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City Light CEO firing draws sustained public comment urging reinstatement

Seattle City Council · January 28, 2026

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Summary

Multiple City Light employees, union representatives and longtime residents asked the council to intervene to retain (referred to in testimony as Don/Dawn Lindell), warning that leadership turnover jeopardizes infrastructure, ratepayers and ongoing capital projects.

Union representatives and City Light employees spoke at the Jan. 27 council meeting to protest the removal of the utility’s CEO and to ask the council to intervene.

“My members have been devastated by the news of mayors replacing the CEO of Seattle City Light, Don Lindell,” Steven Kovac, a business representative with IBEW Local 77, told the council. Kovac said the CEO (referred to elsewhere in testimony as Dawn Lindell) had “moved swiftly to address poor behavior,” prioritized aging infrastructure, and helped create a culture change that made employees feel heard and safer. He asked the council to push the mayor to retain her.

Del Johnson, an engineer and Protec 17 member with 27 years at City Light, told the council that frequent turnover—“in just the last 10 years, Seattle City Light has had 6 general managers”—undermines long-term planning and harms customers. Johnson said the CEO led the development of a 10-year strategic plan and warned that removing that leadership “undermines that work and sends a message that long term solutions don't matter.”

Julie, a longtime resident and former City Light employee, described the hiring process for the CEO as “transparent” and warned that replacing her before major capital projects and the upcoming World Cup could be costly for ratepayers.

There was no formal council motion, vote or directive recorded on the CEO’s employment at this meeting. Public commenters requested council intervention with the mayor and urged retention or reinstatement.