City Attorney Ann Davison to seek re-election

Keeping Seattle safe remains her top priority

For more information, please contact: info@neighborsforann.com

SEATTLE – Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison today announced her re-election campaign, citing a focus on

reducing crime and prioritizing victims’ rights.

“In just three years, we’ve eliminated the inherited 5,000 criminal case backlog, refocused our efforts to crack down on frequent, repeat criminal offenders, and stood up for consumers and the environment,” said Davison, who was elected in 2021. “Working together with Mayor Harrell and the City Council, I’m proud of what we have accomplished, yet there is more work to do. By making Seattle safer, we’ll keep our quality of life high to keep Seattle an amazing place to live, work and raise a family.”

The major accomplishments of Davison’s tenure include:

• Eliminated an inherited 5,000 criminal case backlog.

• For general crimes, charge rate of over 60% compared to prior to Davison’s tenure to over 40% charge rate.

• Created the High Utilizer Initiative to focus on frequent, repeat criminal activity. Over nearly three years of data this initiative shows a forecast reduction of 2,800 referrals.

• Because justice delayed is justice denied, instituted a "Close in Time" filing policy to stop adding to backlog and create self-imposed goal of 5 business days from police referral receipt to make charging decision. This (1) changes the culture to re-center crime victims in the public safety conversation; (2) creates data marker to set off alarm when backlog is growing so criminal division can assess what is causing it; and (3) increased victim participation in criminal cases shown by declined cases due to lack of victim participation reduced by half from 33% to 15%.

• Working with the city council, Davison brought unprecedented data and transparency to the office, which is cutting edge for prosecutor offices around the country.

• Davison was the first in the country to sue Kia/Hyundai, now joined by more than a dozen governmental entities across the country, for their choosing to not install near universal anti-theft technology in their least expensive cars over a decade's span, leaving them extremely susceptible to the rash of auto thefts.

• Successfully negotiated mediation with Monsanto bringing $160 million to the city for PCB contamination in lower Duwamish. This is the largest single-city settlement in the country from the chemical manufacturer.

• Expanded eligibility for diversion in criminal division.

• Successfully proposed public safety city legislation that passed 8-1 for Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) and Stay Out of Prostitution Area (SOAP) laws.