‘A little outside the bounds of credulity’: Curley questions who’s behind the Katie Wilson recall effort

Recall charges have been filed against Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, accusing her of failing the city on public safety, from the Bite of Seattle shooting to the forced resignation of Police Chief Shon Barnes in the midst of a homicide investigation.

North Seattle resident Melinda Jacobson and her husband filed the recall petition. Jacobson has said her main concern is public safety, pointing to Wilson’s forced resignation of former Police Chief Shon Barnes, unanswered outreach from residents along Aurora Avenue, and a decision to remove security cameras installed for a “credible threat” during the World Cup.

According to John Curley, the host of “The John Curley Show,” Seattle has been here before, and history isn’t on the petition’s side.

Curley traces Seattle’s recall history from Wes Uhlman to Jenny Durkan

Curley pointed to three separate attempts to recall former Mayor Wes Uhlman in 1970, 1974 and 1975, none of which succeeded. Uhlman drew opposition after ordering Seattle’s City Hall flag flown at half-staff in honor of the Kent State shooting victims and supporting anti-war demonstrations that shut down I-5. Curley credited Uhlman with saving Pike Place Market and helping establish Bumbershoot and the Burke-Gilman Trail.

Curley also pointed to a failed recall attempt against former Mayor Jenny Durkan, whose critics cited the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) zone and her administration’s tear gas policy during 2020’s demonstrations. A court rejected that recall effort.

“The court required a recall charge to name a specific act or duty violated, not just an expressed disapproval of the outcome,” Curley said.

Curley says crime data doesn’t support claims of rising disorder

Curley said he reviewed homicide numbers from the day Barnes left office through the present and compared them to the same period last year.

“I looked up, from the day Barnes left up until today, have we had more or less murders than this time last year? The answer is a little less than what we had starting in March,” Curley said. “So there’s really no evidence that all of a sudden there’s this great display of disorder running through the streets of Seattle.”

Curley contrasted that with the cost of the 2020 CHOP occupation under Durkan.

“You got to take the fact that they had CHOP closed down for 23 days,” Curley said. “You lose the police station. Total cost to taxpayers in the city of Seattle: $44 million altogether.”

Curley questions who encouraged Jacobson to file

Jacobson has said she researched the recall process independently after talking with “like-minded people,” and that the petition must pass through the King County Prosecutor’s Office and King County Superior Court before it can move forward.

Curley said he checked state Public Disclosure Commission records and found no history of political donations from Jacobson or her husband. He raised the possibility that a Seattle City Council member could have encouraged the filing, specifically naming Deborah Juárez, an appointed council member who took over Cathy Moore’s seat, is not seeking reelection, and has been a critic of Wilson.

“I just find it a little outside the bounds of credulity to believe that a citizen goes from zero to all of a sudden filing. I can’t find her that active,” Curley said.

Curley acknowledged he had no evidence tying any council member to the petition.

“And again, pure speculation, but hey, it’s talk radio,” Curley said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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