Erika Evans Vies for Seattle City Attorney Position

“I understand how to fight back,” - Erika Evans (Photo courtesy of Evans)

By Mead Gill

Federal prosecutor and former Assistant Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans officially launched her campaign for Seattle City Attorney in March. Her campaign strongly opposes the Republican incumbent Ann Davison, focusing on updating public safety measures, instating restorative justice models, and resisting the Trump administration.

Who Is Erika Evans?

As a federal prosecutor, Evans’ concentrated on prosecuting hate crimes and legal breaches by law enforcement in violations of civil rights. She believes her extensive federal prosecutorial experiences makes her the best candidate to help protect Seattle from excessive federal authority.

“I understand how to fight back,” she said, emphasizing her unique perspective of city government from serving both locally and federally in criminal and civil capacities.

Evans’ passionate perspective extends to her community leadership in the greater Seattle area. She served as the president of the Loren Miller Bar Association and is currently serving as a co-chair of the Washington Leadership Institute at the University of Washington School of Law, organizations dedicated to uplifting the Black community and young lawyers respectively. 

A Self-Proclaimed Trump-Resistance Candidate

During her final months as a federal prosecutor, Evans’ misalignment with the Trump administration’s stream of executive orders ultimately pushed her to leave the position and run for City Attorney. Now she’s advocating for affirmative litigation and injunctive reliefs to combat the administration’s actions she views as blatant violations of the Constitution and the City of Seattle. 

“I love this city and I know we can do so much better with protecting it,” she said, outlining the significance of Seattle’s status as a sanctuary city. “It means fighting back against federal overreach.”

When asked about her ability to transfer her big picture strategies against the Trump administration to a local level, Evans outlined a direct correlation between the federal government and the rights of underrepresented Seattleites.

“The things that the administration is doing is affecting our reproductive rights. It's affecting our immigrant brothers and sisters. It's affecting diversity, equity, and inclusion,” she said. “We can be proactive at fighting back against that as a city, and that's what I will do.”

Public Safety & Police

In a push to establish a stronger relationship between the City Attorney’s Office and public safety, Evans vowed to prioritize cases of domestic violence and DUIs while establishing community partnerships to better address lower-level crimes, a gap she sees missing under Davison’s leadership.   

Evans described the incumbent’s public safety measures as a regressive cycle of imprisonment and release that lacked the correct utilization of resources, leadership experience, and compassion for people. 

“Rinse, repeat, and do it again,” she said. “That's not public safety. That's not addressing root causes. And it's costing us more as taxpayers.” 

To reposition the priorities of the City Attorney, Evans proposed a new community court she thinks would help provide better access to fundamental services across the board, including employment, housing, and medical treatment at the community level. 

Additionally, Evans called for more funding in the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program so more police referrals can be made to increase public safety while diverting low-level crimes away from the criminal legal system. She envisioned attorneys distributed across the city’s precincts to ensure adequate police training that works hand-in-hand with public safety. 

A Generational Commitment to Civil Rights

Raised in Tacoma by a family defined by advocacy, Evans credited her passion for reform to her grandparents, two pioneers of the civil rights movement. After her grandfather Lee Evans won gold in the 4x400 relay at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games, he raised his fist on the podium in protest of the inequalities facing Black Americans. This impactful statement was driven behind the scenes by Evans’ grandmother, one of many women who organized the call for racial justice on an international platform.

“Using a national stage to protest and to stand up and fight against injustice…that's in my DNA,” Evans said, proud to perpetuate the legacies of her grandparents. 

Influenced by her family’s values at a young age, Evans saw immense value in curating a world best fit to uplift youth. For years she served on the Charles V. Johnson Youth and Law Forum in support of young people on a professional level, and reiterated her plan for a new community court as a step toward effectively serving youth on a systemic level.

Championing Diversity and Representation

As a Black woman who grew up in communities often targeted by law enforcement, Evans’ advocacy is shaped by lived experiences rarely represented in the world of legal authority. She recalled an incident in law school where she and a friend were unlawfully detained by two officers. They were then taken to the police sergeant who released them and told them to forget about the incident.

“It was extremely scary,” she said. “I can be in law school on my way to be an attorney and something so wrong and unlawful happens to me.”

Experiencing the system’s flaws firsthand only motivated Evans to become a civil rights prosecutor and community leader. Noting that only 5 percent of attorneys in the US are Black, she hopes to be the first Black person to serve as City Attorney of Seattle.

The Road Toward Election

With seven months until the city-wide election, Evans is running against Democratic candidates Rory O’Sullivan and Nathan Rousse, all looking to unseat the incumbent Davison. Evans’ platform is built on both her federal and local prosecutorial experience and a commitment to upholding a legacy of advocacy and justice against the Trump administration and for the people of Seattle.

“Having commitment to being in community, to serving it, and to bringing others up leads to good government,” she said. 

Learn more about Evans and her campaign at electerikaevans.com