It’s not every day that two former Democratic Governors join together to endorse a candidate who once ran as a Republican. But that’s exactly what happened on September 28.

Former Governors Chris Gregoire and Gary Locke endorsed Ann Davison, who is running for Seattle City Attorney. Davison was the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor in 2020.

While the former Governors spoke with admiration about Ann Davison, it was clear they had concerns about the other candidate, Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, a former public defender. Thomas-Kennedy calls herself an abolitionist – as in abolishing the Seattle Police Department.

Some of Thomas-Kennedy’s tweets have come back to haunt her. In one, after a person detonated an explosive device that blew a hole in the East Police Precinct, Thomas-Kennedy wrote, “This person is a hero.” In response to a holiday message from Acting Chief Adrian Diaz to his department, Thomas-Kennedy tweeted, “Eat some covid laced [expletive] and quit ur jobs.”

For years, Seattle retailers have dealt with slow police response times and rising public safety concerns for their employees and customers. This is a race Seattle retailers should track with great interest.