No Regrets
Wednesday’s press conference focused on revitalizing downtown #Seattle happened in West Lake Park, just a block away from one of the most notorious drug dens in the city along 3rd Ave & Pike St. As Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) was speaking, addicts were tweaking or passed out on the sidewalk.
Arrests for open air drug use and possession are not happening right now because Councilmember’s Lisa Herbold (@Lisa_Herbold,) Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama,) Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales,) Teresa Mosqueda (@CMTMosqueda,) and Andrew Lewis (@CMAndrewJLewis) voted NO on giving City Attorney Ann Davison (@_Ann_Davison_) the power to prosecute these gross misdemeanors. And there’s still no interim solution.
Lewis is doubling down saying he has no regrets and says they’re working on something better. Harrell says a fix is on the way, but no timeline on when that happens. He said maybe in a few weeks. So for now, the drug addicts know it’s a free for all. That’s why some of them told me they come to 3rd Ave & Pike St, because it’s just “embedded in the culture.” One of the more insightful conversations I’ve had with peeps on the street. As for Major League Baseball All-Star Weekend (@mlb) starting in less than two weeks, I could not find a single person who is hopeful the city will have this mess handled before thousands of sports fans descend on the Emerald City.