Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's leadership has been questioned by Rep. Pramila Jayapal following the city's response to a deadly mass shooting at a food festival.
What happened
A mass shooting occurred at the Bite of Seattle food festival in July, resulting in three deaths and four injuries. Rep. Jayapal expressed doubts about Mayor Wilson's leadership in text messages to Washington Governor Bob Ferguson, citing a lack of confidence in her ability to handle the situation.
The texts, which were part of a larger file dump released by the governor's office, showed Jayapal questioning the delay in briefing the public about the shooting. The news conference was delayed for five hours, leaving the city in the dark for an extended period.
Jayapal had suggested being included in any news conferences held by Mayor Wilson and had spoken to her about it. However, Jayapal was later told to stay away from the Seattle Center due to the active investigation. Jayapal and Governor Ferguson learned about the 11 p.m. news conference around 10:10 p.m. and rushed to the Seattle Center.
Reports swirled that the delay was due to the late arrivals of dignitaries, which Jayapal denied. She stated that any delay was only a matter of minutes, not hours. Jayapal also criticized Mayor Wilson's office for not sharing information with the public sooner, citing that police were ready to brief the public but had to wait for the mayor.
