Rantz: Prominent Seattle business leaders fed up with crime plaguing city as major Starbucks shuts down for safety

As one of downtown’s busiest Starbucks temporarily closed its doors over safety concerns, prominent members of the Seattle business community are speaking out forcefully and publicly about the continuing crime and homelessness crises. They’re setting their sites on King County Executive Dow Constantine.

“Why do we continue to tolerate these open-air drug markets downtown at Third & Pike/Pine and Third and James/Yesler?” Patrick Foley, co-founder and managing partner at Lake Union Partners, wrote on LinkedIn before unloading on Constantine.

“This man has purposely kept the downtown jail staffing at COVID levels (roughly 50% capacity) not out of necessity, but because he believes people dealing and consuming fentanyl out in the open, passed out on our sidewalks, smashing windows, starting fires, using the streets as a bathroom, and stealing from stores like Target and Nordstrom don’t belong in jail or some form of forced treatment,” he wrote.

Constantine is not allowing the King County jail to accept most criminal bookings. While the jail is in the middle of a staffing crisis, the King County Corrections Guild President Dennis Folk exclusively told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH that Constantine is “intentionally” keeping staffing low for ideological reasons. Constantine is also trying to permanently close the King County juvenile detention center.

Foley isn’t the only one at Lake Union Partners speaking up. Jeffery Judson-Baker, the Investment Manager at the same firm, also criticized Constantine for the mess in downtown Seattle.

“Our misplaced compassion for the unhoused has turned into neglect, leaving addicts to rot in doorways and the mentally ill to suffer on the streets,” Judson-Baker wrote on LinkedIn. “Political complacency, typified by leaders like Dow Constantine, only exacerbates these issues. We need more than empty promises and half-measures; we need decisive action to treat the unhoused, clean up our streets, and restore Seattle’s health.”

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What role did safety concerns play in the closure of Starbucks downtown?

Starbucks closed the doors to its location in front of the entrance to Pike Place Market. The closure was unannounced, and the store’s signs were removed and windows covered.

In a statement, a Starbucks spokesperson said the location will stay closed “as we evaluate how best to offer a warm and welcoming environment for customers and partners at this store.” To close a store in the middle of the busy summer tourism season implies the severity of the issue, becoming the latest victim of the Seattle crime and homelessness crisis.

Downtown has been plagued with worsening crime due, in large part, to the homelessness crisis. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, downtown Seattle was handed over to homeless, criminal addicts. Police were defunded and what remained of the department wasn’t allowed to enforce the law. Democrats decriminalized drug use and fentanyl smuggled across our porous border with Mexico flooded Seattle streets. Public service providers allowed encampments to proliferate. The crime associated with homeless addicts turned downtown Seattle into a hellscape.

We saw improvement after Harrell made the area a priority, particularly Third Ave between Pike and Pine after several high-profile crimes. But now the area is returning to its previous blight.

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‘Walking downtown is embarrassing … apocalyptic’

Downtown Seattle has recently experienced a series of high-profile stories of businesses exiting the neighborhood. 

Lululemon, Fox’s Seattle jeweler, PCC Community Markets flagship store and North Face all closed their doors over the crime and homelessness crisis stifling downtown’s post-COVID economic recovery. With homeless addicts passed out on sidewalks and in front of business storefronts, foot traffic has stalled dramatically for businesses.

“Walking downtown is embarrassing. The drug addiction and mental health crises are glaringly apparent,” Judson-Baker wrote in an open letter. “Stepping off the light rail near my home in Pioneer Square or in Westlake Center, I see drug addicts folded in half and manic episodes untreated. Commuters step over needles, trash, and human waste. Many favorite restaurants and shops remain boarded up. Once vibrant, downtown Seattle now can feel at times like a wasteland.”

Judson-Baker also fears the reality of downtown Seattle is going to scare tourists from returning to the area.

“Walking through Third and Pike at night feels apocalyptic. We are playing a dangerous game of chicken to lose $800 million in tourism tax revenue,” he said.

Emphasis zones coming to downtown Seattle?

With the support of a more supportive city council, thanks in large part to leadership by Seattle City Council president Sara Nelson, the Seattle City Attorney announced last week the desire to implement a Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) ordinance. Ann Davison’s legislation hopes to mitigate drug-related criminal activity in the downtown Seattle core by prohibiting drug-related offenders from entering the area after being arrested and then released pre-trial. Additionally, Mayor Harrell is implementing emphasis patrols and is moving to house arrestees at the SCORE jail in Des Moines, as first reported by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH in May.

Progressive activists have long opposed using police and encampment sweeps to help tackle the crises in downtown Seattle. They argue for a “compassionate” approach by connecting homeless addicts with services. But that’s been a failed policy as homeless addicts have been enabled to say no to offers without fear of any consequences.

“Compassion should not excuse neglect. The sight of our ‘compassion’ for the unhoused, as I step off the light rail, is embarrassing, highlighting political inaction cloaked as empathy,” Judson-Baker said. “Allowing addicts to rot in doorways and the mentally ill to suffer on the streets is not compassion. We need immediate action for our city’s health. The addicted need treatment. Clean up the streets for economic recovery, thriving small businesses, tourism and economic longevity. It is time to throw our complacency out the window and do something.”

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Ignoring the crime and homelessness problems as Seattle is dying

One reason downtown Seattle continues to suffer is an unwillingness by some in local media to honestly report what’s happening.

Reports in The Seattle Times in June painted grim pictures of the commercial and residential real estate market in downtown Seattle. One article pointed to astonishingly low price tags for previously pricey commercial buildings, including the near-empty Pacific Place Mall and the Downtown Hilton. A second article noted the price of homes downtown is trending lower than the costs citywide. 

Meanwhile, downtown Seattle home prices have taken a nosedive, now cheaper than the citywide average for the first time in nearly a decade. Downtown housing was once a hot commodity thanks to its walkability to work, retail and entertainment. The soaring prices reflected the high demand. That’s no longer the case.

Yet the reports blamed COVID on the economic realities of downtown Seattle, not once mentioning homelessness and crime the way Judson-Baker noted in his letter.

“Small businesses define Seattle, some growing into giants that define our skyline. Now, we watch as public health and lack of safety force them out. Losing employers means losing tax revenue, which undermines public safety, health, education and affordable housing, perpetuating a vicious cycle as residents continue to lose out,” he wrote. 

Businesses are closing en masse due to Seattle crime and homelessness

After the series of high-profile business closures and buildings selling at dramatic discounts in the downtown core, we’ve seen an unusual rise in business owners speaking up. Normally, they lobby behind the scenes through the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA). But it’s gotten so bad that business leaders are willing to put public pressure on politicians to see progress.

“How many more businesses downtown need to close or move somewhere else before the man in charge of the jail Dow Constantine is voted out of office? How has this man received a pass for so many years? He has done absolutely nothing while residents + small and large business owners pay a huge price,” Lake Union Partners co-founder Foley wrote. 

Constantine is not running for re-election. But there is fear that Girmay Zahilay, a far-left King County Council member who holds similar abolitionist views as Constantine, is running for the Executive position. He will likely face moderate John Wilson, the current county Assessor. 

The decline of downtown Seattle is a testament to the failed policies and neglect of leaders like Dow Constantine. It’s time for decisive action to restore safety and vibrancy to our city. The business community’s outcry should be a wake-up call to all of Seattle’s leaders. But will it be?

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