Seattle mayor refuses to grade herself as crime, homelessness surge
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson refused to grade herself amid a growing homelessness and crime crisis in the Evergreen State.
In a video clip posted Wednesday on X by Jonathan Choe, Discovery Institute senior journalism fellow, Wilson was asked, "How would you grade your work so far as mayor?"
The mayor responded, saying, "We’re doing the very best that we can and there’s always room for improvement. So, I’m not giving myself a number grade but we are always striving to do better."
Wilson received fierce blowback on social media after a 77-year-old man was seen on video being beaten by two individuals in a crime that was captured by closed-circuit television cameras — a tool that Wilson has denounced in the past as something that makes the community feel unsafe and "vulnerable."
The Washington State Standard reported in August that the total number of individuals counted as homeless is a 4.4% increase from 2024 and a 25% increase overall from 2022. Additionally, the year-over-year increase was approximately consistent with the 4.07% rise from 2023 to 2024, but below the 14.8% jump between 2022 and 2023.
Businesses are also heading out of Washington following the March passage of the "millionaires tax," the state's first-ever income tax, pushed by progressives and socialists and opposed by conservatives.
During a recent event at Seattle University, Wilson, a self-described democratic socialist, laughed and appeared to dismiss the possibility that millionaires would leave the state.
"I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are, like, super overblown. And if — the ones that leave, like, bye," Wilson said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Wilson for comment.