"Lock the Drug Users Up" — Seattle Pays Homeless to Run Cal Anderson Park

<p>Seattle has produced some spectacularly bad ideas, but this one earns a plaque. A Capitol Hill mutual aid group called the Stone Soup Crew wants Mayor Katie Wilson to hand over Cal Anderson Park to its homeless residents — and pay them to serve as &quot;stewards.&quot; This counter-proposal arrived in response to a desperate letter from neighbors, business owners, and the Cal Anderson Park Alliance documenting scooter bonfires, $4,000 in turf damage, drug activity, and shooting incidents. The city's proposed remedy: a job description involving needle pickup and &quot;conflict de-escalation,&quot; performed by the people causing the conflict.</p><p>The comment section of the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog read like a support group for exhausted Seattle taxpayers. &quot;Good lord. Lock the drug users up, don't give them more money for drugs.&quot; Neighbors noted the bitter irony that the same letter demanding paid stewards explicitly asks the city not to send more police. This is the same park where CHOP/CHAZ happened — where officials stood by while a &quot;BIPOC-only garden&quot; blocked public access and a July 4th bonfire torched scooters on the turf.</p><p>Mayor Katie Wilson's response has been the predictable non-response: claims that tent situations are &quot;resolved&quot; and pivots to other parks. The chain from CHOP occupation to paid homeless stewards to rising rents tells you everything about where Seattle is heading under her watch. Sean's prediction: she doesn't make it four years.</p><p>CHAPTERS<br>0:00 Far-left activists want to pay Seattle…<br>1:29 Seattle Activists Push Paid Homeless…<br>2:24 CHOP's Violent Legacy at Cal Anderson<br>3:31 Stone Soup Crew's Homeless Steward…<br>5:18 Cal Anderson's Long History of Violence<br>6:33 Taxpayers Predict Paid Camping Will…<br>7:45 The Absurd Park Steward Job Description<br>8:59 Stone Soup Letter Demands No Police<br>10:02 Bonfire Causes $4,000 in Turf Damage<br>11:11 Seattle Claims Tent Camp Already…<br>13:49 Saul Spady Documents Cal Anderson Chaos<br>16:14 Cal Anderson Neighbors Detail Crime Wave<br>17:50 Mayor Wilson's Policies Push Rents…<br>21:08 Wilson Predicted Out in Two Years</p><p>Subscribe to @reasonablenews for daily coverage of the Pacific Northwest's most consequential — and frequently absurd — policy decisions. Hit the notification bell so you never miss an episode.</p><p>#NFRP #Seattle #KatieWilson</p><p><strong>GO PREMIUM WITH REASONABLE+ FOR UNCENSORED ACCESS</strong> 🌟<br><a href=