In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last three-and-a-half years, let us brief you on our current City Attorney: the regrettable Republican Ann Davison. 

The City Attorney has two jobs: one criminal (prosecuting all of the city’s misdemeanor cases, like DUIs and domestic violence charges) and one civil (acting as the city’s attorney, either suing people or other governments and also defending Seattle in court when, for instance, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce sues the city to kill the JumpStart tax).

From a criminal perspective, Davison’s whole thing is being “tough on crime,” which famously does nothing to make our city safer or to get people on the streets the help they need. She instituted policies like Close-in-Time filing. Implemented in 2022, it’s meant to reduce the criminal case backlog, but really just places the backlog in a different pile. It hasn’t worked. Her “High Utilizer Initiative” to target frequent offenders, surprise, also doesn’t solve any problems and worsens recidivism. Plus, Davison killed “community court,” an alternative system that offers people charged with misdemeanors non-punitive options to resolve their cases.

Meanwhile, Davison is unforgivably behind on filing DUI cases—one of the two serious misdemeanors the office can prosecute. Domestic violence cases are lagging. Back in 2021, before Davison, it took 26 days to file a DV case. Last year, on average, it took twice as long.

Davison is a tumor on the city and we don’t expect her to be willing to stand up to Trump. She converted to the Republican party during DJT’s first term, when anyone with an ounce of sense jumped ship. When King County, San Francisco, Santa Clara County, Portland, and New Haven signed onto a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security for their attacks on “sanctuary jurisdictions,” Davison dragged her feet, only joining the lawsuit months later. Meanwhile, while Boston and 43 other cities (including our less progressive neighbors, Spokane and Olympia) fought cuts to federal research funding, Davison stayed out of it. This person cannot protect us from the next three-and-a-half years (or more) of authoritarian encroachment. 

So, she sucks. We can’t let her win again. And she could. With three progressive challengers splitting the left vote, Davison will almost certainly skate through the primary, liberal Seattle bubble be damned. The people who didn’t march in the No Kings rally get ballots, too! 

Of this bunch, we believe Erika Evans, a former assistant US Attorney, is our choice to best Ann, make the City Attorney’s office effective and fair, and protect Seattle from the Trump administration. 

Evans has prosecuted hate crimes, she’s gone after drug traffickers, she’s slapped the wrists of business owners dipping into their employees’ wages, and she was involved in a case prosecuting January 6ers from Puyallup. Her résumé is impressive. Her platform (speed up DUI and DV case filings, bring back community court, prosecute wage theft, improve the police union contract to allow for more policing alternatives) mirrors the platforms of her opponents. But they don’t have her grit.

In our meeting, Evans leapt for her opponents’ throats. She presented exhibits for every argument, and demonstrated a deep understanding of the power, and limitations, of the City Attorney’s Office. She spoke thoughtfully about the importance of working closely with Washington Attorney General Nick Brown against the constitutionally intolerant Trump administration, and made a commitment to not prosecute “peaceful” protesters (though she wouldn’t define a “peaceful protester” for us, which is peak prosecutor brain). 

We also love a prop comedian: she brought Jarritos and African Black soap to symbolize SOAP/SODA laws, a Raggedy Ann doll to represent Davison, a printout of photos of the white men who have held this office for the 150 years before Ann got the job, a binder of her and her opponents case files. Sure, she gave Model-UN vibes, and if being corny were illegal this woman would be in jail. But it isn’t. And what we care about is Evans’s ability and will to protect us when Trump goes after this city.

We know, we know. A history as a prosecutor brings with it a track record of upholding a system built for oppression. But our federal government is actively antagonistic to cities like ours, and a prosecutor knows how the federal government works. Evans knows what levers to pull. And local progressives such as City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck and State Rep. Shaun Scott believe she’s the right choice despite all the prosecutorial baggage. 

But we don’t discount her mistakes and our misgivings. Evans voted for Bruce Harrell last election (“But I voted for Nikkita Oliver twice when they ran,” Evans said). She donated $100 to Harrell’s campaign before Katie Wilson got into the race, but wouldn’t say whom she was voting for in this election, and hedged by saying she couldn’t talk shit when the winner could be her client. Public defenders are worried about what her real intentions are and how she’ll act when she’s in the seat of power. We understand where they’re coming from. But we’re inviting her to prove them wrong. 

This wasn’t an easy decision. Any of Davison’s challengers would be wildly better for Seattle. We wish we could have endorsed Nathan Rouse, the public defender running for the seat, because he knows the system doesn’t work for everyday people and wants to change it. He’s tougher on the Seattle Police Officers Guild than any other candidates. But he didn’t convince us he could put his ideas into action or win. Please run again next time, Nathan. We want to see you in our swivel chairs again, with more experience under your belt. Thanks for the Pop-Tarts.

And Rory O’Sullivan could do a perfectly fine job in the role. But he lacks trial experience. And most importantly, we aren’t confident he could beat Davison. 

Evans will hit the ground running in a way we need. Here’s to knocking Davison into the stratosphere. Vote Evans.