Opinion: How city and county leaders are authoring Seattle's comeback

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Four years ago, 150 tents occupied the sidewalks and parks of downtown Seattle, graffiti-covered plywood clung to storefronts and police staffing was in a freefall. Dysfunction reigned at City Hall where public policy decisions were made by slogans and the person who shouted the loudest.

This municipal malpractice was seen and felt not just downtown but in neighborhoods across Seattle. Those in charge and the activists dictating their policies were unable to distinguish between individuals who were hurting on our sidewalks (and needed help) from those who were out causing trouble and hurting others (and needed to be held accountable). In too many cases, the response was to not intervene in either circumstance.

Store owners, property managers, downtown ambassadors, security guards and retail clerks were forced to manage safety, security and suffering — and many locals stayed away from downtown as disorder took hold.

It was understandable why some feared that downtown Seattle was on the verge of the dreaded urban “doom loop” — a death spiral driven by too much chaos and too few customers that would lead to more shuttered storefronts, declining foot traffic and a collapse in tax revenue.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2025/03/12/opinion-seattle-is-on-the-path-toward-progress.html