A top Democratic official in King County and candidate for county executive faces new accusations of stalking and harassing his ex-fiancée.
The allegations have drawn calls for County Assessor John Arthur Wilson’s resignation from elected officials, including two running against him for executive, and assertions from King County Democrats that Wilson’s alleged behavior shows “hallmarks of intimate partner violence.”
Wilson, who for a decade has run the department determining property values in King County, carried on what he called a “stormy” relationship with Lee Keller, a radio reporter turned political and public affairs communications consultant, for several years. Keller told KUOW on Saturday that she ended the relationship.
Wilson’s response to KUOW has been to insist that his relationship with Keller “continues” and that she is withdrawing her restraining order. Keller denies that she is withdrawing the order; the county clerk confirmed no motion has been made to withdraw it.
Earlier this month, Keller was granted a restraining order by King County Superior Court after she alleged Wilson refused to stop contacting her and her family members.
Keller also said in court documents that Wilson had tried to get a friend of hers fired because he was jealous that they had gone on a date previously. She said Wilson lied to the friend’s employer about him sexually assaulting her. The friend confirmed Keller’s account to KUOW, but asked that he not be named.
This isn’t the first time Keller has filed a restraining order against Wilson.
In January, the Seattle Times reported Keller had filed an order last year after they had broken up and he refused to stop calling her, tracked her to a new address, burst in, and kissed her. But the two got back together by the time the Seattle Times reported the story, and said they were engaged to be married.
The latest court filing by Keller alleges that this year, tensions rose in their relationship when Wilson pressured her to create a video or make a statement to the media to help his campaign for county executive. Wilson is hundreds of thousands of dollars behind his competitors in fundraising.
“He is convinced that I am to blame for his political troubles,” Keller’s filing said. “For example, in March we were in a restaurant, and he slammed his fist down on a restaurant table, yelling the ‘F-bomb’ and saying that he is being snubbed by women in his political circle who would normally support him because I filed a protection order last year.”
Keller broke up with Wilson again in April, she wrote in the filing. After Wilson called and texted her repeatedly, she blocked his number and social media, but he allegedly called her on his county phone, contacted her sister and son, and tried to reach her through other avenues like sending her photos on Dropbox.
“LEAVE ME ALONE,” Keller texted him in a screenshot included in the filing. “Never,” he allegedly replied.
Keller wrote in the filing that she planned to dissolve their domestic partnership, and worried once Wilson found out, he would become “aggressive.”
At first, when KUOW reached Keller for comment on May 23, she also said she was withdrawing the order — but she amended that statement this week. Through her lawyer, she confirmed that the restraining order remains, and King County Superior Court has no record of any withdrawal.
King County Democrats are currently weighing whether to rescind support for Wilson.
“If he is not giving up, and he cannot abandon bad behaviors in his personal life, he’s not going to abandon bad behaviors in his professional life,” said Beth Bazley, chair of the King County Democrats, who has asked the assessor for records to help her to determine whether to recommend the party rescind its past endorsement of Wilson for assessor. (They have not endorsed him for executive.)
Bazley is concerned that Wilson used county property data to stalk Keller, and called for an investigation. But the chief deputy assessor, Al Dams, said no investigation has taken place.
County Councilmembers Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay, both of whom are running against Wilson for county executive, called on Wilson to step down from his position as assessor and end his campaign after PubliCola published a story Thursday on the new restraining order.
“While he is entitled to due process under the law for any possible criminal or civil charges, holding public office is a privilege, not a right,” Balducci said in a statement. “With that privilege comes the responsibility of holding the trust of the people who have elected you. These latest revelations show that he clearly has breached that trust.”
“My thoughts are with the survivor, and I hope she is receiving the support and protection she needs. No one should have to endure this kind of fear or violation,” Zahilay wrote. “It’s clear that John Arthur Wilson has broken the public’s trust.”
Wilson and the assessor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Zahilay and Balducci’s statements.
After noon on Thursday, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said he was “appalled” in a statement and joined calls for Wilson to resign.
“While he has a right to due legal process, the published allegations are disqualifying for public office,” Harrell said. “We need to send a clear message to survivors of intimate partner abuse that this type of behavior by people in positions of trust is not tolerated.”
The Seattle Times previously reported Wilson and Keller have been registered domestic partners since 2023, but have filed four times to dissolve the partnership.
Wilson told KUOW this “will be the third time Lee has had an attorney draft or file something,” and that he has spent time with her since she filed the order.
David Martin, a senior deputy prosecuting attorney with King County who has co-authored a book on recantation among victims of domestic violence, said that although he can’t speak to this case specifically, victims filing and withdrawing restraining orders is common.
“It’s not a kind of linear process of people leaving or staying,” Martin said.
This story has been updated to include comment from Mayor Bruce Harrell.
