An entrance to Seattle City Hall is shown, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in downtown Seattle. Mayor Ed Murray announced his resignation Tuesday after one of his cousins came forward and accused him of sexual abuse decades ago. Murray said he would step down effective 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

When I first saw this story on Twitter, I thought, “No, that can’t be real, can it?”

Officials really can’t think it’s a smart idea to have a stripper at an official event, could they?

But never put anything past officials in the liberal city of Seattle, because there don’t appear to be any bounds or limits. Turns out this video was completely true.

Here’s Beyonce Black St. James dancing at the annual conference for King County’s coordinating agency for homelessness.

Warning: NSFW

Last week, Seattle and King County leaders hired transgender stripper Beyoncé Black St. James to perform at their annual conference on solving homelessness.

Here's how they're using taxpayer money: pic.twitter.com/J0lCKVVfgO

— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) December 15, 2019

What could they have been thinking?

The director of the agency, Kira Zylstra, is now on paid leave after the national spotlight on this incident and the ensuing backlash, said Denise Rothleutner, chief of staff for the King County Department of Community and Human Services.

Sounds like her job may be about to be phased out in any event. But check how much she got paid for this kind of “work.”

From the Seattle Times:

Zylstra has led All Home, King County’s coordinating agency homeless services, since January 2018. But her job could soon become obsolete as Seattle and King County prepare to replace All Home, which has been criticized as weak and ineffective, with a new regional authority on homelessness. Zylstra was paid about $123,000 a year, according to a county spokesperson.

The performance was in the same room as a catered lunch at All Home’s annual conference, this year at South Seattle College with the theme of “Decolonizing our Collective Work.”

The only note on the agenda was “Lunch with Cultural Presentation,” and there was no other warning or announcement about the nature of the performance, according to the staffer, who was surprised but not uncomfortable with the performance.

So needless to say, some were surprised by the appearance of St. James, including the woman she kissed. “No one expected it,” the staffer said. “So I think some people felt uncomfortable.”

As Christopher Rufo, a contributing editor for City Journal who helped the story to go viral, observed, that had nothing to do with fighting homelessness.

As the video shows, the programming has nothing to do with helping people on the streets—it’s about affirming a radical ideology that puts identity politics above solving real problems.

— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) December 15, 2019

For years, Seattle has claimed that it “needs more resources” to solve homelessness, but as the video shows, they find it totally appropriate to pay for a transgender stripper to grind on members of the region’s homelessness nonprofits and taxpayer-funded organizations.

— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) December 15, 2019

It’s not a lack of resources that prevents Seattle from solving homelessness; it’s a lack of leadership. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, King County spends more than $1 billion a year on homelessness programs—but have failed to deliver results for decades.

— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) December 15, 2019

Amen.

Rufo covered the problem more here:

If you want to learn more, here’s my analysis on Seattle homelessness in City Journal: https://t.co/rWjxKDiKaF

— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) December 15, 2019

And you wonder why such problems are never addressed in liberal cities like this.

HT: Twitchy