Seattle LGBTQ panel urges mayor to resign

Police’s crackdown on protesters spurs letter

SEATTLE — The Seattle LGBTQ Commission has called on Mayor Jenny Durkan to resign, joining the Seattle Human Rights Commission in taking that stance.

The commission’s vote earlier this month was 6-5, with one abstention, The Seattle Times reported.

In a letter this week to Durkan and the City Council, the LGBTQ Commission said she should immediately step down “for failing to uphold and protect the human rights of the people of Seattle,” citing concerns about her record on police violence, homelessness and budgeting.

Durkan’s office described the letter’s assertions as inaccurate or incomplete.

Up for re-election in 2021, Durkan has drawn criticism from many

Seattle residents for allowing the Police Department to crack down on Black Lives Matter protest crowds, though she also has drawn criticism for allowing demonstrators and others to occupy blocks on Capitol Hill for several weeks. The mayor also has clashed with council members over homeless encampment removals and the Police Department’s budget.

The 21-seat LGBTQ Commission is made up of volunteers who advise the mayor, the council and city departments on issues that affect people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.

“It is with a heavy heart that we call for Mayor Durkan’s resignation. Mayor Durkan is Seattle’s first out lesbian mayor and only the second woman to hold that office. … Such representation is important.

However, that representation must involve work to protect our community members from very real harm and violence that has been leveraged against Black and brown LGBTQ+ people,” the commission said in its letter.

Durkan was the first openly gay person appointed as a U.S. attorney, and as mayor she has championed housing and shelter for LGBTQ seniors and youth, Nyland said.

Jenny Durkan