The Seattle city council "is due to experience a massive turnover" this year as several members have reportedly forgone reelection because of the increased threats and harassment.
"The council’s exodus includes Kshama Sawant, its senior member, who announced two weeks ago that she will vacate her seat after a decade. She followed announcements by District 1 Councilmember Lisa Herbold and District 4 Councilmember Alex Pedersen, and a series of informal statements by Council President Debora Juarez, who represents District 5," The Seattle Times reported.
It added further, "Though Juarez has not yet made an announcement about seeking a new term, she said Friday that harassment and ‘credible threats’ have increased in her time on council and have contributed to her decision."
Juarez said during an interview, "I’m not seen as a person by some people, and it’s not safe for me or my family," later adding, "No job is worth that."
The Seattle Times noted that the "political climate in Seattle appears to be a primary reason some local leaders are seeking shorter careers on the dais."
Former councilman Nick Licata, who served well over a decade, commented, "It became less fun and more strenuous."
The polarized politics in recent years have caused a spike in harassment of politicians, according to the local paper.
"Harassment of local elected officials peaked during protests against police violence in summer 2020, and around a commitment to defund the Seattle Police Department by 50%, which was quickly reversed," The Seattle Times wrote. "Activists went to the homes of several City Council members, including Pedersen and Juarez, who reported intimidating behavior such as written messages left at their homes. Later that year, someone threw a rock through Herbold’s window after she suggested there be legal protections for people caught shoplifting essential items."
Some politicians have claimed that public backlash did not influence their decision.
"Sawant says bags of human feces have been thrown on the lawn of her private residence six times, though she noted when announcing that she would not seek a fourth term that the harassment did not cause her decision," The Times wrote. "No stranger to conflict, Sawant said in an interview last week that the tension around her politics is a ‘badge of honor.’"
The city of Seattle has become a topic of national news for their frequent protests, increased crime, and move to defund the police. Earlier this month, a local medical examiner's office announced they were running out of space to store dead bodies due to the increase in the number of people overdosing on fentanyl.
"A key indication of just how bad things are at the end of 2022 and likely to get worse [in] 2023, the medical examiner’s office is now struggling with the issue of storing bodies because the fentanyl-related death toll continues to climb," Seattle-King County Public Health Director Dr. Faisal Khan said.
