Erika Evans clinches victory over Ann Davison for Seattle City Attorney

Former federal prosecutor Erika Evans secured a victory over incumbent Ann Davison to become the newest Seattle City Attorney in this year’s general election in Washington.

According to King County voting data, Evans garnered 66.8% of the vote (177,699 votes), compared to Davison earning 32.9% of the vote (87,480 votes).

Earlier this year, Evans ran away with the primary election, receiving 55.8% of the vote compared to Davison’s 33.4%. Evans earned 42,667 more votes than Davison.

The role of the city attorney is to primarily defend the city in civil litigation, while also pursuing prosecution for misdemeanor criminal offenses.

In addition to making significant progress in addressing the backlog of criminal cases that accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic, Davison’s tenure as city attorney has been defined by the creation of the city’s SOAP and SODA zones.

“Stay Out of Drug Areas” — known as SODA zones — prevent people from re-entering designated parts of the city if they’ve been tied to drug crimes. “Stay Out of Area of Prostitution,” or “SOAP,” zones ban people from specific areas within the city if they have been convicted of crimes tied to sex trafficking.

The SODA zone bill was introduced in partnership with Davison, while the SOAP zone bill was created by Seattle City Council member Cathy Moore (District 5). According to the Seattle Municipal Court, 67 SODA zones and 27 SOAP zones have been issued since the bills passed last year.

Davison, known as the “law-and-order” candidate, was first elected as Seattle City Attorney in 2022 after defeating Nicole Thomas-Kennedy by nearly 10,000 votes. She campaigned on the fact that her first term was effective against crime, citing a drop in crime throughout Seattle. Property crime remains high, but homicides have fallen by 41%, while shootings overall have dropped by 29%.

Davison is endorsed by Seattle City Councilmembers Sara Nelson, Bob Kettle, Joy Hollingsworth, Maritza Rivera, and Mark Solomon. Former Governors Christine Gregoire and Gary Locke have also endorsed her, alongside U.S. Rep. Adam Smith.

Evans takes anti-Trump position ahead of general election

Davison’s challenger, Erika Evans, was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington for four years. She left the job after disagreeing with President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies.

As the state continues to wage war against the federal government in court over a myriad of decisions, Evans has campaigned on the platform that the City of Seattle needs more protection from the federal administration, and that she is a better fit to do so compared to Davison.

Evans has been endorsed by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, and Pete Holmes, the city attorney for Seattle for three terms before Davison won the job.

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