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Seattle City Attorney briefs REALTORS® on role and accomplishments

December 12, 2024

When she ran for the position of Seattle city attorney in 2022, Ann Davison framed herself as a “pragmatist” and advocated for restoring law and order to the city’s streets by “increasing prosecution of misdemeanor crimes and clearing out homeless camps.”

Since winning election and assuming office, Davison—the city’s first woman to hold that office—is credited with creating the High Utilizer Initiative and being the first city attorney in the country to file a lawsuit in federal court against car manufacturers Kia and Hyundai for their failure to install anti-theft technology in some of their vehicles. Several other jurisdictions have since joined that suit.

Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison, the city’s chief legal officer, provided an overview of her office during the December meeting of SKCR’s Governmental and Public Affairs Committee (GAC).

Davison cited three primary goals for her office:

  1. improve public safety by restoring meaningful accountability in Seattle’s municipal criminal justice system;
  2. provide the public with transparency into the operations of the Criminal Division; and
  3. provide first-rate legal representation for the City of Seattle.

The City Attorney’s office has both a civil division, with 110 people, and a criminal division, with 80 people. As the chief legal officer for the city, Davison told GAC members she has a problem-solving focus, an approach of “getting the job done with less,” and is data driven.

Within the Civil Division is the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI) that encompasses real property code enforcement, which prosecutes over a dozen different building and land use codes enforced by SDCI, and vacant building enforcement.

The Civil Division also encompasses the Contracts and Utilities Section, including the Affordable Housing and Homeownership Section, the Land Use Section, and (with Government Affairs Section attorneys) the Housing Levy Renewal Ordinance.

In 2022, the City Attorney’s Office launched a “High Utilizer Initiative” in partnerships with others including the Seattle Police Department and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The goal was to “give special attention and accountability to the most problematic individuals” who were committing misdemeanors.

City Attorney Ann Davison_GAC Dec2024

The initial cohort of high utilizers had 118 individuals who were responsible for more than 2,400 police referrals to the City Attorney’s office over the previous five years. One individual alone had 60 referrals.

Davison said one immediate result of the initiative was a 20% increase in charge rates, and an estimated reduction of 1,500 police referrals to her office. “Forming partnerships was instrumental” to these results, Davison stated.

Another initiative has been the addition of a “graffiti detective.” Noting graffiti is almost non-existent in some cities, Davison said unchecked behavior should not be tolerated. The lack of response is the problem, she believes. (The National Association of Realtors® says property located within a community where there is graffiti will lose 15% of its value, and if the graffiti is profane or hateful, the property owner could lose up to 25% of their home’s value.)

The Seattle City Attorney’s office is also involved in a pilot project to deter retail theft and property theft. This has required a shift in sharing data, Davison said. “Not being territorial with data has helped identify patterns,” she remarked, and can also help deter shoplifting and organized thefts.

In August, Davison unveiled public safety legislation, dubbed “Stay Out of Drug Area” or SODA, to make public spaces safer and more accessible for all. The measure aims to reduce the continued incidence of drug-related criminal activity in specified areas.

“We must address the safety needs of residents, visitors, and businesses . . . who live, shop, and work in zones that are overburdened with illegal, dangerous, public drug use and other criminal activity,” Davison said in introducing the legislation.

During a Q&A session, Davison said substance abuse by drivers is a major concern. Incidents of polysubstance use (rather than just alcohol) are rising, she said. Poly-drug drivers are now the most common type of impaired driver involved in fatalities across the state, according to the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission.

Davison reiterated the importance of civic engagement when she met with Realtors. The mission statement for her office states, “We believe working transparently, innovatively, and in collaboration with our partners in the community is necessary to achieve outcomes that promote equity, accountability and healing.”

Davison had practiced law for 15 years before being elected city attorney. Commenting on all the forms Realtors are required to use, she said “I didn’t practice in land use.” Her prior experience includes work for the Seattle SuperSonics and in Thailand where she taught English.

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