By Hannah Saunders
We’re back with another weekly reporting round-up from August 3-10. Last week, we published five articles on topics like groups using the Seattle Center shooting tragedy as a way to increase surveillance, the closure of Seattle’s Trans and Queer Community Stabilization Interdepartmental Team, and a coalition calling for accountability of Federal Way Police after the death of two Black men.
Rebecca Saldaña discusses housing, public safety, and campaign finance for King County Council campaign
After ten years in Olympia, Sen. Rebecca Saldaña is ready to bring her experience to the King County Council District 2 position, with a focus on housing costs, behavioral health care, and public safety.
“I have always been really committed to being of service,” Saldaña told Through the Static (TtS). “I never thought it was about politics.”
Housing affordability continues to rank among King County’s most prominent issues. Saldaña cited bills she backed in Olympia, from statewide rent stabilization to bigger investments in affordable housing. She said state and local leaders need to work more closely if they expect to slow the climb in housing costs.
Learn more about Saldaña’s campaign here.
Several groups use tragedy to encourage Mayor Wilson to reactive Stadium District CCTV cameras and expand surveillance
On April 3, several groups wrote a letter to Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, urging her to reactivate the CCTV cameras in the Stadium District and expand surveillance in the city as a whole. The letter comes as a response to several recent incidents of gun violence, including the July 26 Seattle Center shooting that reached international headlines.
“We respectfully urge you to reactivate the 22 CCTV cameras in the Stadium District and Pioneer Square that were connected to the Seattle Police Department’s Real-Time Crime Center, while the City’s audit is underway. This includes safeguards mandated by the City when the policy was first adopted,” the group wrote. “In addition, we urge further investment in CCTV cameras in areas of the city that regularly host large-scale events, such as Seattle Center. This nexus was not evaluated in past efforts.”
Gun violence isn’t new to Seattle, but news of the Seattle Center shooting jumped across the globe due to the location of the shooting and the amount of people who were present and impacted by it while at the family-friendly, Bite of Seattle event. Different community groups, including Our Seattle, have called on Mayor Wilson to invest in violence interruption programs and evidence-based violence prevention approaches, including funding Community Passageways, which is currently working with survivors and families impacted by the July 26 shooting.
Click here to read the full article.
Seattle/King County August 2026 Primary Election Results
The first round of August primary results are in, and here’s where the candidates stand. These numbers will change over the next few days as more ballots trickle in. TtS will publish the final results on August 18, so stay tuned for more!
Seattle suddenly ends its Trans and Queer Community Stabilization Interdepartmental Team; $300k proposed for immediate relief
The Trans and Queer Community Stabilization Interdepartmental Team (TQ IDT), which was created by the Office of the Mayor and the Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) in June in response to an ongoing internal Trans refugee crisis, has suddenly been closed. At the same time, Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck has proposed a $300,000 amendment to the supplemental budget to fund community stabilization, which is headed to council for a vote on August 11.
The Mayor’s Office shared the TQ IDT’s final recommendations, which consist of rapid response efforts, like providing immediate resources to community members and community-based organizations (CBOs), and helping people enroll in city resources and services. Other near term goals include building on material resources, evaluating Seattle’s definition of “refugee,” and a possible expansion, discovering community-navigation options, and routinely engaging.
Learn more here.
Coalition calls for accountability of Federal Way Police Department following hospital death and crisis call shooting of Black men
The Washington Coalition of Police Accountability has written a letter demanding that the Federal Way Police Department (FWPD) undergo some serious changes and accountability measures for two reports involving Black men. This comes after FWPD officers killed 27-year-old Leon Davis while in a hospital, and shot 19-year-old Caution Mann while he was experiencing a mental health crisis.
Body camera footage of both incidents has not been released. The Washington Coalition of Police Accountability is demanding that the FWPD release footage and hold the officers involved in Davis’ death and Mann’s shooting accountable. The Coalition is also asking for a racial bias inquiry to be launched, and is also requesting the Attorney General’s Office lead another, separate racial bias inquiry at the department.
Click here to read the full article.
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