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Look, if the Seattle Times Editorial Board wants to sycophantically cosplay as a PR firm for Mayor Bruce Harrell and call it “opinion,” that’s their kink. But when the future of the city is on the line, we should at least expect them to deal in facts.
Case in point: Sunday’s most recent Harrell fan-fiction. Written by Carlton Winfrey, who serves on the paper’s editorial board, the piece tries to make the case that Harrell is a man of the people, eager to listen to his constituents, no matter who they are or how deep their pockets are. He doesn’t pack debates with supporters, Winfrey writes, not because he’s unpopular, but because he wants to hear from his dissenters. He touts an ordinary campaign stop at Pike Place Market as a sign he’s engaging with the public. And he points to a video he made with TikToker Chappin Eze, conveniently leaving out that it was part of a series with both candidates.
And then there’s the section on race in the mayoral campaign. If you truly expected a nuanced excavation of how race, class, gender, and political ideology both collide and coexist in this race, well, I envy your meds. Instead, the piece treats race like a stage prop, dusted off just long enough to imply Katie Wilson’s campaign had gone full John McCain circa 2008 presidential election against Barack Obama, in darkening the skin of her mixed race opponent. And there, the Times dutifully reprints the mayor’s claims that a “mailer” from Common Power supporting Katie Wilson “darkened” the mayor’s skin, and the group’s director apologized. Cute story. Except, plot twist, none of that happened.
First, it wasn’t a mailer; it was a social-media graphic. Second, the Canva filter in question didn’t “darken” anyone. It made both candidates slightly orange. Think less “Jim Crow Photoshop,” more “Trump Spice Latte.” And third, the Common Power director, Charles Douglas? Never apologized, at least not publicly. Instead, he was quoted in a press release sent out Sept. 27 by the Katie Wilson for an Affordable Seattle PAC (to every major outlet, maybe the Times’ spam filter has trust issues) saying:
“As a Black man leading an organization primarily run by people of color, I know firsthand the harm caused when racial tropes are weaponized in politics. To suggest that Common Power engaged in such tactics is a sensationalist smear that reeks of desperation from a mayor who has repeatedly contributed to inequality and hurt the very communities he now claims to represent.”
And just for good measure, to ensure that there wasn’t any doubt as to his stance, Common Power sent out its own press release that same day, further quoting Douglas (that again must’ve fallen victim to the Times’ overly aggressive spam filter).
“We are two Black men who help lead an organization alongside other people of color, and we are the ones who created this debate watch advertisement. It made the candidates slightly oranger, not blacker. That’s the way fun filters are used on Instagram,” Douglas said. “Common Power is not a pawn to be used to divide and conquer the Seattle community. We immediately removed the filter from both candidates’ pictures on our posting once we received notice of objections. We’re disappointed in the Harrell campaign’s rushed accusation, as this matter could have easily been solved through basic communications. Good-faith leadership is needed today in America, more than ever.”
Nothing screams “independent press” like conveniently omitting statements that were sent out nearly a month ago. If this were the national press mindlessly regurgitating a sitting elected official’s talking points, people would be foaming at the mouth, and rightfully so. So why should we stomach the same lazy propaganda from the editorial board of the biggest paper in our own backyard?
Now, I’m not here to tell anyone how to do their job, but maybe, just maybe, if the Times had picked up the phone instead of their glazing machine, they might’ve noticed the mayor’s claims were verifiably false, and that this was a manufactured crisis. But who needs truth when you’ve got narrative control, and that narrative favorably fluffs the guy you think should be mayor.
