Wheels Start Coming Off Socialist Seattle Mayor’s Admin As Homeless Housing Scheme Sputters

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced Wednesday her plan to add 1,000 new shelter beds by the end of the year, but things are seemingly falling apart as a top advisor jumps ship.

The same morning as Wilson’s announcement to rapidly expand shelter space her senior advisor on homelessness, Jon Grant, resigned, according to the Seattle Times. It’s unclear why Grant resigned, but his departure follows other staff shakeups.

Just weeks before Grant’s resignation Wilson replaced her chief of staff Kate Brunette Kruezer. City hall veteran Esther Handy was appointed to fill her spot, the outlet reported.

The staff changes come after the Seattle City Council was concerned about how Wilson’s administration was presenting themselves. City council and mayoral staffers disagreements led to the changes in leadership, the Seattle Times reported.

The ambitious housing plan is ruffling feathers within the city. Alan Bridgman, president of Northwest Custom Interiors, said the industrial area is already struggling with crime. “What happens if this tiny house community and RV lot doesn’t work out, and if it becomes really dangerous for the surrounding community,” Bridgman said, according to Fox 13.

Similar housing programs in San Franciso have showcased the effect homelessness programs can have on communities after old hotels became a hotspot for crime, violence, and overdoses.

Seattle declared a state of emergency on homelessness in 2015 and Wilson says the city has waited too long to respond with urgency, according to Fox 13. During Wilson’s Wednesday speech, she stated, “We have twice as many homeless people in Seattle as we do shelter beds,” the outlet reported.