Though the race is officially non-partisan, Ann Davison ran was a law & order Republican and was elected Seattle city attorney after capturing 59% of the vote.
She defeated far-left challenger Nicole Thomas-Kennedy who not only wanted to abolish the police, but admitted that she had a “rabid hatred of the police” and defended rioting and looting in the city saying these “protests” are a “moral imperative.”
"No race in Tuesday’s city election was more fraught with the potential for unpredictable consequences than the race for Seattle’s official lawyer, who traditionally has prosecuted minor crimes and provided legal advice and defense for the city and its employees, including police.
At one end stood Thomas-Kennedy, a former public defender who wants to ultimately abolish misdemeanor prosecutions. During the unrest that swept the city in the summer of 2020, she tweeted about her “rabid hatred of the police” and pronounced property destruction during times of protest a “moral imperative.”
At the other end was Seattle attorney and arbitrator Davison, whose perceived transgression for some in liberal Seattle was seen as being as bad as anything her opponent said on social media: She declared herself a Republican in 2020, while President Donald Trump was in the White House...
The winner takes over an office with 200 attorneys and a $35 million budget. The office prosecutes misdemeanor crimes and infractions, advises the mayor and council on legal matters and defends the city and its employees against lawsuits, including police officers accused of wrongdoing.
Much of the focus and criticism during the campaign, however, was about how either candidate would handle misdemeanor criminal matters — ranging from drunken driving to shoplifting.
Thomas-Kennedy said she’d work to reduce — and eventually eliminate — misdemeanor prosecutions, arguing they are wasteful and criminalize poverty. Prosecution would remain an option for repeat drunken driving, minor assaults and violent crimes, but most defendants would be referred to mental health, addiction or restorative-justice programs.
On the civil-law side, Thomas-Kennedy has said she would defend progressive tax laws, sue fossil-fuel companies and work to overturn the state’s ban on affirmative action.
Thomas-Kennedy’s abolitionist platform drew particular heat in an editorial by three former police chiefs, who warned of “anarchy” and said the Seattle Police Department — already badly short-staffed — would suffer further."