The effort to recall Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson came to an abrupt end Thursday afternoon when the couple who filed the petition appeared in court asking to with
The effort to recall Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson came to an abrupt end Thursday afternoon when the couple who filed the petition appeared in court asking to withdraw it.
Melinda Jacobson and her husband Dale Osterud said they received new information they need to investigate against the Mayor and wanted additional time to seek legal counsel.
"It's not over," Jacobson told reporters after Thursday's hearing in King County Superior Court. "(Wilson) has had nothing but a series of rash decisions and people are angry."
Jacobson's petition alleged Wilson was failing in her duties as Mayor by not addressing public safety issues around the city and firing former police chief Shon Barnes days after a mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle.
The recall effort gained national headlines, and Jacobson was scheduled to appear in court next week to argue that her petition met the strict legal requirements for a recall in Washington state.
But Jacobson said she retained an attorney on Wednesday who advised her to withdraw the current recall petition.
Judge Patrick Oishi called the petition proceedings "highly irregular" and admonished Jacobson for contacting the prosecutor's office and showing up unannounced at his court chambers asking for a withdrawal.
"This whole process has been befuddling to the court," Oishi said.
Oishi ultimately allowed Jacobson to withdraw the petition, and left the door open for her to refile it in the future.
Dmitri Iglitzin, an attorney representing Mayor Wilson, called the recall effort frivolous.
"I am troubled to hear in open court some suggestion that they may just wait for another day and refile the same recall petition again," Iglitzin said.
He added that Mayor Wilson may seek court sanctions against Jacobson and Osterud if they continue their effort to recall her.
"If it is not the end of this matter, there would have to be an effort to require the recall petitioners to take responsibility for their abuse of the process, the law, and this court's availability... a recall petition should not be used as or seen as a substitute for the normal process whereby election officials are elected at regularly scheduled elections."
Washington law allows recalls of elected officials under narrow circumstances for "misfeasance, malfeasance, or violation of the oath of office."
Jacobson and Osterud's petition alleged Wilson violated her oath of office by not addressing public safety issues on Aurora Avenue, in the Belltown neighborhood, and the Chinatown-International District. The petition also cites the firing of the police chief and the Mayor's decision to turn off CCTV cameras in Pioneer Square as reasons she should be removed from office.
In response to filings to the petition, Wilson's lawyers argued Jacobson and Osterud failed to meet the legal standards required to allow a recall petition, saying the allegations were "legally and factually insufficient."
"There is no conduct alleged, or an articulated standard against which to judge that conduct amounting to cause for recall," Iglitzen wrote in court filings.
