KOMO News special: The fight for the soul of Seattle
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John SextonPosted at 1:00 pm on December 21, 2020
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Nearly two years ago KOMO News in Seattle produced a special titled “Seattle is dying” which spent an hour looking at the problems of drug-abuse and homelessness and the impact they were having on the city. That special was a big hit. It was shown on television in the city and since March of 2019 it has been viewed more than 8 million times on YouTube.
Naturally, the special was controversial and a number of people came forward to argue that Seattle was not dying and that the special was misguided. But think about some of what has happened since then. Crime is up with the murder rate higher than it has been in at least 10 years. This summer an armed group of protesters set up an autonomous zone in the city, driving police out of one of their precincts. The City Council and the Mayor applauded this, at least until 5 people were shot in the area. Dozens of police officers resigned or retired. A number of officers were seriously injured in battles with protesters. The City Council pushed to defund the police and when Police Chief Carmen Best disagreed, the Council cut her salary. Best resigned and Mayor Durkan announced she wouldn’t be seeking another term soon after.