Katie Wilson will be Seattle’s next mayor after defeating incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell with just over 2,000 votes. After a long and contentious campaign season, both candidates said Thursday that it is time for the city to come together.
Wilson, 43, is new to elected office, but she’s spent years as an activist advocating for progressive policies. In a victory speech at a Seattle union hall, she described herself as a socialist and a progressive, and reiterated her campaign's core focus on affordability.
“They might have the money, but we had the people, and the results of this election proved that," she said. "The working people of this city are tired. They are ready for something new, something more hopeful and just and equitable.”
Harrell, 67, is one of Seattle’s longest-serving politicians. He offered his support in the transition process during a concession speech at city hall.
"I say this loudly for the Wilson administration: We may have different tactics on how to get there, but I believe our core values are the same,” he said.
As mayor, Wilson said she plans to push for social housing, universal childcare and mass transit. Wilson said she will share more details about the transition next week, and that she plans to bring on both fresh faces like herself and people with experience at City Hall.
Results released Thursday show Wilson ahead of incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell by 2,018 votes — a .7% difference. That's beyond the threshold needed to trigger an automatic machine recount.
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who represents District 7, congratulated Wilson in a statement on Wednesday, saying she wants to work with Wilson on "transit, housing, childcare and ensuring that our city remains equitable and welcoming to all people."
Wilson is the co-founder and director of the nonprofit Transit Riders Union, which advocates for the rights of workers, renters and transit riders. It is the first time she is elected to office.
During her campaign, Wilson split from Harrell in her ideas for how to address homelessness and bring the cost of living down. Her approaches include helping people in shelters who can live independently find accommodations, such as vacant affordable housing units. Wilson has also proposed progressive taxes that would shift the burden from low-income residents to the city’s high earners.
Wilson’s victory completes a sweep of progressive candidates winning in city races, including three City Council seats and the city attorney's office.
Wilson, who grew up in New York state, studied physics and philosophy at Oxford University, but dropped out weeks before graduation. Instead, she turned to advocacy, working odd jobs when she landed in Seattle in 2004 with her now-husband. In 2011, she helped found the Transit Riders Union. Through that work, she has advocated for policies that provide renter protections and higher minimum wages in places like Burien and Tukwila, as well as draft tax policies such as the JumpStart Payroll Expense Tax on large corporations.
Results for the mayor’s race took a big swing in favor of Wilson after election night. Harrell was leading by more than 8,000 votes after the first round of ballots were counted but was later overtaken by Wilson. Political pundits say that’s typical for Seattle, where younger and more progressive voters tend to cast their ballots later.
The mayor’s race follows a trend of Seattle voters expressing dissatisfaction with incumbents. The city has had a streak of one-term mayors, starting with Mike McGinn whose lone term began in 2010. The last two-term mayor was Greg Nickels, whose final term in office began in 2006.
*Incumbent
KNKX's Izzy Ross contributed reporting
