FIFA World Cup 2026

Jonathan Choe and Brandi Kruse give an inside look into the open-air drug use, mental illness, and sale of drugs/stolen goods plaguing downtown Seattle streets and parks — problems city leaders now appear eager to move out of sight before hundreds of thousands of visitors arrive. An estimated ~750,000 people are expected to visit Seattle during the FIFA World Cup beginning in June 2026. In preparation, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is accused of pushing homeless encampments and activity out of the downtown core and into surrounding areas. Former Mayor Bruce Harrell faced criticism for similar tactics, including downtown sweeps and distributing visitor maps highlighting “safe” routes for tourists to avoid areas overwhelmed by homelessness, drug use, and crime.

Out of Control Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has lost control of her streets. Parts of Chinatown-ID are packed with drug dealers slinging fentanyl, people are recklessly starting fires on sidewalks, and the black market of stolen goods is thriving. There is no way Wilson has this under control by June when FIFA World Cup games are played in the city. Remind me again what the plan is to address this disaster zone?

Out of Control Seattle’s Little Saigon neighborhood is out of control. The drug den and black market of stolen goods is thriving Thursday afternoon. Dudes are openly selling meth and also talking about buying high quality fentanyl from Honduran drug dealers nearby. Meanwhile, no cops in sight and addicts are driving a hard bargain on stolen laundry detergent. From now until the FIFA World Cup in June, I will be giving weekly updates from this Asian American community that’s now a containment zone and human dumping ground for the city. Mayor Katie Wilson has no solutions and is allowing this minority community to be victimized again.

Tiny Homes Won’t Solve This Problem Sunday evening, the drug den at the corner of 12th Ave & Jackson St in Seattle’s Chinatown-ID is spiraling out of control. A hoard of addicts are flipping stolen items on the sidewalk which is just a blocks away from Summit Sierra High School. Who needs a bassinet or brand new Nikes? This has nothing to do with homelessness. The vast majority of people out here have housing and are using the streets as a hang out. Constructing tiny houses will not solve this problem. There is no way Mayor Katie Wilson will be able to contain this disaster by building more wooden shacks. Too bad City Attorney Erika Evans refuses to prosecute open-air Read More ›

No Plan for Drug Treatment and Recovery Options Wednesday evening, Mayor Katie Wilson shared more details about her plan to address the homeless drug crisis destroying the city. As expected, Wilson put an emphasis on how her office was taking the initiative to build more tiny houses and pallet shelters before the FIFA World Cup in June. But Wilson shared virtually ZERO details on drug treatment and recovery options for addicts suffering on the streets. Wilson just said “wrap around services” would be offered to residents at these shelters. In other words, no requirement to use the treatment and recovery options. It’s the same talking point parroted for more than a decade by every King County Democrat that’s presided over Read More ›

A City in Urgency Seattle is moving rapidly to expand shelter for homeless drug addicts before the FIFA World Cup comes to the city. Faster than the public has been given time to fully understand. Mayor Katie Wilson set a goal of adding hundreds of new units in a matter of months. The strategy relies heavily on taxpayer dollars to expand tiny house villages. No one questions the urgency. But speed should not replace accountability and transparency. Lack of Transparency Right now, Seattle is making high-impact decisions about land, funding, and service delivery through a relatively tight network of policymakers, advisors, and providers. And the public has not been given a clear, transparent picture of how those decisions are being made. Read More ›