Katie Wilson, who is running for mayor, poses for a portrait in Seattle. (Karen Ducey / The Seattle Times)
Katie Wilson, co-founder and General Secretary of the Transit Riders Union and a leading progressive leader in Seattle, announced her candidacy for mayor of Seattle. Although Wilson is the fifth challenger to announce, she is the first credible threat to Mayor Harrell.
Wilson told The Stranger that Mayor Harrell’s lack of action on homelessness is a major reason she entered the race. She explained “[f]our years ago, when Harrell was running for mayor, he made some big promises on homelessness. He promised to open 2000 units of emergency housing shelter in his first year; he did not even come close to delivering those numbers.”
She urged a shift in the city’s focus from permanent housing for the homeless to building more tiny home villages and expanding programs like JustCare, which works with the unhoused on their individual needs.
Wilson has not only criticized the mayor and city government but has also taken aim at the city’s progressive left, arguing that it failed to acknowledge public concerns about safety, open drug use, and rising homelessness. She believes this disconnect contributed to the success of more pragmatic candidates in the 2023 City Council elections.
“Specifically on homelessness and also public safety, the left, broadly speaking, got to a place where we were not responding sufficiently to the reality that people were experiencing and seeing around them, and that cost us,” explained Wilson.
Unlike his two immediate predecessors, Harrell is seeking reelection, making this race a potential barometer for the public’s confidence in Seattle city government. It remains to be seen whether Wilson can raise the money and build the organization needed to mount to strong challenge to Mayor Harrell. Harrell retains strong support from labor unions, business leaders, and key progressives, including Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
