Rantz: Does Mayor Jenny Durkan actually live in Seattle?

I know it seems like a joke, but I legitimately wonder if Mayor Jenny Durkan lives in Seattle, and, if so, where exactly? The mayor has made a series of comments that suggests she’s blind to the problems of the City. So for someone who, yes I know, lives in Seattle, how can she be so out of touch?

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In a Crosscut piece about the unlikely possibility the DNC hold a debate here in Seattle, Durkan claimed that “having a debate in Seattle shows that Democrats can harness a booming economy, face the real challenges it creates and have a vision for building an inclusive and just future.”

If Seattle is a case study on how to run a city that Democrats want to run on, more power to them. It ensures Republican victories all across the country.

Despite a booming economy, under Mayor Durkan, homelessness has gotten worse, we’ve seen an uptick in rape, murder, robbery and property crime, and Amazon is gradually ditching Seattle for Bellevue. On top of that, housing costs are high, regressive taxes are becoming more cumbersome, traffic congestion seems out of control, and there’s no indication that any of these problems are being addressed.

We talk about tackling homelessness, but the problem keeps getting worse with no innovative ideas. Experts in the field routinely question the significant problems in addressing the problem and the loudest voices in the conversation tend to be the same people who’ve failed many times over. Even a King County judge is calling out the City.

Crime is getting worse, in large part, due to a City Attorney disinterested in enforcing the law, and a police department filled with officers not being allowed to police. Social justice means weakening the police force, while routinely calling the murderers.

Amazon, which is actually responsible for the booming economy Durkan pretends she helped harness, just announced they’re relocating thousands of jobs to Bellevue, a city that appreciates business, rather than demonizing them at every opportunity. Amazon abandoned the Rainier Tower, one of the largest leases in Seattle history.

Long-time business owners, too, are leaving; some of the ones that stay are being physically assaulted on the job thanks to homeless criminals. Weyerhaeuser decided to relocate from their Federal Way headquarters to Seattle’s Pioneer Square, only to find its employees routinely harassed and assaulted, including being spit and urinated on.

This city is patently inhospitable to business. And they hardly are friendly to nonprofits, with Cancer Pathways threatened with serious fines for not cleaning up graffiti fast enough — a situation they’ve been begging the city to help them with.

Housing? Still “unaffordable” with Councilwoman Kshama Sawant renewing futile efforts of rent control. Congestion? Still awful with Seattle asking for “block-the-box” ticket enforcement to steal more money from tax dollars.

Where, exactly, does Durkan live that she doesn’t see these huge problems? This is embarrassing, and this city is in no shape to be put on a national stage. That’s a shame too — I’d love to host any debate here; it would be a boon for the city and the local economy.

Much to Durkan’s chagrin, this isn’t a case study for how to run a city. Seattle is actually an example of how an echo chamber of unchallenged ideologues can bring a great city to its knees. Durkan would know this if she actually took her head out of the sand.

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