David Meinert, accused of sex assault, wants to run the Mecca. No way, these letter-writers say

David Meinert, a nightlife entrepreneur, was accused of sexual assault, including rape, in two investigative stories by former KUOW editor Sydney Brownstone.

He slipped away from public life ... and now he wants back in.

Over one hundred letters, emails and phone calls have come in to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board since Dave Meinert bought the Mecca Café in Queen Anne and, earlier this month, applied for a liquor license there.

READ: 5 women accuse David Meinert of sexual assault, including rape

READ: 6 more women accuse David Meinert of sexual assault

Some, like Capitol Hill restaurant server Anjali Kusler, request that the application be denied.

"It’s an emotional campaign and an outcry that could garner enough public attention that maybe someone’s head will turn," Kusler said.

Messages urging others to write to the liquor board have spread on Facebook. Wednesday evening Kusler planned to bring stamps and envelopes addressed to the Liquor and Cannabis Board and leave them at the Corvus & Co. bar for patrons to use for their messages of protest.

"I’m horrified that he might have a chance to still be part of the bar community," Kusler said.

Meinert refutes some specific allegations, but told KUOW last summer he had been "handsy."

Meinert did not respond to requests for comment for this story. He has never been charged.

The Liquor and Cannabis Board considers community input while it reviews a license application, spokesman Brian Smith said.

"We’d probably take a closer look at the application, but there may not be anything in there to deny a license, especially if the (applicant) was truthful or if they did not have a criminal background history."

A license can be denied over a criminal conviction, but not allegations.

"Our criminal justice system is 'People are innocent until proven guilty,'" Smith said. "It's criminal convictions that carry the weight in the law."

The Liquor and Cannabis Board is also required to contact the "local authority"—in this case, Seattle—where a license is proposed.

Representatives from city departments, including the department of transportation and the police, review the application and can submit comments to the Liquor and Cannabis Board.

The board has until mid-September to decide on the application.