The King County Council votes on the budget for the prosecutor’s office tomorrow. Let’s be clear-eyed about what they’re deciding.

The county prosecutor says council members were shown misleading numbers last week. They were told that her office has 560 people handling criminal cases. She said that’s false. About 150 of those employees work civil cases, not criminal prosecution.

The real numbers from the King County General Fund? Her office has 144 attorneys handling criminal cases. The Department of Public Defense has 194 public defender attorneys, and they’re getting 17 more in this budget. Prosecutors are receiving zero additional hires.

Let me be absolutely clear: Every defendant deserves a robust defense. That’s a constitutional right. Public defenders do critical work protecting i

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