Microsoft, Starbucks, and biz leaders demand 100-day Seattle ‘public safety action plan’ as budget fight looms

A coalition of 38 regional business leaders delivered a letter Thursday urging Mayor Katie Wilson and Seattle City Council president and District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth to adopt an immediate “100-day public safety action plan” with “concrete” performance metrics, arriving just ahead of fall city budget negotiations.

Organized by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, “CEO-level civic alliance” Challenge Seattle, and the statewide lobbyist Washington Roundtable, the letter is signed by executives including Microsoft’s Brad Smith, Starbucks’ Brian Niccol, Costco’s Ron Vachris, and Alaska Airlines’ Ben Minicucci. The signatories asserted that “voters are asking for action, on a timeline, with results they can measure,” citing an August Chamber survey where only 34% of 500 registered voters expressed confidence in Seattle’s public safety approach, while they say 86% backed a 100-day framework.

“The clearest message from our August 17 joint public-opinion poll of registered Seattle voters is this: residents expect the City to act with urgency, fund the actions needed to improve safety, and provide a clear plan for measuring progress,” the letter (PDF) reads.

The demands establish benchmarks including requiring a 7-minute 911 response target and reporting missed calls, noting police responded to only 29% of calls at Nordstrom’s downtown flagship compared to 100% at its Bellevue and Southcenter stores. Reactivating CCTV networks in Pioneer Square and the Stadium District (75% voter support), deploying walking and bike beats (90% support), and clearing encampments within 250 feet of parks and schools within 72 hours (79% support) are also part of the call.

The group also warned against cutting police funding, stating Seattle’s 1.31 sworn officers per 1,000 residents is “about 40% fewer than Denver, 43% fewer than San Francisco and 58% fewer than Boston.”

Key Demands from Regional Business Leaders Coalition

• 100-Day Public Safety Action Plan: Adopt a 100-day plan featuring performance metrics and monthly public progress reporting.
• Reactivate and Expand CCTV Surveillance: Restore and expand the city’s network of CCTV cameras in high-incident areas and nightlife areas.
• Dedicated Foot and Bike Patrols: Deploy walking and bike beats in hotspot corridors, specifically calling out areas like Little Saigon.
• Enforce 911 Response Benchmarks: Recommit to a target 7-minute response standard and require transparency for missed calls, pointing to Nordstrom data showing a 29% response rate at its downtown Seattle flagship compared to 100% in Bellevue and Southcenter.
• Repeat Offender Accountability: Retain diversion and CARE alternatives for treatment and shelter first, while establishing mandatory arrest and prosecution for repeat offenders who refuse services.
• 250-Foot Buffer on Parks and Schools: Prohibit encampments within 250 feet of schools, playgrounds, and public parks, mandating site clearances within 72 hours.
• Protect and Expand Police Budget: Shield public safety resources from budget cuts, emphasizing that Seattle’s ratio of approximately 1.31 sworn officers per 1,000 residents trails peer cities such as Boston, San Francisco, and Denver.

The sudden corporate urgency arrives against the backdrop of an intensifying tax fight. As a former Transit Riders Union organizer, Wilson helped architect the city’s JumpStart payroll tax on big business, and she enters her first budget cycle facing a projected deficit while evaluating expanded progressive revenue options, including levies on major employers and top earners. Framing the city’s challenges around basic public safety delivery and lagging response times provides large corporate interests potent leverage to oppose new tax proposals, pushing City Hall to prioritize policing over progressive revenue policies.

The mayor’s office hasn’t exactly presented a strong front on responding to public safety concerns, focusing instead of replacing the police chief and prioritizing police alternatives.

The Wilson administration’s public safety stances have championed civilian alternatives, harm reduction, and supportive housing over traditional police expansion and misdemeanor prosecution. In policy, Wilson has focused on administrative accountability and targeted street deployments. After the July Seattle Center shooting, she forced the resignation of Chief Shon Barnes, appointed Interim Chief Andre Sayles, and instituted a one-hour public notification target for major incidents. Her administration has also directed increased police patrols and environmental modifications to persistent hotspots like Belltown, Little Saigon, and North Aurora, while putting SPD’s Real Time Crime Center camera expansion on hold.

Her strongest public safety actions have been the new public safety communication practices and the launch of a nationwide search for a new Seattle police chief.

Capitol Hill and the Central District representative and current president of the council Hollingsworth, meanwhile, has approached public safety through a centrist “both/and” lens, trying to balance support for traditional law enforcement with community-based intervention and civilian alternatives. While she advocates for stronger police staffing and visible foot beats in commercial corridors like Pike/Pine, she has championed the civilian CARE department to divert nonviolent mental health calls away from armed officers. In a break with the mayor, Hollingsworth has helped lead the council majority in supporting legal deterrence mechanisms, including Stay Out of Drug Areas zones to disrupt chronic open-air illicit markets.

Hollingsworth has also championed economics in the public safety debate, treating small business stability as an essential component of public safety and backing initiatives like the proposed Pike/Pine Business Improvement Area to fund localized safety and sanitation resources.

The council president has also taken a broader approach to gun violence with support for community intervention including funding for organizations like Community Passageways that provide on-the-ground support at Garfield High School.

Meanwhile, the council’s public safety chair Bob Kettle has lately focused his energy on Wilson’s decision to push Barnes out.

President Hollingsworth has not yet publicly responded to the chamber’s call for a safety plan.

Responding to the letter, Wilson said the city is “making progress, step by step,” noting that while homicides and shootings sit at decade lows, “we have far too much crime and public disorder, and people have a right to be frustrated.”

Headed into her first budget battle on the mayor’s side of the desk, Wilson may need to provide a larger, more expensive response to that frustration. Many of the same issues listed in the chamber’s letter were raised in an East Precinct community crime meeting held by SPD at Capitol HIll’s Miller Community Center Wednesday night. There were no CEOs or leaders from the region’s biggest companies in attendance.

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