King County Assessor Wilson charged in 2025 stalking case

King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson, who was arrested in July 2025 outside the home of his ex-fiancée, has been criminally charged with violating a no-contact order she had against him.

Seattle Municipal Court records show Wilson, who allegedly stalked and harassed Lee Keller in a saga that ended Wilson’s ambitions for county executive last year, was charged on Monday with two gross misdemeanors.

The decision of whether to charge Wilson was originally up to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, but since the prosecutor provides legal advice to the Assessor’s Office, the decision was punted north to Snohomish County. As recently as October, the Snohomish County Prosecutor had planned to make a charging decision in the case but wouldn’t share when.

Michael Held, chief of staff at the Snohomish County Prosecutor, couldn't immediately say why charges had been filed by the Seattle City Attorney instead. A spokesperson for Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans also couldn't say by the time of publication.

Wilson apologized to Keller and the public last fall saying he wouldn't seek reelection, but remained in his position as county assessor, which has the obscure but important job of appraising property values for taxing countywide. Keller had stopped pursuing legal action against Wilson last year.

Wilson did not respond to a request for comment. Keller also declined.

Wilson has been county assessor for more than a decade, but his hopes of climbing to county executive were marred by a number of restraining orders filed against him by Keller, a public affairs consultant he was engaged to, in 2024 and 2025.

In court filings, Keller said Wilson tracked her location in the past, found her at undisclosed addresses, and burst in to kiss her against her will. When the two broke up in 2024, she told him to leave her alone in a text, and Wilson texted back, "Never."

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Former Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, along with several county councilmembers and state legislators, called for Wilson to step down in May, but he did not. Wilson’s term ends this year.

After the scandal broke, Keller told journalists that Wilson became increasingly "cavalier" about violating the no-contact order she’d filed against him. Keller said her neighbors began noticing Wilson allegedly sitting in his car on her street, or even in the parking lot of her residence. Keller reported the sightings to police.

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Then, on July 2, while Keller was giving a report to an officer in-person about one of Wilson’s appearances, the county assessor allegedly returned again and tried to flee the scene before being pulled over and arrested.

"My neighbor who had seen him looked and went, 'Well, looky there. And in drives John's car,'" Keller told KUOW after a court appearance. "I have never felt like this in my life. I've never been scared to leave my home."