Lobbying Intensifies in Seattle Over Surveillance Camera Expansion Amid Public Safety and Privacy Debate
Lobbying efforts are intensifying in Seattle regarding the city's use and potential expansion of surveillance cameras. Anti-surveillance advocates, including groups like Seattle Indivisible and the Community Not Cameras coalition, rallied on the steps of the Seattle City Council, urging Mayor Katie Wilson to deactivate all city surveillance cameras. These groups, which include former Wilson campaign volunteers, express concerns that federal immigration authorities or other actors could misuse the cameras to collect data on immigrants or transgender individuals. Leah Salerno, an attorney and organizer, stated that mass surveillance makes people less safe and raises civil liberties issues. Concurrently, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce released a poll indicating broad public support for maintaining and expanding the city's camera system. The city currently operates 420 public cameras, over 700 integrated private business cameras, and numerous traffic cameras and license-plate readers in police ve... 
