A community public safety meeting organized by the office of newly elected District 3 Seattle City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth after a shooting earlier this month at 23rd and Union took on issues far beyond the Central District neighborhood Tuesday night.
Hollingsworth said Tuesday inside an unfinished restaurant space in the Midtown Square development where the meeting was held that she is starting her term at the council asking questions and digging into D3 concerns like the liquor control board’s “lewd conduct” inspections at a handful of Capitol Hill gay bars and clubs.
A question at Tuesday’s meeting is why this kind of enforcement is a priority — especially given other public safety needs and the history of violent police raids targeting queer venues.
“There were ten bars, and four happened to be LGBTQ,” Hollingsworth said.
Hollingsworth said Tuesday she has written a letter to the liquor and cannabis board and is asking for an explanation.
“I’m trying to get public safety to be a nonpartisan issue,” Hollingsworth said Tuesday.
The meeting touched on safety issues across D3 but focused especially on ongoing gun violence and recent shootings, including an instance when blew out Midtown Square apartment windows earlier this month. Some community members emphasized the need for a stronger police officer presence, while others wanted to address violence in a proactive way rather than reactive.
“We have seen a significant amount of gun violence,” Hollingsworth said. “This is a reaction to the stuff that’s been going on in our district.”
CHS reported on this Cherry Hill shooting Sunday night, and the January 23rd shooting that left one person hospitalized. Hollingsworth ran her campaign with a focus on public safety, and is making it a priority in office after a record number of homicides in 2023.
“Most of the emails we get in from our email box is [about] public safety,” Hollingsworth said. Continue reading →
Seattle Police investigated an apparent shootout that left one person with non-life threatening injuries near 24th Ave and Columbia on a night of gun violence around the city including a fatal shooting in the International District.
