A Seattle couple filed paperwork this week to recall Mayor Katie Wilson over how she has handled public safety in the city. The charge filing is the first of multiple steps required before a recall effort reaches a petition stage and qualifies for a ballot — if the charge makes it that far.
And if it does, history shows that these efforts are mostly unsuccessful.
Melinda Jacobson and Dale Osterud wrote in their recall charge filed with King County Elections that Wilson is “derelict in her duties for public safety of the city of Seattle.” The couple, who live in North Seattle, cite the Bite of Seattle shooting that killed three people, crime in the North Aurora and Belltown neighborhoods and the Chinatown International District, and decision to turn off CCTV cameras.
“She has just sort of ignored the public safety part of her job, which is a huge part, and that is not right,” Jacobson said Friday. “This is a big city, we need a big-city-type mayor who knows how to deal with everything.”
In a statement, the mayor's office said it's aware the charges have been filed and while it does not appear to have merit, our focus remains where it belongs: on making life safer and more affordable for the people of Seattle."
"The courts will address any questions," spokesperson Jonah Spangenthal-Lee said in a statement. "We will address the needs of Seattle.
So what happens now?
What's a recall?
Under state law, any voter can file a charge attempting to recall an elected official. The filer must show the official has committed acts or malfeasance or misfeasance, or violated the oath of office, according to King County Elections. The charge must provide detailed descriptions — in the Wilson recall charge, the filers include five sections outlining where they say Wilson neglected her duties as mayor.
The process
King County Elections sends the recall charges to the King County prosecuting attorney’s office for a technical review, according to King County Elections spokeswoman Halei Watkins. If the charges meet the technical requirements, Watkins said, the prosecuting attorney’s office then writes a ballot synopsis within 15 days and files it with King County Superior Court for a sufficiency hearing, also within 15 days. A judge will decide if the charges meet the legal bar and the process can continue.
Recall supporters then have 180 days to gather signatures to qualify a recall election — in this case, the recall effort would need about 69,000 eligible signatures, Watkins said. Once King County Elections verifies there are enough eligible signatures, a recall election would be held within 45 to 90 days.
How likely is a recall effort to succeed?
Not very, based on the successful recalls versus the number of recall charges filed in King County. Over the past five years, there have been 10 other efforts attempting to recall two dozen various mayors, city council members and school board members in King County, according to elections data. None made it on the ballot.
A campaign began in August 2020 to recall then-Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who defeated the effort in a December 2021 election.
No elected officials in King County have been successfully recalled in eight years, according to King County Elections. In 2018, Black Diamond Councilmember Patricia Pepper was recalled in a February special election in the small town.
What about Seattle mayors?
At least two Seattle mayors have been recalled and a third, Wes Uhlman, defeated a recall election in 1975. Mayor Hiram Gill was recalled in 1911, and Mayor Frank Edwards was recalled in 1931.
A campaign to recall Mayor Jenny Durkan reached the Washington state Supreme Court, which unanimously dismissed the recall effort in October 2020. Supreme Court justices wrote the accusations against her didn’t meet the bar for a recall initiative.
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