Priorities

A Smarter Approach to Crime

Seattle deserves a justice system that prioritizes real safety, accountability, and fairness—not one that only cycles people in and out of jail without addressing the root causes of crime. As City Attorney, I will take a smarter approach to public safety by focusing on dangerous crimes, ensuring victims receive meaningful support, and pursuing accountability when our community is harmed—whether that harm is caused by people who commit crimes, negligent employers, or corporations who exploit workers.

Criminal Justice & Public Safety

    • The City Attorney’s Office must prioritize prosecuting crimes that pose exceptional dangers to public safety.

    • Current case management is inefficient—too many low-priority cases are filed, overwhelming line prosecutors and leading to high dismissal rates and backlogs.

    • Seattle residents’ well-founded concerns about gun violence and other serious felony crimes cannot be addressed by filing thousands of low-level misdemeanor charges. Instead, the City Attorney’s Office must coordinate better with King County prosecutors to ensure serious crimes are properly handled.

    • Most people convicted of misdemeanors will return to our community. We must offer meaningful rehabilitation and reentry support to reduce recidivism.

    • Currently, no comprehensive reentry programs exist at the city level—we must change that.

    • Expanding diversion programs for drug-related offenses with evidence-based treatment models, rather than ineffective "cold turkey" approaches, is critical.

    • Victims deserve real support, not just empty promises. Seattle must establish a more robust victim compensation program since most offenders do not have the means to pay restitution.

    • Current responses to property crime—endless cycling through Seattle Municipal Court—aren’t working. We need solutions that break the cycle by addressing the causes of most property crime like addiction and poverty.

    • Expanding community court programs with evidence-based treatment will help prevent repeat offenses. Seattle’s Republican City Attorney unilaterally ended the city’s promising community court with no plan for a replacement; I will revive and improve this program to connect people to the services they need to get back on their feet and out of our courts.

Civil Enforcement: Protecting Workers & Holding Bad Actors Accountable

    • The City Attorney’s Office must take a more aggressive role in enforcing wage theft laws. Too many bad employers exploit workers with little consequence.

    • Wage theft affects thousands of Seattle workers each year, costing regular people millions of dollars in unpaid overtime, missed meal and rest breaks, and withheld tips. We must prioritize these cases and hold unlawful employers accountable

    • The city must enforce labor laws that protect workers, including fair scheduling, paid sick leave, and protections against retaliation. With Trump’s administration unlikely to enforce federal protections for workers, local enforcement has never been more important.

    • Expanding enforcement efforts will ensure businesses that violate labor laws face real consequences and the small businesses who do play by the rules aren’t at a competitive disadvantage for treating their employees well.

    • The City Attorney’s Office must be proactive, not just reactive, in enforcing local laws that protect renters and prohibit collusion among price-gouging corporate landlords.

    • The City Attorney’s Office must also champion Seattle’s progressive values by taking on polluters, protecting civil rights, and defending against federal overreach from the Trump administration.

A Comprehensive Approach to Public Safety

  • Public safety is about prevention, accountability, and rehabilitation—not just prosecution. And public safety isn’t just about crime—it’s also about economic justice. Too many people in Seattle are victims of wage theft, unfair labor practices, and illegal housing practices.

  • This public safety plan ensures that our justice system is smarter, fairer, and more effective in making Seattle a safe, thriving city where people feel secure—not just from crime, but in their jobs, homes, and communities.

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