Seattle’s Socialist Mayor Now Panicking Over Businesses Leaving
Jarrett Stepman
• May 21, 2026
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson (Mat Hayward/Getty Images)
Seattle’s socialist-in-chief is no longer laughing about chasing away businesses and wealthy residents. But the attitude adjustment may be too little, too late.
Just a few weeks ago, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson infamously giggled when asked if she was concerned about wealthy residents fleeing Seattle because of her policies.
“I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are, like, super overblown. And if—the ones that leave, like, bye,” Wilson said to applause at Seattle University.
As I wrote at the time, this flippant attitude toward a potential wealth exodus was remarkably foolish.
Businesses and the “rich” were already leaving Seattle, but hitting the accelerator on leftist policies is causing a full-blown economic meltdown. The result will be a loss of hundreds of millions—likely even billions—of dollars in future tax revenue.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/05/21/seattle-socialist-mayor-businesses-leaving/