(The Center Square) - A new poll released Monday by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Challenge Seattle shows broad support for public safety cameras and a large lack of confidence in Mayor Katie Wilson’s public safety plan.
The survey found 74% of voters interviewed support expanding cameras to Seattle Center and other places where large crowds gather, 71% support cameras in areas dealing with open-air drug markets and high levels of street disorder, and 68% support allowing civilian public safety officials to monitor cameras in real time in designated high-crime areas and during major events.
Only 34% of voters surveyed said they were confident that city leadership currently has an effective public-safety plan.
The poll of 500 voters taken between Aug. 10-13 comes after the July 26 shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival on July 26 that left three dead and four injured.
There were no security cameras at the city-owned Seattle Center, and the shooting has renewed a controversy that has followed Wilson for six months over her delayed implementation an expansion of the city’s surveillance camera program.
Wilson also asked the former police chief, Shon Barnes, to resign after the Bite of Seattle shooting, causing many City Council members to support Barnes and question Wilson's leadership and commitment to public safety.
An effort to recall Wilson has also begun, citing her inability to stop public safety issues from growing, such as open-air drug markets.
But Wilson isn’t budging on her pledge that no new cameras will be turned on until two outside audits are completed in the fall.
The city began installing surveillance cameras in 2025, but Wilson, who took office in January, put an expansion of the camera program on hold in March. The mayor did allow cameras to be temporarily turned on in the Stadium District by Lumen Field during the World Cup Games, but ordered the cameras to be turned off after the games were over.
“Everyone in this city deserves to feel safe, and that means taking seriously what safety means for every community,” Wilson said in a statement Monday. “Residents and businesses dealing with crime need to know we hear them. Immigrant families, LGBTQ+ residents, and people seeking and providing reproductive care need to know we hear them, too.”
But former Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, who heads Challenge Seattle, said the poll results show the direction voters want.
"The public isn’t asking for a debate on public safety. They want action now to solve it,” said Gregoire in a statement.
The camera survey questions, according to the Metro Chamber and Challenge Seattle, also presented voters with arguments on both sides of the debate, noting supporters' contention that cameras help investigators catch violent-crime suspects while opponents raise concerns about surveillance, privacy and civil liberties.
Even with those concerns included, 75% supported allowing camera use after a 911 call, including 55% of voters identified as progressives, the two organizations said.
Joe Nguyen, CEO of the Seattle Metro Chamber, said in a statement that the poll shows the public is united.
“Seattle voters have provided a clear roadmap for action. They support using cameras to investigate crime, maintaining a strong public safety presence where problems persist, and delivering a public safety action plan with measurable goals and regular accountability,” he said.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
In another statement, Downtown Seattle Association President and CEO Jon Scholes said the results show voters are ready for the city to make greater use of technology.
“Strong public support for modern safety technology isn’t surprising. Seattleites deserve to feel safe in their city and neighborhoods, and at large events. With Seattle Police staffing levels still lagging, additional public safety tools are really important,” Scholes said.
The debate over Seattle's camera network has centered in part on privacy, and the possibility that stored footage or live feeds could be accessed by federal agencies for investigations involving immigration, abortion or gender-affirming care.
