With Only Five Days Before Pivotal Mayoral Election, Katie Wilson Finally Makes It Clear: She Isn’t Committed To Preventing Tent Encampments in Seattle Parks

When asked: “Should homeless people be allowed to stay in tents in parks?”, she responded “Um… I am going to pass on this one. I can’t really answer yes or no.”

Seattle, WA – With less than a week before Seattle’s mayoral election, candidate Katie Wilson has finally answered– through a non-answer– a question critical to most Seattle voters: will she protect Seattle’s parks from unauthorized tent encampments?

At a forum last week sponsored by the Seattle Latino Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Wilson and Mayor Bruce Harrell were asked directly: “Should homeless people be allowed to stay in tents in parks?” While Bruce Harrell gave a simple answer– “No,” Wilson hesitated before finally saying “Um… I am going to pass on this one. I can’t really answer yes or no.”

The difference in answers, and transparency, marks a major difference between candidates as ballots continue to be returned and immediately before the critical final weekend of voting. At the same time, Wilson’s approach to significantly reducing affordable housing production and sheltering people in units not equipped with services to help them has garnered strong reactions from affordable housing providers, who have said it is “not a solution.”

Mayor Harrell is available for interviews on this topic today. Press should reach out to info@bruceforseattle.com to check availability.

Since taking office in 2022, Mayor Harrell has worked hard to provide shelter and services to Seattle’s unhoused neighbors, dedicating millions to shelter and services, including more than $128 million in 2025 alone. Investments under this administration have led to thousands of new shelter and permanent housing units with onsite support services tailored to the needs of people exiting homelessness. Seattle has 85% of the tiny houses in all of King County, and more than 100 new tiny houses are scheduled to open by the end of this year. We expect to have more than 3,000 units of City-funded shelter beds by the end of 2025. By acting with urgency and compassion, the number of unauthorized tent encampments decreased by 80% citywide at the same time the number of people transitioning from city-funded shelter into permanent housing increased by 50% (2022 to 2024).

Harrell has also made it a priority to keep Seattle’s parks safe and welcoming for everyone, directing major investments in parks, playfields, and green spaces across the city following the degradation and damage to many parks during the period of unregulated tent encampments that were central to the 2021 election.

“Our parks define our quality of life. They are where families, kids, and neighbors without backyards can play, gather, and enjoy our city together,” said Mayor Harrell. “Unfortunately, with less than a week before this critical election, my opponent is signaling she’ll roll back progress by allowing tents to return to our parks and leaving people to suffer outdoors without shelter or services. We can’t go back to where we were in 2020 and 2021, we’ve got to keep moving forward.”

Some hallmarks of Harrell’s approach to addressing the homelessness and housing affordability crisis include:

• $1 billion toward affordable housing, with another $1 billion to come
• 3,000+ emergency shelter and supportive housing units
• 50% increase in the number of people moving from shelters into permanent housing
• 80% decrease in unauthorized tent encampments and more than 50% reduction in RV encampments — with record numbers of shelter referrals and services
• More than 8,000 affordable rental homes have been created, preserved, or funded through City investment since 2022
• Generational plans for up to 330,000 housing units of all types—for every Seattle resident
• Scaling up rental assistance, eviction prevention, and housing stability programs
• Millions to kickstart Seattle Social Housing
• More equitable, regional approach to homelessness through the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA)

By contrast, Wilson’s campaign centerpiece is a plan that calls for gutting the voter approved 2023 Affordable Housing Levy, stopping nearly all construction in new affordable homes and redirecting rental assistance and other funds to pay for emergency shelter, including dispersing acutely vulnerable people into apartments without services and support.

This plan has been criticized by leading affordable housing providers as not only a violation of the voter mandates of the levy, but an ineffective approach to helping people restore their lives. Between this plan and allowing people to once again camp in city parks, Wilson’s approach will exacerbate key issues rather than resolve them.