Although the radical views from Zohran Mandani are soaking up virtually all the national news, Seattle’s brand-new mayor Katie Wilson hasn’t gone entirely unnoticed. That’s because Mayor Wilson, who was sworn in Monday, campaigned on a similar promise to take from the wealthy and help the poor with free housing, free public transit, and free child care.
According to a related Daily Caller story, then-candidate Wilson also called "affordable, healthy food" a "basic right" for everyone.
"We cannot allow giant grocery chains to stomp all over our communities, close stores that will leave behind food deserts,” Wilson said. “Together, we can build a Seattle where fresh food is for everyone, not just for those who can afford it."
More obvious than those political promises was her stated vow, after she won election, that more private property and “wealth” will be “owned and stewarded by communities” rather than by corporations.
During her campaign, Wilson also talked about "rooting ourselves in equity," "climate action and environmental justice," and a "Trump-proof Seattle.”
Jason Rantz is a Seattle-based talk show host with SeattleRed.com. He told AFN that Wilson made “affordability” a key issue in her mayoral campaign, and he believes that issue is what helped her defeat now-former mayor Bruce Harrell despite no experience in public office.
"She was running against a somewhat weak incumbent, who didn't do nearly enough, certainly did not do nearly what he promised he was going to do to clean up Seattle,” Rantz said. “So a lot of people stayed home."
Less than one percent separated Wilson’s win from the defeated incumbent, the closest Seattle mayoral race since 1906, after a 55% turnout on Election Day.
Harrell was expecting to cruise to re-election and a second term until Wilson entered the race, too. Despite being a political novice, she was known by many for her political activism. She demanded reduced fares on public transit and demanded a new payroll tax fund, approved in 2020, pay for “affordable” housing in the city. Harrell wanted that new tax to balance the city’s budget instead.
After her win over Harrell, a Washington Post editorial bashed the inexperienced “community organizer” who has admitted her parents help pay her bills and living expenses. Despite her lack of experience, she will now oversee 14,000 city employees and an annual budget of $8.9 billion, the editorial board complained.
Over the next four years, Rantz predicts a lot of people, who are not part of the “activist” class, will be very angry over what is happening in their city.
"And just for people to understand: When they talk about going after the wealthy, they're talking about the vast majority of residents," said Rantz.
