Seattle’s new city attorney envisions future of office as balanced, collaborative, and accountable
When Ann Davison takes office next month, she will be the first new city attorney in Seattle in 12 years. She will also be the first woman to ever hold the office and take a different approach to the office than her predecessor, Pete Holmes.
Ann Davison: Will be “room in the middle” in the Seattle City Attorney’s office
Davison often campaigned against Holmes for being gentle on low-level criminals, claiming he created a de facto similar lawlessness in Seattle that she promised to end. Only a few days before she takes office, this position remains unchanged.
Davison last ran for her unsuccessful application for lieutenant governor in 2020 when she ran for Republican. While the Seattle prosecutor is a non-partisan office, many progressives see Davison as the conservative choice for “law and order,” which would undo the criminal law reforms achieved in Seattle immediately upon taking the oath of office. Not quite, says Davison.
“We have to correct and change Seattle’s reputation for crime, our laws, our values, they shouldn’t be enforced selectively,” she told KIRO Radio in a telephone interview.
But she also focuses on mending fences and the big picture.
“I also want to make the city prosecutor one of the leading local law departments in the country,” she said. “We do this by re-establishing relationships with other authorities so that we can create public safety for the city within the larger ecosystem.”
It starts with data.
“We have to invest in data and transparency solutions to reduce crime,” said Davison. “I don’t want to do the same things and expect a different result. I think we need this data and transparency for the public, one for good governance, but also to lead and make smart decisions, informed decisions about what helps reduce crime so we can help the city, positive move forward on public safety. “
Davison is particularly interested in one particular data set.
“The data I was looking for is specifically on the backlog as we are nearing roughly 4,000 undelivered cases,” she noted. “That is a considerable amount. I have a team reviewing this data so that we can, in turn, make informed, informed decisions about what to respond to and about public safety. “
“I am not aware of all of the data that is currently being collected, but I do know that I intend to increase and improve this,” added Davison. “Even if we are working towards good governance, this aspect of transparency is a central component for us and influences our decision-making.”
A major priority for Davison’s office will be to find out what’s behind the city’s so-called productive criminals and how best to stop this cycle.
“As a former member of the general public, I wanted to find out where the split was?” She postulated. “Because it obviously happens, and if you are not sure, try to fill that information gap. That’s why I’m happy about the new hires that I have announced. “
Those new hires are Natalie Walton-Anderson, whom Davison appointed as her new chief detective, and Scott Lindsay, whom she appointed as assistant city attorney.
Walden-Anderson served with the King County Attorney’s Office for 24 years before becoming US Assistant Attorney in March.
“Natalie Walton-Anderson who has worked in any area where you talk about mental or behavioral health problems, substance use disorders, and therapeutic dishes,” she said. “She is very well versed in it, very experienced in it, and we would like to have these alternatives, when people are approachable and we can offer help to intervene, and when it is not approachable we have other tools and so it is very important that they have it. ”you in this role as criminal boss. I am very happy to have it. “
Walton-Anderson was the Head of Unit for the LEAD or Law Enforcement Support Program when she worked for the District Attorney’s Office with a strong focus on alternatives to incarceration programs.
Her second hire, on the other hand, is Scott Lindsay, who served as public safety advisor to former Mayor Ed Murray and tried unsuccessfully to depose Pete Holmes as prosecutor in 2017.
Lindsay also described the problem of productive offenders – or familiar faces as elected officials often call them – in two reports titled “System Failures” that have been criticized by some for their association with the KOMO TV series “Seattle is Dying”.
For Davison, it’s about balance.
“You have to have everything,” she said. “The criminal justice system has problems – yes. But we also need to know that speaking on behalf of people who feel powerless is a tool, and we need to remember that there are many people who feel powerless, powerless to run their business, powerless to support her family, and that’s something we can help with here in the prosecution. “
Davison does not have an extensive background in criminal law and was very conscious of her choice in these positions.
“I think you have to listen first and then solve problems, and to do this effectively I always want to hear different perspectives,” she said. “In addition, nobody has the same experience with the criminal justice system, which is why it is important to have advisors with different perspectives.”
“Ultimately, Natalie and Scott have more in common, then they’re different,” Davison continued. “But making change also means recognizing that not a single tool will get us there. Having the two of you on my team is purposeful and intentional and therefore the solutions get mixed up. So we want to make sure we have people who are very experienced in these areas, very knowledgeable, and have a wealth of expertise that we can bring to the prosecutor to join the people here who did the job. It’s important to have them here and I’m so happy that you both agreed to participate. “
Davison recently criticized the Seattle City Council for adopting a measure to impose preventive reporting requirements on prosecutors, in a watered-down version of what was originally mandated to continue current diversion programs like LEAD. was expected and others. In that letter, she made it clear that distraction is part of the Seattle criminal justice equation – but also responsibility for one’s own actions and toward the people of Seattle.
“Absolutely – even if we’re looking for a way to intervene and people react to alternatives, that’s what we want there. Looking at the data and what works and what doesn’t will influence our decisions about how to go about it, ”said Davison.
It depends on how the individual diversion programs and the perpetrators behave.
Seattle City Attorney Candidate Focuses Message On “Making Sure People Are Safe”
Right now, Davison is eager to get to work and make a difference to those in town who feel ignored about public safety.
“I’m a person who is very excited to be in a place where I can actually have that positive influence and not just talk about it,” she said. “Listening is the first step and then being the problem solver is the second. Now to be in a position to put this together and show people that this is exactly what we want to do. I am very happy about this level of community engagement, which may never have happened before. “
To begin with, your top priority will be to clean up the aforementioned backlog of cases.
“I think that’s so important,” said Davison. “New cases are being put at the bottom of the line right now, so this is an important piece to tackle and we will take it seriously. I have to come in there and really have a thorough understanding of what’s there and we’re going to go ahead and have a plan to talk about it very, very quickly because it’s something that matters. “
So where does our new city attorney see Seattle in a year?
“I see ourselves in a place with a feeling of sigh and hope, so that we have eased tensions, we have established cooperative working relationships with other authorities because it is a common ecosystem that creates public safety,” she says. “So in a year we established those who are well trained to ensure public safety, because not only am I one-sided in this office creating public safety, but also ensuring that these collaborative working relationships are in place. So they’ll be working in a year. “
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