Harvard President Lawrence Summers Has Come Back From Scandals. Will This Be His Last? NYT > Home Page, Nov 20, 2025 8:46 AM by Mark Arsenault The former Harvard president has come back from controversy before, but revelations in new Epstein emails are threatening his omnipresence in public life.

what a framing choice by the NYT, centering the future reputation of the terrible man

She did elaborate, saying that what she specifically meant by white trash was "as low as you could be it was a character flaw."

Mason was a state legislator until 1999 Now she's spamming my inbox with these bizarre emails. For the record, I never went to her house, invited or otherwise! She is one of many who think they're really burning me by "discovering" the shoplifting incident I wrote about in my book Quitter.

Just went through spam and saw a pile of emails from Dawn Mason, a longtime Bruce Harrell ally he brought onstage at his election party, calling me "white trash" and a "petty thief," and claiming I went to her house one time univited (a bizarre falsehood she keeps repeating.) Such strange behavior.

Strong back-to-office policy would help new King County executive | Editorial Before she turns the government over to Girmay Zahilay, current King County Executive Shannon Braddock ought to bring public employees back to the office.

why the fuck is the seattle times editorial board so concerned with how other people do their jobs
I will never understand this obsession with mandatory in-person work. people are happier when they have some flexibility and aren't chained to a commute!

www.seattletimes.com/opinion/edit...

Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson says Seattle Nice is “Special” | Seattle Nice Mayor-elect Katie Wilson turned down numerous invitations for national television appearances over the past week, telling Seattle Nice, “That is not my job.”...

Our podcast, Seattle Nice, has an exclusive in-depth interview with Mayor-elect Katie Wilson, featuring many of your questions for the city's next mayor! Listen (and subscribe) right here: seattle-nice.beam.ly/episode/mayo...

Seattle Times publisher Frank Blethen hands reins to son Ryan Blethen Ryan Blethen succeeds his father, Frank Blethen, who will step down Dec. 31 after four decades in the role.

No one should ever listen to advice on "how to save journalism" from a company whose entire business model is "keep producing sons"

www.seattletimes.com/business/loc...

The Post-Election Budget: Council Protects Sweeps Team, Raises Permit Fees, and Bans Spending on Harm Reduction - PubliCola By Erica C. Barnett The Seattle City Council is getting ready to approve the city’s budget for the first year…

The Post-Election Budget: Council Protects Sweeps Team, Raises Permit Fees, and Bans Spending on Harm Reduction

publicola.com/2025/11/19/t...

Tricia Romano w/ Erica C. Barnett & Charles Mudede | Elliott Bay Book Company Full-service, general bookstore operating since 1973. Frequent author events, cafe, over 150,000 titles

Reminder that I will be in conversation with @ericacbarnett.bsky.social and @mudede.bsky.social on Saturday at Elliott Bay in Seattle. Please come and say hello and listen to us chat alt weeklies and the Freaks Came Out To Write. www.elliottbaybook.com/events/48579...

Additionally, anyone living in transitional housing will have to participate in 40 hours of "services" (undefined, and could mean unpaid labor) per week, which can be reduced if the person is employed.

Federal Funding Changes Could Make Thousands of People in Seattle Homeless - PubliCola The city and county are working on plans to offset potential federal funding cuts under the Trump Administration. By Erica…

My deep dive on the funding changes: publicola.com/2025/11/17/f...

"CoC" means Continuum of Care (in Seattle, that's the King County Regional Homelessness Authority.) Under these criteria, King County would have to criminalize sleeping outdoors, at a minimum, and enforce the ban on people existing while unsheltered.

DEEP DIVE ON PROTECTING "PUBLIC SAFETY" To receive full points, CoCs must: • Cite state or local law(s) that cover the CoCs entire geographic area that prohibit the use of illicit drugs and public camping and must have enforcement protocols for each • Demonstrate utilization of standards that address individuals experiencing homelessness who are a danger to themselves or others, including involuntary commitment • The state substantially implements and is compliant with the registration and notification obligations of the Sex Offender Registry and Notification Act (SORNA) • Assists law enforcement in mapping and checking the location of homeless sex offenders • Cooperates, assists, and does not interfere or impede with law enforcement or co-response to connect violators of public camping or drug use laws with services.

I wrote earlier this week about the new federal rules that will guide funding that flows to local nonprofits providing housing and services to people experiencing homelessness. Here's a slide from @naehomelessness.bsky.social laying out the batshit new "public safety" criteria for recipients.

Methodology

Melania Trump Goes Saudi Green

considered posting a joke "who wore what" headline yesterday about the NYT's fawning coverage of this supposed "triumph in diplomatic relations," but then they literally did it
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/s...

County Executive-Elect Zahilay's Mass Layoff Proposal Shocks Some Longtime Staff
The layoffs aren't unusual for a new executive, Zahilay's team says—it's just that the county hasn't had a new leader in 16 years. publicola.com/2025/11/18/c...

Have tried "silence is confirmation" texts with two different sources today and I am here to report that it has worked 0/2 times

Or email me directly at erica@publicola.com!

On this week's episode of Seattle Nice, we'll be talking to Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson. f you have questions for Seattle's next mayor, respond to this post and we may ask them on the pod!

Mantilla was a consultant for a while with establishment fixture and Bruce Harrell ally Tim Ceis' consulting firm, Ceis Bayne East, for a while, so he's a somewhat surprising pick albeit one with a lot of insider connections that could be useful for a temporary transition team leader.

I've been trying to avoid engaging in the rampant speculation about Wilson's permanent staff, since we'll know soon enough (OK fine: Lisa Daugaard in a public safety role is one interesting and fairly credible rumor I've heard), and also because many of the names circulating now are wrong

Not officially confirmed, but hearing that Andrés Mantilla, former Department of Neighborhoods head and a City Hall insider going back to the Nickels (2002-2008) administration, will head up @wilsonforseattle.bsky.social's transition team.

This piece includes no evidence that taco vendors, which the editorial singles out as being especially unlikely to follow basic sanitary rules, are not washing their hands. So there's no actual evidence in the piece whatsoever, just racist insinuation.

Not directly related, but their attitude toward other media outlets, and a potential public funding to support them, is similar. "Save local news" but shut down any effort to help news outlets other than the Seatle Times.

The "restaurant association" cited in the piece is actually (or was previously) called the MEXICAN Restaurant Association, which made me laugh because I doubt Seattle has "more than 200" Mexican restaurants. Maybe if you could Burien and White Center as part of Seattle

WA cities reconsider license plate cameras after judge's ruling Police in Washington are backpedaling on using Flock Safety cameras after a tattoo artist filed lawsuits asserting their databases are public record.

Not to worry, Seattle's 24/7 police surveillance cameras, expanding soon into three more neighborhoods, are totally different than Flock cameras and the feds will never, ever demand access to the footage (according to most of the city council and outgoing mayor)

www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

No, it's more like they're taking away from legitimate businesses: "The vendors block beach access and take customers away from the year-round bricks-and-mortar businesses. Other complaints include blocking disabled parking spots, crowding bike lanes and blasting local restaurants with music."