Mamdani-like nominee tests Seattle's breaking point on taxes

Seattle is about to find out how progressive it really is as a surprisingly close mayoral election pits the moderate incumbent against a community organizer campaigning to raise taxes on companies and wealthy residents.

- Anna Edgerton, Tribune News Service

Zohran Mamdani

Katie Wilson, who's challenging Mayor Bruce Harrell, is looking to raise revenue to close the city’s budget deficit, which requires some creativity since income taxes are not allowed in Washington State. Her proposals, designed to keep the burden off low earners, include a penalty for landlords with vacant storefronts or homes, a levy on professional services and a city tax on capital gains.

The race is shaping up as a West Coast counterpart to New York's mayoral election, where progressive upstart and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani holds a double-digit lead over former Governor Andrew Cuomo. Wilson has gotten a big boost from the national attention lavished on Mamdani. But with a smaller tax base, she's also trying to propose new levies without pushing people and employers to suburbs such as Bellevue, Washington—or out of the state.