Seattle voters are sending Mayor Katie Wilson a message on public safety: they want more police, more surveillance cameras, and measurable results — and most don’t have confidence that the mayor has an effective plan to deliver them.
A new poll released Monday by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Challenge Seattle found that roughly two-thirds of Seattle voters lack confidence that Wilson has an effective plan to improve public safety. Only 34 percent said they were confident in Wilson’s plan, including just 9 percent who were “very confident.” Meanwhile, 40 percent said they were not confident at all.
The results come amid renewed scrutiny of Wilson’s handling of public safety following the deadly Bite of Seattle mass shooting and an ongoing fight over Seattle’s police surveillance cameras.
The survey shows voters overwhelmingly favor several law-enforcement and public-safety policies. Seventy-five percent support Seattle’s CCTV surveillance-camera program, including 45 percent who strongly support it. Seventy-four percent support expanding cameras to Seattle Center and other major event venues, while 71 percent favor cameras in areas plagued by open-air drug markets and street disorder.
The numbers present a stark contrast with Wilson’s handling of the camera program. Wilson paused expansion of Seattle’s surveillance-camera pilot program in March while her administration pursued reviews of its privacy protections and effectiveness. After the deadly Bite of Seattle shooting, a coalition of major Seattle organizations — including the Space Needle, Seattle Storm and Climate Pledge Arena — urged Wilson to reactivate 22 cameras in Pioneer Square and the Stadium District and expand the system.
Wilson’s office defended the pause, saying decisions about cameras should be based on an assessment of their public benefits as well as potential harm to civil rights and liberties. The administration’s outside reviews are expected in September.
But voters appear far less interested in waiting. Ninety percent support regular foot and bicycle police patrols in neighborhoods suffering persistent public-safety problems, such as Little Saigon. Another 90 percent support making Seattle’s seven-minute response-time standard for priority 911 calls a top city priority, with public reporting when the city fails to meet it.
And 86 percent want Seattle to produce a public-safety action plan within 100 days, complete with measurable goals and monthly progress reports. “The public isn’t asking for a debate on public safety. They want action now to solve it,” former Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, CEO of Challenge Seattle, said in announcing the results.
Seattle Metro Chamber CEO Joe Nguyễn similarly said voters had provided city leaders with a “clear roadmap for action,” calling for cameras, a strong public-safety presence and measurable goals.
The poll also suggests Wilson’s problems extend beyond one public-safety policy. When Wilson began her term in January, 57 percent of voters believed Seattle was heading in the right direction. Eight months later, that number has fallen to 48 percent. Wilson retains strong support among voters identified as progressive, 67 percent of whom expressed confidence in her public-safety plan, but majorities of liberal, moderate and conservative respondents said they lacked confidence in it.
High-profile violence has continued to fuel questions about City Hall’s approach. Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee Chair Bob Kettle recently challenged Wilson publicly over the city’s response to the Bite of Seattle shooting and demanded a broader review examining police staffing, communications, mutual aid and camera technology.
The criticism followed what even Wilson acknowledged was a botched public response to the July 26 Bite of Seattle mass shooting, which left three people dead and four others injured at Seattle Center. Despite the shooting occurring shortly after 6 p.m. with law enforcement already in the area, the city went roughly five hours without providing the public and news media with official information about what had happened or whether there was an ongoing threat. Wilson later apologized and blamed communication failures between her office and the Seattle Police Department. At the same time, Kettle called for a broader examination of the response and warned that such delays during a public emergency cannot happen again.
Then came another reminder of the camera fight. Early Sunday morning, more than 30 shell casings were recovered after a shootout near 1st Avenue and South King Street in Pioneer Square, where a 21-year-old man was shot in the back, and vehicles and a business were struck by gunfire. According to KOMO News, three city surveillance cameras were within view of the shooting — but all three were turned off. The cameras have been offline since the end of the FIFA World Cup, leaving investigators without footage that a security worker at the scene said could have provided valuable evidence from the shooting and its aftermath.
The Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) responded by putting the blame squarely on Wilson’s decision to keep the cameras offline: “Here we go again, Mayor Katie. Another violent shootout. Three city surveillance cameras within view. All turned off by the Mayor’s order. SPOG warned what would happen when proven public safety tools were taken offline. Now Seattle is right back where we started. Déjà vu.”
Here we go again, Mayor Katie.
Another violent shootout. Three city surveillance cameras within view. All turned off by the Mayor’s order.
SPOG warned what would happen when proven public safety tools were taken offline. Now Seattle is right back where we started.
Déjà… pic.twitter.com/tNoOgwOdBd
— Seattle Police Officers Guild (@SPOG1952) August 17, 2026
The new polling indicates Seattle residents aren’t simply expressing dissatisfaction — they’re telling City Hall what they want instead. Three out of four want CCTV cameras. Nine out of ten want increased police patrols in problem areas. Nearly nine out of ten want a public-safety plan with deadlines, measurable goals and accountability. For Wilson, the problem is that only about one out of three voters currently believes she has an effective plan to provide it.