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Fix Homelessness How to rebuild human lives
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October 28, 2026
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Is Service Resistance a Myth? Seattle Mayor Responds

Jonathan Choe
October 28, 2026
Governance, Homelessness, Street Report
2
 View at Jonathan Choe's X
Categories
Governance
Homelessness
Street Report

Recovery Community Pushes Back

Downtown Seattle Association CEO Jon Scholes recently triggered major pushback from the recovery community after he claimed service resistant homeless drug addicts were a myth.

Critics say that statement is tone deaf and dismissive of reality on the streets.

Scholes’ ill advised comment was made during socialist Mayor Katie Wilson’s press conference on her new homelessness strategy.

I asked Wilson if she still agreed with Scholes. Here’s what she had to say.

Battlefield Addiction Responds

Treatment/recovery first groups like Battlefield Addiction responded with scathing letters and demanded retractions from Scholes.

Jonathan Choe

Journalist and Senior Fellow, Center on Wealth & Poverty
Jonathan Choe is a journalist and Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute’s Center on Wealth and Poverty, covering homelessness issues for its Fix Homelessness initiative. Prior to joining Discovery, Choe spent several years as one of the lead reporters at KOMO-TV, consistently the top rated television station in Seattle. His in depth stories on crime and deep dive investigations into the homeless crisis led to measurable results in the community, including changes in public policy. Choe has more than two decades of experience in television news behind the scenes and in front of the camera for ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, and Tribune. He has also been nominated and honored with multiple industry awards including an Emmy. Choe spent several years teaching classes on emerging media and entrepreneurship to under privileged youth in inner city Chicago. As an independent journalist, Choe also contributes regularly to the Mill Creek View and Lynnwood Times and has reported on exclusive stories in the past year for Daily Wire and The Postmillennial.