Rutledge: Everything was fine until the raccoon arrived

Published 1:30 am Saturday, August 8, 2026

You know we were doing great. We were having an amazing summer.

Seattle hosted the FIFA World Cup. Our city looked amazing. Homeless encampments were removed (or at least moved to 12th and Jackson). Graffiti was painted over. Interstate 5 reopened in both directions. We could get to and wanted to go to Seattle.

Supporters from around the nation and world. Their fears were swept away by the Seattle experience. It didn’t rain but was sunny and yet not too warm. It felt safe as cameras watched for ne’er-do-wells. Seattle shined.

And then, one mid-July afternoon, Jimothy crossed a road in Ballard, and everything changed. Seattle’s golden summer shattered by a single hunchbacked raccoon.

Jimothy immediately trended. He was the lead post-World Cup story from Seattle across the country. Jimothy is a racoon who has been medically diagnosed as having a spinal deformity resembling short-spine syndrome. A short spine syndrome, spinal deformity does not sound cute to me but that is how Seattle embraced the furry nocturnal anarchist.

This masked creature has been celebrated all over town with hats and happy hours. The Seattle City Council took time from their busy to officially proclaim, “Jimothy Summer!” The U.W gave him an honorary degree. There were Jimothy bobbleheads and The Seattle Mariners held a Jimothy Night. The White House even mentioned Jimithy on their social media.

History will unfold, though, that Jimothy didn’t just cast a misshaped shadow on that Ballard street but cast a dark shadow over our entire region. Let future generations mark the calendar: pre-Jimothy and post-Jimothy.

Since the arrival of Jimothy, access to Seattle has once again been shut off. Homeless encampments have returned to our favorite spots. Graffiti reappeared as if someone pulled back a curtain. And two guys climbed over the glass and parachuted off our city icon. What is going on?

Then there has been the destruction of celebratory places in the region. Deaths at the Bite of Seattle. Shooting on Capitol Hill. And our forests are on fire.

The Sounders are on a losing streak. The Storm are terrible. The Mariners… well, they are the Mariners. And the Seahawks were sold to the 49’ers (that’s how I read it).

This was supposed to be a summer where Seattle shone. Where tourists from Iran came and relished ranch dressing in Ravena. Instead, people are again avoiding the city, and it’s not just the mishappen racoon… or is it?

Give us back our bobbleheads, Jimothy.

In the end, it turns out the former Chicago-based Seattle Police Chief may have missed it all. I don’t know. I don’t have the “unique window into the police department” of Mayor Katie Wilson, but the whole city seems like it’s operating on amateur hour. The people could not possibly be so inept. It must be that misshapen little harbinger of civic decline.

Historians may debate exactly when Seattle’s fortunes changed. Some will point to election results.. Others will blame the Millionaire tax and ballot initiatives. As few will wait for the “dignitaries to arrive” at the press conference. They are all wrong. The answer is Jimothy.

Since Jimothy arrived, Interstate 5 closed, fires broke out across the region, and people started jumping off the Space Needle. At some point coincidence becomes “come on now!”

So, back into the shadows, Jimothy. Seattle may be for everybody, but not you.

Burrow back beneath the Ballard basements and blackberry bushes. Seattle was thriving (or at least pretending) before you arrived. You’ve had your summer. Now give us back our city.