By Liz Steen

With online crowds cheering the recall of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson in the seventh month of her first term, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will write the court filing that Wilson’s opponents want to use to bring their public safety concerns to a vote to recall the Mayor for “malfeasance” for her handling of personnel decisions and public safety concerns.

“I will bring two pens,” said one commenter planning to sign the recall if the King County Superior Court allows the charges onto a ballot - the last recall to survive the notoriously sticky court recall process was in 1975. A judge will decide whether or not the recall goes to the voters after the prosecuting attorney’s office has prepared any specific bad acts that they can find. Wilson’s recall will only make it to a ballot if a judge finds evidence of“malfeasance or dereliction of duty,”

Typical examples include abuse of power, bribery, conflict of interest, embezzlement, or theft. The last attempted recall, against Mayor Jenny Durkan, failed this test after a court ruled that the former Mayor Durkan’s handling of the CHOP protests was within her discretion.

Basically, it’s not illegal to be bad at the job. To pass the court’s technical review, the petition must allege facts that constitute wrongdoing or malfeasance in dereliction of duty. Specific acts from the last seven months, with specific dates and the duties that constitute misconduct will be evaluated before the measure can proceed

In a technical process sure to disappoint the online reviewers evaluating Wilson’s job performance Wednesday, the Court’s review will not really touch on whether or not the Mayor is good or bad at the job of being the mayor.

A Superior Court judge advances a recall petition only when the petition is written carefully enough to demonstrate three grounds: 1) a politician does something illegal; 2) a politician fails to do something they were required to do; or 3) a politician handles an official responsibility so poorly that it interferes with their public duty.

The three technical terms are “misfeasance,” performing a job poorly; nonfeasance, failing to do a duty required by law; and malfeasance, committing an unlawful act while in office. Typical examples are bribery, record tampering, embezzlement, fraud, or willfully ignoring protocols such as safety checks or emergency responses.

For online commenters Wednesday, the three charges leveled at Wilson Wednesday combined into a medley of the left, the right, and the middle of the political spectrum. First, the petition advances the cause championed by many on the left who said Wilson mishandled the firing of former Seattle Police Department Chief Shon Barnes shortly after a mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle, and after he revealed an $89,000 IRS lien that reportedly violates SPD’s ethical guidelines.

Wednesday’s filing also hands a win to the far right in alleging Wilson committed misconduct by turning off downtown cameras to block ICE deportations. Finally, people across the entire political spectrum have expressed concerns about neighborhood safety in areas such as Aurora, Belltown, and Little Saigon where citizens point to escalating crime and disorder, with many asking for a change of the drug rules enacted by the Seattle City Council in 2023 to reduce drug charges to a misdemeanor and divert arrests away from the jail - a program expanding on the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion rules that started in 2011. Wilson’s narrow win with 51% of the vote over incumbent Bruce Harrell failed to unite any of these groups so far.

Online commenters appeared to have no one in mind to replace Wilson, or at least no one mentioned the former Mayor Harrell or any other local politician. Most offered suggestions for her replacement in more general terms. ‘Not a communist,” said one. Another focused on Wilson’s supporters, saying “Democrats are so blind and so stupid and so ignorant,” in a comment that compared Wilson’s leadership skills unfavorabley with “frankenstien.”

Here’s the law that a court will review before Wilson’s “recall and discharge” petition can proceed to a ballot:

The Seattle City Code of Ethical Conduct is here.