‘What A-list person would come to Seattle’: Former King County sheriff warns replacing Shon Barnes will be difficult
Jul 30, 2026, 6:39 PM | Updated: 6:40 pm
With another Seattle police chief on the way out, former King County Sheriff John Urquhart said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio the city is paying the price for years of churn at the top.
Urquhart rattled off eight chiefs since 2009, averaging about two years each, and questioned Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s decision to move on from Shon Barnes.
“What A-list person in their right mind would come to Seattle to be the police chief here under a brand new mayor that’s got her own problems?” he said. “That’s the issue. Seattle deserves an A-list person, and I thought Shon was going to be that person. Certainly, Bruce Harrell, who I have a lot of respect for, thought that. City council approved him. They thought he was going to do the job, and something happened. And I think she really, really jumped the gun by firing him.”
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Former King County sheriff says Shon Barnes traveled too much
Barnes faced scrutiny over his absence during the Bite of Seattle, which deepened after PubliCola reported he had been out of the city for nearly seven weeks this year. Urquhart agreed Barnes was gone too much, saying police chiefs need to exercise self-discipline about when and how often they travel.
“I faced the same thing when I became sheriff, and any big city police chief or sheriff faces it as well,” he said. “You are in demand. You’re a big deal, and people want you to come to these conferences. They want you to be keynote speakers. You want to go because you want to be in the center of the spotlight, so to speak. There’s lots of training you can go to. And it really takes self-control. You have to say, ‘No. I need to stay here.’ And you kind of learn that.”
Urquhart believes Barnes’ resignation stemmed from several issues: his absences, the delay in putting out information, the press conference the following day, Barnes’ confrontation with a South Seattle Emerald reporter, and the fact that the mayor was front and center rather than the police chief.
Watch the full discussion in the video above.
Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.
