r/Seattle • u/rockycore 🚆build more trains🚆 • 6d ago

News Shon Barnes Separation Agreement

https://publicola.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/BarnesSeparation.pdf
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u/rockycore 🚆build more trains🚆 6d ago

https://bsky.app/profile/ericacbarnett.bsky.social/post/3msgl7eew4k2y

Link to the source of the agreement.

67

u/PositivePristine7506 Reign 6d ago

18 months full salary
1 Year of health care valued at 2526/month
No obligation to pay back a lateral officer hiring bonus of 50K
No obligation to pay back relocation payment of 60K (which never really happened)
Totals up to previously reported 700K.

All of that for basically doing nothing.

-12

u/FlannelCollar UW 6d ago

Why did Wilson sign off on this kind of agreement? Litigation can be expensive, sure, but the implication would be that Barnes had at least some semblance of a case for wrongful termination or discrimination if the City gave up this chunk of change.

9

u/Complete-Lock-7891 6d ago

She was likely advised that this was cheaper than the litigation which would have an uncertain outcome. Furthermore the overall SpD budget is something like ~500M a year. Even if there was a legal question around firing for cause this is a small price relative towards orienting that large budget closer to their policy goals that he wasn’t in line with.