Poll Tests Message that Katie Wilson is "Angry," "Divisive," and "Loud"; No Charges Yet for County Assessor Accused of Stalking

And: Three City Councilmembers declined to sign on to an anti-Trump letter; guess which ones!

Screenshot from poll testing messages against mayoral candidate Katie Wilson.

1. Two online polls that went out to voters via text this week tested messages for Mayor Bruce Harrell and against Transit Riders Union leader Katie Wilson, who's challenging Harrell. While one of the polls included some messaging against another Harrell challenger, Joe Mallahan, the two surveys focused on anti-Wilson messaging. (Pollsters use messaging polls to see what kind of talking points voters find persuasive.)

Survey takers were asked to respond to each negative message by indicating whether it made them more or less likely to vote for Wilson, and how much each message moved voters away from Wilson. (The poll also included a handful of pro- and anti-Harrell messages).

The questions generally portrayed Wilson as an "angry and divisive," Kshama Sawant-aligned socialist who wants to disband the Seattle Police Department and tax businesses and residents out of the city.

"Katie Wilson will raise taxes on working families and small businesses," one test message said. "We can't afford a self-described socialist who plans to raise taxes even higher when so many working families are struggling to make ends meet in our city.

"Katie Wilson is an advocate for the 'defund the police' movement that is out of touch with what our city needs," another survey question said. "We can't afford a mayor who thinks policing is unnecessary."

One question asked respondents to weigh in on messaging about Wilson "supporting former city councilmember Khama [sic] Sawant" and "the politics of shouting, accusing, and undermining fellow Democrats." Another message claimed Wilson is "more interested in being the loudest voice in the room and less interested in bringing Seattle together and actually solving our problems."

If Harrell (or his independent expenditure campaign) decides to paint as Wilson loud, angry, and divisive, that will be news to anyone who's ever met her. A soft-spoken, thoughtful policy nerd, Wilson's chief political flaw is that she prefers long policy explanations to easy soundbites and is incapable of adopting the glad-handing, style-over-substance approach of lifelong politicians like Harrell.

2. The Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office has declined so far to file charges against King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson, who was arrested last week for stalking and violating a protection order obtained by his ex-partner Lee Keller. The prosecutor is still weighing the evidence and could file charges in the future.

Wilson is running for King County Executive. The King County Prosecutor's Office handed the case over to Snohomish County to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Keller went to King County District Court on Monday seeking an extension of a restraining order from May that prevents Wilson from contacting or coming within 1,000 feet of Keller. According to Keller, Wilson has repeatedly violated the restraining order by texting Keller and showing up at her house, church, and events where she is present.

However, a court commissioner denied that request and granted a 90-day continuance on the case, which leaves the restraining order in place for at least 90 days but offers no guarantee that Keller will remain protected after the court takes up the restraining order again.

The Snohomish County prosecutor has not given any timeline for considering additional evidence, and can decline to press any charges against Wilson if they choose. Wilson was arrested when he returned to Keller's home after showing up there earlier in the evening last Wednesday night; he stayed overnight in jail but was released the next day after paying bond on $50,000 bail.

3. On Tuesday, City Councilmembers Sara Nelson, Maritza Rivera, and Bob Kettle declined to sign a letter denouncing the Trump budget, which will take health care, cash assistance, and food benefits away from millions of Americans while giving massive tax breaks to the rich and spiking the federal budget deficit to unprecedented levels. So far, the letter has been signed by 80 elected officials from across the Puget Sound region.

The letter, which progressive Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck distributed and sent to local media last week, also calls out "austerity measures" advanced by Governor Bob Ferguson and imposed by state legislators earlier this year. It calls on state and local leaders to "develop meaningful solutions to protect residents," including progressive revenue measures like the "Seattle Shield" business and occupation tax increase Rinck and Harrell proposed last month.

Kettle said that as someone who has spoken about the need to preserve and de-politicize federal disaster relief, "I appreciate the intent of this," but said he is "not one to sign on letters like this... just as a matter of fact of how I do business."

Rivera echoed Kettle, saying that while "I agree with the spirit of the letter," she was also choosing not to sign it. "I wanted to, for the record, state that I do not agree with this federal administration... it is just gross and disgusting," Rivera said.

Nelson gave the most detailed explanation for her decision not to sign on to the letter: "I feel uncomfortable calling out the governor when he signed legislation that came from, obviously, the legislature," she said. Nelson also said she wasn't sure about putting the city of Seattle seal on the letter (alongside those of a dozen other cities) or about encouraging other governments to enact progressive revenue like the Seattle Shield proposal, which Nelson has raised skeptical questions about.

Like Kettle and Rivera, Nelson took pains to say that she doesn't support the Trump budget either. "I'm not going to sign the letter, but I do want to express that I share in the spirit and the thoughts that are that I believe are motivating the expression of this outrage," Nelson said.