SEATTLE — Seattle’s new Mayor-elect Katie Wilson is addressing the public regarding her election and upcoming role as mayor on Thursday afternoon.
Wilson gave her speech from the Seattle Labor Temple at 2 p.m.
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‘I am so happy to be here, on this quintessentially Seattle day, a rainy day in November, to say to the people of Seattle, this is your city, and I am delighted to be your next mayor. It is an honor and a privilege,” Wilson said.
“When the year began, I had no intention of running for mayor, much less becoming mayor of the biggest city in the Pacific Northwest,” she continued, before elaborating on the ongoing and worsening issues facing Seattle’s community that spurred her into politics.
Wilson spoke about her decades of living in the city, how she will raise her daughter in the city, and her love for it. She also thanked the preceding mayor, Bruce Harrell, for his service.
After thanking her family, campaign team, volunteers, and canvassers, Wilson criticized the large amounts of money poured into her opponents’ campaigns. “Wealthy interests poured nearly 2 million dollars into a political action committee to prevent my election. Because for some people in this city, the status quo is working exactly as intended. It may look like an affordability crisis to poor people, but to others, it simply looks like business as usual,” she said.
“They might have the money, we had the people,” Wilson triumphantly continued. “The working people of our city are tired. They are ready for something new, something more hopeful and just and equitable. And I am committed to fighting as hard as humanly possible to realizing our shared vision.”
Wilson also listed what she wants to achieve as mayor.
“I want everyone in this great city of ours to have a roof over their head. I want universal childcare, K-8 summer care. I want world-class mass transit. I want great safe public spaces where kids can run around with abandon. I want stable, affordable housing for renters. I want social housing. I want much more land and wealth to be owned and stewarded by communities instead of corporations. I want a robust economy with thriving small businesses, great living-wage jobs, and strong rights for workers. I want a city where everyone has the basics of a dignified life, including healthy food, access to healthcare, and supportive communities. I want a city where your health and longevity, and your children’s future, don’t depend on your zip code or your race.”
Wilson addressed the Seattle community directly, urging support, community cooperation, and proactivity, stressing a collective responsibility “for this city and for each other.”
“As a progressive and as a socialist, I believe in good governance,” she stated. “Our government is how we accomplish the things that can only be done together.”
RELATED | Bruce Harrell concedes Seattle mayoral race to newcomer Katie Wilson
Bruce Harrell officially conceded the election, concluding a razor-tight mayoral race, at noon.
Harrell had a lead of more than 10,000 votes on Nov. 8 and was ahead by eight points, but that advantage steadily shrank as Election Day ballot box returns were processed.
Wilson cut the gap to 4,300 votes by Nov. 7 and quickly closed it entirely, pulling ahead in what was ultimately a razor-thin race.
By Wednesday, the last ballot drop before Harrell conceded, Wilson maintained a lead of 50.19% of the vote (138,489 ballots), compared to Harrell’s 49.48% (136,513) – a margin of 0.71%, or just 1,976 votes.
Wilson, who describes herself as a socialist, appealed to many voters with her calls to make the city more affordable and demands for more progress on homelessness. This will make Wilson Seattle’s first-ever socialist-identified mayor.
During her campaign, she called for higher taxes on corporations and a collaborative approach to policy-making. She also criticized homeless sweeps and said the government needs to invest more in fast-tracking shelter and housing options.
SEE ALSO | Seattle mayoral candidates present contrasting solutions to city’s homelessness crisis
A political newcomer, Wilson is a longtime local organizer and the founder of the Transit Riders Union. Her campaign framed her as a coalition builder who has worked on transit access programs and other grassroots efforts.
Her main platforms and priorities, as defined by her campaign website, include:
Affordable, abundant housing: Building and preserving housing to address affordability.Homelessness response: Prioritizing tangible results on homelessness through expanded services and housing-first efforts.Transportation and mobility: Public transit improvements and expanded access.A city for working families: Proposals aimed at affordability for families — childcare and other supports — appear under her “working families” emphasis on the platform page.Public safety and governance: Public safety policy needs both service investments and accountable governance, collaborative policymaking, and local solutions.
Political experts say Wilson’s use of social media and targeted outreach to young voters helped her surge ahead late in the race, as well as her prioritization of addressing affordability and public transit.
Just hours after her acceptance speech, Wilson attended a Starbucks workers’ strike at the shuttered Starbucks Reserve Roastery.
At the rally, Wilson chanted with attendees and gave a short speech saying she doesn’t buy Starbucks and she supports the striking workers.