As Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell wraps up his latest State of the City address, the drug crisis downtown remains a massive black eye with no end in sight. Want proof? Early Tuesday morning, I walked the area around 3rd Ave & Pike St. and it was zombie land. No cops, no outreach, just human suffering.
While the drug dens are less visible during the day, the problem is just being moved around. So it all comes back at night. Everyone who lives and works downtown knows this.
The current plan is a band-aid solution because the root causes are not being addressed. There’s gotta be interventions and better treatment options before we hand out any more free drug supplies.
And what about demanding more metrics and clearer standards for success in order to hold our policy makers accountable? In the end, how much more money will taxpayers have to shell out to address a crisis that isn’t getting any better?
Nearly four years ago, Mayor Harrell inherited the worst fentanyl crisis this city has ever seen. Thousands of people have died, it’s contributed to record crime, and businesses have fled the city.
While the Mayor can tout some improvements, how much more time does he need to clear downtown once and for all?
His constituents will ultimately judge him by the eye test and how they feel about public safety. Better yet, just ask any politician if they would walk downtown Seattle with their family in these conditions? Their response will be telling.
