Ann Davison wins contentious Seattle City Attorney race against Nicole Thomas-Kennedy
SEATTLE - Republican Ann Davison is projected to win the Seattle City Attorney's race over police and jail abolitionist Nicole Thomas-Kennedy.
As of Monday, Davison had 52% of the vote to Thomas-Kennedy's 48%.
Real estate and business executives have plowed money into opposing Thomas-Kennedy, who during and after the racial-justice protests of 2020 often tweeted vulgarly of her hatred for police.
Thomas-Kennedy was promising to stop prosecuting most misdemeanors. Citing her experience as a public defender, she describes such crimes as being largely crimes of poverty and says the city can’t prosecute its way out of the problem.
Instead, she says, she would direct such cases to alternative justice programs and seek to establish a fund that would recompense businesses for shoplifting or similar losses not covered by insurance.
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Critics say her election would make it even more difficult to hire and retain officers and would send a message to criminals that they can get away with stealing and other low-level crimes.
Davison has her own baggage in deep-blue Seattle: She announced in 2020 that she was leaving the Democratic Party and running for lieutenant governor as a Republican. She has stressed that she is "not a partisan" — and that she voted for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden for president, not Donald Trump.
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In recent years, Davison has advocated for sweeping homeless encampments and moving residents into relief shelters set up in warehouses, and she has opposed safe-injection sites and a sex-education law. She says her opponent would jeopardize public safety.
Davison’s critics have questioned whether she would enthusiastically defend left-leaning laws adopted by the council, including renter protections and progressive taxation, when her backers are challenging such measures in court.
RELATED: Race for at-large Seattle City Council District 8 seat close in early returns
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.