Seattle’s woke new mayor has come under fire for failing to address the community’s rampant fentanyl epidemic during her first State of the City address.

Democratic socialist Katie Wilson spoke Tuesday about her plans to tackle Seattle’s homeless crisis and admitted the Washington city is falling ‘far short’ of where it should be.

However she was less candid about Seattle’s drug problem, which saw almost 1,000 overdose deaths last year.

The crisis has turned parts of the progressive city into open air drug markets, leaving many residents feeling unsafe.

Despite their concerns, Wilson marked her first weeks in office by signing an order allowing most drug users to avoid prosecution by turning them over to social services rather than police.

The directive was curiously absent from Wilson’s speech, which instead focused on her recent visit to one of the city’s many homeless encampments and plans to build more housing.

Locals were quick to tear into the new mayor for appearing to gloss over the important issue and accused her of failing to ‘offer solutions to combat the fentanyl epidemic destroying lives’, per Discovery Institute reporter Jonathan Choe.

‘Her solution is to let these druggies live on the streets and eventually overdose and die,’ another person wrote on X. 

Mayor of Seattle, Katie Wilson, gave her first State of the City address on February 17 acknowledging that they are ‘falling short’ when dealing with the homeless crisis

The mayor campaigned on ending encampment sweeps and treating drug use as a public health crisis instead of a criminal matter but failed to mention the fentanyl crisis in the address

‘Did anyone in Lake City really think Katie Wilson was qualified to be mayor or would come up with any solutions for the city’s drug problems?’ a third wrote.

During her speech, Wilson spoke at length about her visit to the Ballard encampment, explaining she had extended its deadline in order to secure ‘better outcomes’ for its homeless members.

She previously campaigned on a platform of, ‘prioritizing encampment removals based on safety issues and neighborhood impacts’. As a result her latest comments were met with more fury.

‘”Housing First” is a total scam that only fuels the crisis. We need LAW AND ORDER, not more handouts and needle-infested parks for our kids. Trump warned us about these failing cities. Time to stop the “woke” experiments and start enforcing the law. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,’ one person wrote on X.

‘The only thing you seem to support is sweeps which clearly only move the problem around. You grift on the suffering of others,’ another added.

Still, Wilson, a college dropout from Oxford University and co-founder of the Transit Riders Union, insisted ‘we’re doing some things right’.

‘Every year, thousands and thousands of people receive the support they need to stabilize their lives. Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated city employees and our housing, shelter, and service providers,’ she said.

However, she agreed that the city has failed to tackle the homelessness crisis.

‘I’m committed to minimizing harm to people living in encampments at the same time as I take seriously the city’s mandate to keep public spaces open and accessible for their intended use,’ said Wilson

Seattle recorded almost 1,000 overdose deaths in 2025 with many areas now open air drug markets

From 2019 to 2024, the homeless population in King County spiked by 46 percent to 16,385 people, according to Seattle-based public policy think-tank Discovery Institute. 

‘We can’t get so used to the way things are that we start to feel it’s natural for so many people to be left to sleep outside every night,’ she said.

‘We have to make sure that everyone can access and enjoy our parks, trails, sidewalks, and other public spaces. And we cannot just keep moving people from place to place and calling that progress.’

She went on to explain how her office will address the problem by keeping public spaces open and prioritizing encampment removals.

However her remarks were mocked by Seattle residents, particularly those living in the embattled Lake City district who flooded X with testimonials about the nightmarish scenes they were living through.

‘Second and Lenora is heartbreaking. I saw two people, in wheelchairs with their legs bandaged up helping each other shoot up on the sidewalk at 2pm. I WAS ARRIVING TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY at the escape room. It’s bad,’ one person wrote.

‘She can check out 12th and Jackson, while she’s at it. Time to get out in the field and get a big dose of reality,’ another added. 

Wilson said she visited one of the city’s many homeless encampments which she had vowed to dismantle and decided to allow it to remain to allow for an easier transition for members

Discovery Institute journalist Choe meanwhile said he spoke to residents on 33rd Ave NE who described the area as ‘an absolute disaster zone’ which ‘looks like a scene out of a zombie movie’. 

He said locals in the neighborhood were challenging Wilson to come and see the impact of the fentanyl crisis on their street.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Wilson’s office for comment.