Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson talks homelessness policy, the budget, and public safety

I'm so sorry if that triggered anybody.

If you commute from a peninsula or an island, I just wanna say I'm very sorry, because the Washington State Ferry system is in total chaos today.

At this hour, 13 of 18 boats are out of service because of staffing shortages.

Uh, as of this morning, no sailings between Fauntleroy, Vashon, Southworth, Bainbridge, Seattle, and Edmonds, Kingston.

Uh, Clinton, Mukilteo, and Anacortes/San Juans are reduced to one boat, so people are waiting hours and hours in, in those, uh, lines.

And we just heard that Port Townsend and Coupeville is coming back shortly into service.

But I've never seen this many cancellations in a day-

No, never

...

David.

Um, y- you know, this is not being officially reported, but reading between the lines, it looks like the engine room employees represented by the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association are doing a kind of a sick out, uh, action, and that means that they're calling in sick, and the people who are slated to fill in for them are not agreeing to come and fill in.

Um, and who do we know possibly in our, maybe in our studio right now who might be affected by this ferry cancellation bonanza? Um, anybody? Anybody, David?

Yeah, I, I had an important date today with the mayor of Seattle, and I was a little concerned-

[laughs]

... that I was actually gonna be able to get there because of all of this ferry chaos.

You commute by ferry.

I do commute by ferry.

I fortunately use the Kitsap Transit boats, though they were as crowded as I have ever seen them.

Uh, so yeah, it's been a little dicey out there.

I, I imagine the mayor of Seattle is happy that she is not in charge of the Washington State Ferry system.

She just joined us in the studio.

Yeah, happy to let someone else deal with that one.

[laughs]

You have a lot of things you need to think about.

You didn't have to catch a ferry today, Mayor?