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Seattle Mayor Tells All Ahead of FIFA World Cup
1.4k Plays8 days ago
Noah Riffe of Lobbing Scorchers interviews Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Seattle, Washington. The Interview comes on the heels of Wilson and the administration announcing 1400 free World Cup tickets for youth across the city of Seattle. The pair talk about the ways Seattle has changed for the massive soccer tournament including pedestrianizing streets, heightened security, increased transit and more. Wilson also addresses right wing controversy with a comment made about the Washington State Millionaires Tax. Wilson and Riffe close the show by discussing the recently passed Sound Transit ST3 update and the Seattle Social Housing Developer.
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Lobbing Scorchers is a production of Just Once Media.
Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
Contact: lobbingscorchers@justoncemedia.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Seattle World Cup Excitement
00:00:00
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. Quite the scorcher today. Well it's gonna be a scorcher.
00:00:21
Speaker
Welcome back to another edition of Lobbing Scorchers featuring a returning guest. ah too This is your third. You are the biggest returning guest on this podcast. And also, I think the biggest person we interview, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson. Welcome back.
00:00:37
Speaker
Hi Noah, it's good to be here. It's good to see you. We are doing this podcast right before the World Cup. There is, what, nine days before the tournament starts? We are about to welcome the world to Seattle. We're going to welcome the world here and it's very exciting but it's also, i can imagine, incredibly stressful on top of already running a city that is...
00:01:03
Speaker
just ah it's a big city. What are you gonna, there's there's
Seattle's World Cup Preparedness and Community Impact
00:01:06
Speaker
a lot to do. So we're gonna talk today about some of those World Cup initiatives and then some of the other stuff just going on the city and check in with you because the last time we talked with you, it was like a couple of days before the election. And I feel like some things have happened, but you know, I could be wrong. um So yeah, starting out, how are you doing generally speaking? How you feeling about the World Cup?
00:01:28
Speaker
and I'm very excited about the World Cup. and I think I probably shared this on one of my previous appearances, but in my premier life, um not a huge like professional sports person, but the World Cup was like the one professional sports event that I would like seek out. you know I'd like go and find ah a bar, a cafe to sit at where they were showing the games. um So I'm very excited that this is going to be in Seattle. And you know i I love soccer, um and ah I'm just yeah really excited.
00:01:58
Speaker
You know, you stepped into the World Cup planning kind of at the 11th hour, the final stretch. um I would love to hear kind of what that transition process was like for you um and how fast it's been moving.
00:02:13
Speaker
I mean, it is remarkable just how much planning goes into an event like this. And so like you said, I stepped in at the 11th hour, so there have been like years of um time and energy and coordination um at like multiple levels of government and just like all you know the private sector and just like everyone planning this thing. And, um and you know, honestly, i like, we're in good hands, right? and And I think I've heard many times that um even compared to the other host cities, I think Seattle is really, like, ahead of the curve in terms of both being really prepared logistically and in terms of how we're handling transportation and public safety and all the rest of that. um And then just in terms of really the like the community partnerships that are um planning things out in the world that are not just focused on the stadiums and the games. And there's just been a lot of intentional work put into trying to make the games in Seattle something that everyone can enjoy, whether or not you're able to afford a ticket to to actually go into one of the state into the stadium. and And also something that leaves like a lasting, hopefully beneficial impact in the region. yeah let's talk about kind of that just overview of what's going to be happening and how the city is going to be changing because not only does FIFA dictate that kind of cities need to transform for them you had shared and I think the World Cup organizing committee their idea was let's make this be a lasting impact so how is the city going to be transforming for the World Cup
00:03:45
Speaker
I mean, there's a ton of things that are happening kind of around the games, but that are also exciting from the point of view of an urbanist, someone who loves cities, right? So that whole area around Pioneer Square on game days is going to be basically pedestrianized. um and And of course, we're going to have the free watch parties in multiple locations all around the city. I think that's, again, really exciting just to have places for people to gather and watch the games together. And we have that like floating barge thing going Yeah, the Sounders and the Rave Foundation are doing the floating
Infrastructure Enhancements for the World Cup
00:04:20
Speaker
barge. yeah But we see you on the floating barge?
00:04:22
Speaker
You know, I hope so. yeah I'm not sure that I've like planned my schedule out to the minutest detail, but I think I would really be missing something if I didn't experience the floating barge. i was We got a lot of response when we posted about that. It looks crazy. I do wonder, though, you know you have a couple of beers, you're watching a couple games, do you get seasick and all on the barge? Or you just decide it's time for a swim? Yeah, or you decide, which I wouldn't swim in there.
00:04:48
Speaker
Do not swim in that part. You will be very cold. Yeah. Well, so then there's also Seattle's very unique among the host cities in having our stadium be like basically in the heart of our urban center and being extremely well served by public transit. right like You can get to that stadium by bus, by you know by sound transit, by sounder, by Amtrak, by streetcar, ah by ferry. right like There are so many ways to get there. and that's Bike.
00:05:18
Speaker
But well, yes, right. I was just talking about public transit. but yes, bike. Well, but you know, you line bike, whatever. Line bike, right. Micro mobility scooter. You know, you you could you could walk there, you know. um and ah And so it's um ah what we are we are hoping that like 80 percent of people coming to the area during the games are going to arrive you know not by driving. yeah um And the transit agencies are really stepping up to help facilitate that too. So King County Metro um is running these free shuttles. And that's like all summer long. i mean, there's going to be more on game days, but we have a waterfront shuttle that is operating all summer long, like not just for the games. That is totally free. And so that is really cool. um And, you know, there's a lot of just other civic projects that have...
00:06:04
Speaker
either coincidentally or on purpose, kind of landed around this time period. So obviously we have our fantastic new waterfront. um And we have the Elliott Bay Connections Trail opening up. um And that is that's really exciting. I actually ah took a bike ride last weekend really for the first time since before my daughter was born. So we're talking about like, I haven't really taken a bike ride alone in like almost three years. Yeah. um And, and so I got to experience that trail, which is, you know, still finishing touches being put on it, but it is amazing. And you know that's a, um, uh, kind of a public private partnership, um, with a lot of philanthropy, uh, going into that. And, um, uh, yeah, so there's just, there's a, there's a lot of, um, exciting things happening that I think we'll both, make the games a really exciting experience and then also um kind of last beyond that. You know, I think it's interesting too. I spend a lot of time in Pioneer Square. Our studio space is down in the International District and that was kind of hollowed out during COVID, at least Pioneer Square area and this pedestrianization. And we've seen we've just seen so much revival in that area. And I know when we talked to you last time, that was kind of a huge... star on the star on the hill for you to look and say, okay, how can we really bring back business to this area and work with people to make this feel safer and feel like a place that people want to come to? Is this you know a trial in a sense of something where we may see like longer term pedestrianization in that area? Maybe not to the same extent, but in certain areas?
00:07:36
Speaker
ah Don't want to freak anyone out. Oh, sorry. Is that is that controversial? i didn't know. um As I've learned, no, repurposing public space is always controversial. ok I will say in general, I'm very interested in figuring out how we can do ah more creative repurposing of public space ah toward pedestrianization. um and and i want And I also think it's very important that we're doing that in a way um that is... um beneficial for everyone, right? Including local businesses and um and so i'm i'm I'm definitely not saying no and I'm also saying that um we're I think it's great to try things to see how they work out. I think piloting things is great because it kind of gives us that opportunity to see what works what doesn't and ideally we're moving toward um bold reimaginings of our neighborhoods including more car-free space and in a way that really brings everyone along and Because ultimately, you know the reason we're doing this is because and we believe, or I believe, that um this is what is going to make um Seattle just way more vibrant. It's going to be good for business owners. It's going to be good for residents. And just creating, i mean, as a parent, right just like having places where your kid can run around or bike around or whatever without being afraid of getting hit by a car, is like that is gold. And we need so much more of that around the city. Well, absolutely, especially in an area where, you know, I would say over half the days there's an event happening at either the Wamu Theater or, you know, Lumen, Seattle Stadium, or ah i want to say Safeco, but it's T-Mobile, you know, and there's always people walking around these areas. Obviously, you need business access and things like that. But, you know, we look at Pike Place. I know that that's like a whole other thing that people... You know, I get it. It's we have to be mad about something. But like there is a people really people are always walking around there. So I think is that kind of what we're feeling ah in that sense of like, let's try this out and then.
00:09:34
Speaker
Pilot it for a long time, or do you want to actually like make some change? I know I'm pushing you on this, but i know people want to know. Yeah, um I think I think we're going to we're going to see how the World Cup goes and we're going to go from there. um But I will say like Pioneer Square in general is Pioneer Square is back. um it is It is really fun walking around there. I love and the fact that the um that the building that used to house Grand Central right has a new owner yeah and um there's really exciting plans afoot to just keep inviting new tenants to that space and making that really lively again. um And obviously we always have more work to do, but I'm really excited at the direction that Piner Square is going because it is just such, you know, historic heart of the city in a lot of ways. And um and it's just ah yeah it's just a beautiful, beautiful
Accessibility and Affordability Initiatives
00:10:20
Speaker
place. Yeah. Let's talk some more about some of these initiatives that you have going on around the World Cup. One that you just announced today, literally before this, did that and then rushed over and said, no, I need to podcast with you. So I feel very honored. um
00:10:33
Speaker
There 1,400 free tickets that the city and private partners were able to secure for young people and youth groups and community centers around Seattle. Can you talk a little bit about the specifics of that and you know how that all came together? Because you did meet with FIFA in early February and kind of push them a little bit on the affordability for Seattle residents. Yeah, I am so excited about this. I mean, I think that was really um coming in just thinking about what is the influence that, you know, I and my administration can have on these games given the short timeline and the fact that so much has been baked before I stepped in. But, you know, affordability and really people in our community being able to um to enjoy the games was really like top of mind for me. um
00:11:20
Speaker
And so it's really exciting that this partnership has come together to be able to provide these 1,400 plus free tickets. And this is for youth and caregivers. And yeah, and I mean, you know, New York, l LA, people are paying 50 bucks for their tickets. So I'm really excited that we're being able to provide this for free. And I think that's also coming with a, um like a voucher to buy food at the stadium. Yeah, and scarf. Oh, and a scarf, you know. And certain free shuttles from, don't Yes, exactly. Right. So we're we're trying to create the whole experience for people. um and And there's 40 plus, there's over 40 organizations that serve youth around Seattle and King County that are basically going to be um helping to kind of distribute these tickets to to youth that they serve. So and I am um very, very excited about this initiative. No, it's super exciting. I think a lot of people i saw some chatter. They were like, why is it Mayor Wilson doing anything about like Zoran or in l L.A.? and i And just for the record, like FIFA isn't doing anyone any favors on this front in cities around the country. So, um you know, whatever talk of hard negotiation there is, like in every city, this has been like collaborations that have come together to basically purchase tickets. Yeah, it's all kind of public-private partnerships from what i have heard, is even in New York. um
00:12:38
Speaker
But it seems like, you know, was there a reason why you guys decided to go more youth-focused as opposed to offering subsidized tickets to just the general population?
00:12:49
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think um for me, obviously, i'm I'm a mother. I mean, my daughter's, I think, probably a little young to appreciate, ah you know, watching a soccer game. But um so, yeah, she will not be getting one of these tickets, to be very clear, everyone. um scandal Scandal ended. No more scandal on that. We just squashed that. oh um but um But yeah, I mean, you know the the youth are our leaders of tomorrow, right? yeah and And I just think that um this is such a great way to give um young people in our communities a chance to participate in this once in a lifetime global event. And um I just, yeah, I don't know. think it's it's very consistent with um ah my desire to make our city just a great place to to raise a family. and
00:13:37
Speaker
And I think, you know, soccer, Seattle loves soccer, right? And Seattle youth love soccer. And this is also such big part of the culture of so many of our immigrant communities. And so, you know, some of the organizations that we're partnering with on this are specifically organizations rooted in immigrant communities that have like soccer clubs. And so just really wanting to able to highlight that cultural diversity and kind of global love of this game and then honor that by enabling some of our youth to attend the matches. Is this kind of continuing to push on the levers of affordable childcare in the city of Seattle as well? I mean, obviously- I guess that's a few hours where, you know, that's like the game's doing your childcare for you. Sure. Yeah, exactly. I mean, but you know, I mean, I guess that I wanted to see if those connected with you at all of, you know, I can't remember exactly what on the campaign trail you were talking about as it, if was affordable childcare or free childcare, how that was working, but- Yeah,
Community Engagement and Lasting Impact
00:14:34
Speaker
no, totally. I think affordable, up and to free. would love to see free universal child care Seattle. We'd love to see that all across the United States. That is what people need and what people deserve. And what we've been working on. So the thing that I've been able to do coming into office. So last year, voters passed the families, education, preschool and promise levy, which is a major investment in what the city is able to do. around families and youth and education. And so we have been able to expand Seattle's child care subsidy program to some extent, making that subsidy deeper and opening up more seats and also expand our Seattle preschool program so that more locations can provide care for for the full day, not just six hours, and also year round, not just during the school year. So those are some investments that we've been able to make that begin that work of expanding childcare. And the other thing that I'm really excited about along these lines that we're able to do with that levy money, which really was like a lot of work by my team, which I'm really proud is free universal school meals. So starting next year, all Seattle Public School students will be able to get free breakfast and lunch. And that's just really important because when you look at the data, there are thousands of families who qualify for free or reduced lunch who due to stigma or whatever, they're not actually in the program. And then there are thousands more families who are just above what's actually a very low threshold. It's like $50,000 for a family of four. That's nothing. You're not living in Seattle on $50,000 a year. Let's be real. And so there are thousands more families who are kind of above that threshold, but still very much struggling, right, who now will be able to get free lunch.
00:16:19
Speaker
ah So I'm really excited about that initiative. um And you know these are these are small steps, but they're steps that we're able to take quickly and to advance toward that goal of um just, yeah, making Seattle a great place to raise a family and free, universal, or affordable, universal childcare.
00:16:36
Speaker
What I'm hearing is you are helping make the U.S. men's national team the next great national team by making it easier to raise your kids, getting them to World Cup games, getting them fed and fueled so they can go and play soccer and get affordable. And, you know, something you talked about um was this community partnership and some of the community partnerships. We talk about the Rave Foundation, which is... kind of an arm of the Sounders in the rain organization.
00:17:02
Speaker
and they were able to build a lot of mini pitches across Washington. and they're also offering, um you know, free soccer balls and free, you know, soccer education. um What are some other exciting kind of community partnership things like that, that the city is able to city has been able to work with?
00:17:19
Speaker
yeah um that's Yeah, that's a really exciting one. And you know the the youth access program, the the youth tickets, and there's a whole bunch of kind of private partners that are involved in that. The press conference that we had this morning, we had spokespeople from Microsoft and Amazon, both there announcing you know their their support of that initiative. um Let me see here. I have a a list. We've got the official, yeah. Yeah, and this is just a few of the things. I mean, I guess another cool thing is there's a lot of public art that is going on kind of related to the games. I was actually just down at Benaroya Hall over the weekend um where there's there are some really cool new um bike and scooter corrals painted on the sidewalk. Thank you, they're no longer in the middle of the sidewalk. Well, that remains to be seen. That's the goal. That's the goal. But this is a first step of like demarcating. Here's where the bikes and scooters should be. yeah um And so those are really you know colorful, beautiful designs. the The artist's name is Roy, I don't remember her last name, but it was very cool to to meet her and and see that. And then there's a kind of parking garage across the street from Benaroya where there's this really cool kind of big sculpture piece, very colorful kind of representing sound. And there's actually some, um ah what's it called, virtual...
00:18:40
Speaker
virtual it's like like audio kind of thing is audio and like you point it's like virtual reality oh vr yeah situation okay with like av ar ar yes okay there we go sorry i'm we'll find the i'm working on i'm working on augmented reality there's too as two and whatever they are yeah um Anyway, so there's a cool like kind of augmented reality yeah art thing going on around there. And so that's just like one stop on there's this whole there's this whole kind of corridor of ah of of art that's going on around the World Cup. So that that's really cool. um
00:19:15
Speaker
And yes, this has more than 25 local art pieces from murals, sculptures, big art. um I know there was also some lighting put in actually by our studio in Chinatown International District that was, I think, a part of that yeah situation. So that was really cool. That's cool. Yep. And see, we have funding for the first phase of the Wing Luke's CALAP sculpture acknowledging the 1886 Chinese expulsion in the city. um And we have a blind soccer hub for United States Association of Blind Athletes. So there was a blind soccer clinic last fall, an international tournament with the US, Kazakhstan, and Peru. Yeah, they just played, I think, last last weekend. Yeah. And that counts. That's a qualifying event for the Paralympics in LA 28. So there's all kinds of things that are kind of going on around the World Cup that are just like really cool in their own right. And they're, yeah, just just, you know, enlivening our our city. No, I love that. I think that's exactly what.
00:20:13
Speaker
When you look at what a successful um World Cup for a city is, it's the lasting impact. Because the I think personally, and this is this is an anecdote, so who knows, but I think that it's yet to be said what kind of financial impact the city actually brings into what they spend. But I think it is a great opportunity to spend money on improving the city in a way that you may not normally be able to get through or past. So I think that's really exciting. Yeah, and of course, we also hope that you know lots of people are coming and spending money at our local businesses, you know not just in Pioneer Square, but around around Seattle. And um and you know we have our unity loop and trying to get people like out into the neighborhoods and spending money and just deciding that they want to come back to Seattle. you know
00:20:59
Speaker
we've There's plenty of room here that I hear. We've got plenty of room. Come and move here. We would love to have you. um It totally rains all the time. Just kidding.
00:21:11
Speaker
um I wanted to talk a little bit about um just World Cup affordability in general. Actually, before that, let's talk, because because I wanted to note this. There's going to be an elected official soccer game. you you in but You in passing noted this to me, and I said, can I be in a can i be a referee? yeah Maybe. Yeah, maybe.
00:21:27
Speaker
You heard it here, votes. Very noncommittal answer. Yeah. Good politician answer. But that's a genuine maybe, by the way. It's not just trying to placate you. I'm not certified, to be fair, but I could take some online courses. Well, to be honest, I think very few of us as players are going to be certified either. um yeah so this was my idea um as someone who has enjoyed playing soccer in my life and you know i'm like an okay soccer player i'm not like i'm not gonna over you can juggle better than me i can juggle pretty well um my my like playing skills probably stop when i stopped being on teams which was like age 16 or something so um anyway i thought it would be fun for elected officials uh from seattle but also around our region to get together and kind of like make fools of ourselves in front of our constituents. So we've been putting invitations out and I think more information coming out soon, but we are going to have it'll either be like one game or like a mini tournament. Like I'm thinking that because this is really like
00:22:32
Speaker
You don't have to be like a good soccer player. You don't have to be particularly athletic. So I think we don't want to do like a full field. Like yeah I think that would be smaller. Right. So I'm thinking kind of more mini pitch style, like five on five, six on six, something like that. um And so we're still working out the details, but we'll either have like a mini tournament or a game. um I think we're we're looking at Miller play fields as a location. and yeah, we're going to make it fun. We're going to invite everyone. So even if you can't afford.
00:22:58
Speaker
to go to the World Cup to the Seattle Stadium. If you can't watch the world's best, you can watch the world's worst. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I think the goal is like no serious injuries. Yeah. I was going to ask you if you had to slide tackle anyone, who would it be? But maybe that's going to cause a controversy. That sounds exciting. I think that's fun and there's so many fun opportunities to like do things like that. Have you been getting into anything for the World Cup? Have you got any Panini stickers? You know the sticker books and stuff? I've been going to Walgreens every day. I don't have time for that. I'm the mayor. That's true. You're not here. You're like, yeah, no, go run the city. I need to stick the Messi in here. Yeah, no, that's totally fair.
00:23:41
Speaker
um Let's talk a little bit about World Cup affordability. um Obviously, that was something that you went and talked to Viva about. You secured these youth tickets. But just in general, I mean, what is your take been on like the inaccessibility to the tournament for the regular person? Do you think that reflects more of a like general market trend or is this just like a the economy is just going crazy. Like, I don't know if there's a ah description for it, but like, i I'd love to know how you feel
Challenges of Affordability and Housing Innovations
00:24:13
Speaker
about it.
00:24:13
Speaker
Well, I mean, i don't know i don't know how qualified I feel to have a very specific opinion because I have not done a survey of other major global sporting events and how tickets... I assume that like tickets being expensive... I will say this is the most expensive World Cup ever. Is it really? Ever. Interesting. um By far. Because I was about to just be like, well, capitalism. yeah Well, for sure it is, yeah. But if this is this is more expensive than usual... um Yeah, I don't know. I mean... um You know, yeah, I don't really have an answer to that. Like I could speculate. I could be like, well, everything's expensive nowadays. Inflation, like, yeah you know, whatever. Maybe this just reflects the cost of putting on the games, but also people are making profit. i don't know. Yeah, I guess to that point, maybe maybe we can talk about this a little bit more is just like the affordability of living in Seattle right now. And, you know,
00:25:00
Speaker
They've seen i wouldn't say that there's not interest in going to the World Cup, but there's not interest that maybe the prices that are being discussed just because people are being squeezed more and more. You know, what are what are you and your team kind of working on in terms of affordability for just the average Seattleites? So maybe they can afford a World Cup ticket or let's say, you know, the World Series comes here, you know, the Women's World Cup.
00:25:23
Speaker
That's coming up. So I think we're trying to get that here, too. Yeah. OK, well, talk more about that. Have you been lobbying for that? I mean, there's been some discussion. I think that's kind of like something people would love to see happen. I would love to see that happen. I would love to see that happen. Wouldn't that be cool? I would that. Yeah, I mean, I think that there's a general feeling among the people who move in this world of big events and sports that we're trying to also position Seattle as a destination for future large sporting events, including the Women's World Cup. And so we all want to just like go off without a hitch. We want them to have a great time, you know.
00:26:02
Speaker
And ah yeah, I mean, I think that, ah I mean, this is why the youth access program was like, it's so important, right? To just be able to at least have some gesture of like, there are some tickets that people here can afford, not just people who are very rich. um and And I would actually be interested. I've not seen a breakdown. i don't know if anyone's seen a breakdown of like the folks who have bought tickets, how many people are actually kind of locals or you know people who live in this region versus people who are you know coming in specifically for the games. That would be very interesting. I mean because obviously there are also a lot of people with a lot of money in Seattle. So it's not like no one can afford the tickets, right?
00:26:38
Speaker
um But yeah, I mean, I would say this is also why it's so important that we are having like free watch parties around the city, right? Because we really want the celebration to be not just at the stadium, but like all around the city, like even if you're not directly watching that match, having a sense of like we are all here watching it together all around the city at all these watch parties. um And honestly, like I'm going to be attending watch parties, and I think it'll be really fun. um But I think more broadly in terms of affordability, yeah, so we're working on a bunch of things. So I mentioned the free universal school meals and the investments that we're making around childcare and preschool, and we're going to be continuing to work on that. Housing affordability is really the center of the affordability crisis, and so we are working on a number of fronts on that, right? So you probably saw our new social housing developer just recently announced its first acquisition. And so I'm really proud of how the city and my administration have been working really closely with the social housing developer as it is, you know, with its new revenue stream starting to build out its plans to both acquire and develop permanently affordable, publicly owned mixed income housing. Which like nowhere else is doing in the U.S. Like this is very unique. Yeah, I wouldn't say nowhere else is doing it, but it is, in general, a fairly new kind of model. And a lot of people are looking at Seattle as kind of a leader in this space. And so it's really important we get it right. That was one the reasons told me you One of the reasons that I ran, yeah. And so I'm very excited by the progress that the social housing developer has been making and the partnership. that we have with them. And so that is one piece, right? And then we're also, we've been working on some legislation that I'm very excited about around rental quote unquote junk fees. So as a renter, you know, you've got kind of like the sticker price of your apartment, but then often, especially if you have like a corporate landlord, you dig into the fine print and like, oh, there's all these weird fees, monthly fees that I have to pay. I paid $50 for laundry.
00:28:41
Speaker
Yeah, okay. Like, because someone broke in one time and busted the laundry machine coin slot. So, like, eh, we'll just make them free, but you actually have to pay 50 bucks a month. Yeah, right, exactly. So, things like that where, you know... It's a lot quarters. Exactly. And it's not just affordability. a lack of transparency, too, right? And so, we've been working on legislation that would... ban and or regulate various of these rental junk fees. And so we're getting ready to hopefully transmit that to council pretty darn soon, so that's really exciting.
00:29:13
Speaker
and And then we're also um working on this initiative that we're calling Taller, Denser, Faster, which is basically ah broadening the scope of the work that the city was doing around the next phase of our comprehensive plan, which is you know planning for the city's growth um in in the coming decades and um basically our land use and zoning laws that kind of determine where you can build and what kind of housing you can build in what neighborhoods. um And our goal there is really to enable the private market to build more housing in our great neighborhoods around Seattle, especially kind of amenity-rich neighborhoods that often you know haven't taken a lot of density in the past, and um and especially to be able to, for example, not just concentrate apartment-style buildings right along noisy, dangerous arterials, which is often the way we do it now. and I feel very lucky. i live in North Cap Hill, and I live off
00:30:09
Speaker
I live in a bigger old brick building, but it's quiet and it's off the main street. Me too. We're basically neighbors, right? We live a couple blocks away from each other. And that is, too, one of the things that I really value about that neighborhood is it really is one of the densest neighborhoods in the city. Lots of apartment-style buildings, but also quiet, lots of trees. It feels safe to walk around. It's great. More people should have an opportunity to live in neighborhoods like that. And so we need to act now in order to enable more of those neighborhoods to be built. And so we know that building more market rate housing will not automatically create affordability for lower income households. But we also know that failing to build enough market rate housing is a sure recipe for just continued upward pressure on the rental market in a way that is going to escalate housing costs for renters and for homeowners. And that's what we've seen happen over the last couple decades where we've really
00:31:01
Speaker
failed to build enough housing to match our kind growing population. And we are still growing, like contrary to some popular belief. Wait, I thought everyone was leaving. Wilson, I thought, I was told Twitter that everyone was leaving and it was nightmare. Everyone's leaving. All the people, all the businesses, everyone's leaving. We're not going to go there. We're not going to go there. I was going to say, he did just come here. I'm just saying, he was just here. So... His boat was. People are continuing to move here. For the record, we want Seattle to be a great place to do business.
00:31:32
Speaker
Great place where people live. Great place for businesses business. I do business here. I'm a podcaster. I do great business. I love You're a job creator. Logan, there we go.
00:31:45
Speaker
um So we want more podcasters to come to Seattle, do their podcasts here. will come on all of them. Build more market rate housing while also developing social housing as well. Exactly. Because they built a ton, right? And their average cost went down. So that's kind of, yeah is that kind of the idea?
00:32:04
Speaker
That is kind of the idea, yeah. And I'll say, I mean, I think the the Austin comparison is both useful and like, you know, they also have a lot of sprawl going on there, which is something that we want to try to avoid. So, um yeah, but we have an opportunity really to to be um creative and to do things right. And so that's what the the Taller, Denser, Faster initiative is about, is basically studying more of those options so that we can um we can make some good decisions in the next couple years around kind of where and how we build housing. um And also, you know, very on board with the whole kind of like permitting reform agenda. Like what can we do to really streamline um the ah the city process for approving new housing? So those are a few of the initiatives that we're working on that, you know, unfortunately, nothing is going to be like immediately like, oh, your rent goes down. Right. But they're absolutely essential things that we need to do in order to tackle the housing crisis. So, you know, working, working really hard on that. Yeah, that sounds great. You know, I want to I just want to get it out there, right? Like there was the, there was the Amazon thing. I don't know exactly what it was. It was some clip out of context and you know, people were trying to say like, was about the millionaire tax. Yeah. Yeah. was really about like, it was really about individuals, not like businesses that want So let's just clear the air on that. Let's be the the air clear here. Like this millionaire's tax, what is it? what like And then, you know, what what were you trying to say there? and And like, what are we actually feeling? Because like,
00:33:27
Speaker
if i was i mean I feel like there's plenty of people that I know that are millionaires. I don't know that many, but like grew up with people whose parents worked at Microsoft, had stock long-term, whatever. They still live here, and they're like, okay, whatever, like not leaving. um What does that really mean, or what did you want to say there? Okay, so you're referring to a comment that I made at a Seattle University forum. Yeah, it was five-second clip, and I was like, what? so So basically, I was being asked about the millionaire tax, which, like for the record, is not a city thing, right? This was a yeah it was is a tax that the state legislature passed. um Which they're trying to get recalled, from what I hear. Right. There's a there's like a a signature gathering effort to like repeal it, put it yeah put on the ballot. Right. um Yeah. And to be clear, so this it it is an income tax um that is focused on income above a million dollars a year. So I mean, also to be clear, I think when you say a millionaire, right. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of people who are millionaires just because they own a home. Right. right They own a home. Right. but
00:34:20
Speaker
But we're not talking about this a millionaire in the sense of like having a million dollars in assets. We're talking about receiving a million dollars, and receiving over a million dollars in a year. And so this is cash, not assets. Exactly, in in income. yeah um And this is a tax this is a marginal tax on income. So your first million is tax-free, basically, right? yeah So this is a tax that the state legislature passed. um And the comment that I was making at this forum was basically that the um ah the the fear that people en masse, millionaires en masse, are going to be leaving Washington state because of this tax is overblown. That was the the comment that I was making. um and and And, you know, that was based on what I understand to be kind of the experience of other states and cities that have um income taxes, which in many cases are significantly higher than that, um and that, you know, have not seen an exodus of high-income households. So that was the comment that I was making. And then I added a somewhat flippant offhand, and yeah, if a few people want to leave because of this tax, bye. Right, so...
00:35:25
Speaker
and God forbid we try and have a little fun around here, guys. Come on. I mean, this is for me. So there's a couple of things that reflecting and then what happened for anyone who doesn't know is that first nothing happened. Right. And when I said that the forum. Because wasn't that from like um a couple of months ago? Like i think a while ago. it was a while ago. And when when I said that in the forum, there was like the moment after I said it, I had that little like gut feeling. youre Like, was that a mistake? Been there. um Been there.
00:35:49
Speaker
Been there. um and then nothing happened and then it was like two weeks after that that like the right wing someone in the kind of right-wing media ecosystem like found it and clipped it and then it kind of went through the like right-wing social media sphere and then because it got traction there then it came back into kind of the local mainstream media and so then the como picked it up and just like hammered it to death forever um And then, you know, Danny Westy wrote about it right? So it like kind of came back into the more legitimate media media after gaining traction in that kind of right-wing media sphere. So that's that was kind of interesting to see that play out. um The other thing that it really made me reflect on, because then there was also, you know, like I went to a Starbucks picket line um early on, yeah and that also kind of amplified this narrative. and
00:36:33
Speaker
you know The thing for me is that like I, in my administration, we have done an enormous amount of work um over my first five months in office to build bridges with like the business community and large corporations in our town. um Because I know that as mayor, like you know we might not always agree on everything, but like I need to be able to work with them. We need to be able to partner on the things that we all care about. yeah um And like overall, like I think that work has gone really well. right like We're doing this shelter acceleration right now where we're trying to build out more emergency housing and shelter around Seattle. One of our sites that we're gonna be opening up in the next few months is actually partly philanthropically funded through Challenge Seattle. and so Starbucks, Microsoft, T-Mobile, um you know John Stanton and Terry Gillespie are ah collectively contributing $3 million dollars to get that site up and running. So like we've we've got these partnerships. And of course, there's all the corporate partnerships with the World Cup. um
00:37:24
Speaker
And so we're doing all that work, and I think i think building a lot of goodwill just in um that recognition that there's so much that we have to partner on. And so then this like comment that I make, which is like not even about a Seattle tax. This is about a state thing. um Which voters approved. No, it was the legislature. Legislature apologies. I mean, voters may have an opportunity to, to you know, reject or repeal. We'll see. um Anyway, so then, like, that becomes the public narrative, right? And then you have, like, the New York Times headline being, like, you know... Yeah, I saw the New York Times, my former employer, shout out. um I saw it was like you were regrettable. Like the way that it was framed seemed though were regrettable. The headline that I remember seeing was something about like, don't know, I was like insulting rich people or something. like I don't know. But anyway, so it's just been interesting to see that just how the media yeah swirl has kind of taken place and in ways that I think don't accurately represent like what we've actually been doing in the administration. and um But yeah, I mean, that's you know it's not surprising. right It's like and they're going for clicks. um And then there's ah obviously a political valence to that, too, where they're just like, let's take down the you know socialist mayor or whatever. I don't know who's thinking what. The socialist mayor who's also working with public-private partnerships. So it's like, you know, yeah. Anyway, learning experience. No, absolutely. I think it seems, you know, it's like first-time mom, first-time mayor situation, you know, what are going to do? But um i don't know. Like, I think that kind of speaks so to just the situation of what's actually happening in your administration versus what's being reported. So, Is there anything else in that vein where you're like, I just like, this is what we're doing. Like, let's, let's just, let's just hear it.
00:39:12
Speaker
Let's just hear it. Well, I mean, I think I'm really proud of the work that we're doing around homelessness right now.
Addressing Homelessness and Budget Constraints
00:39:17
Speaker
Right. Like coming in that was like very top priority for me. Everyone feels, um, yeah. And we, um,
00:39:23
Speaker
We've done a a ton of work internally at the city and with our you know service provider partners and with you know the business community um to really start this, I think, really impressive collaboration where we're now, you know this weekend, I'm going to be going to the opening of um our first major new um shelter site, which is in Inner Bay. It's a at least 75 unit pallet shelters um with you know supportive services. And over the coming months, we're going to be opening up a number of new sites. So we're going to really, i hope, be able to start um basically helping to people to navigate indoors. um And and this is this is this is going to be a um faster and larger acceleration of shelter than i think we've probably ever done in this city or this region. um And I mean, I guess to go back to the media thing, right, I came in saying, we're going to try to get to 500 units in the first half of the year, 1,000 in my first year.
00:40:12
Speaker
um So we're opening the first major site this weekend. So we're not going to get to open 500 units in the first half of the year. And you know what? That is going to be the news story. It's going to be like failed, right? Right. um Which is like amazing when do you think like the last four years of the previous administration, like they managed like a net of 13 units or something, right? And so like...
00:40:32
Speaker
um So anyway, hopefully I'm wrong about what the headlines are going to be, but um it's just but I'm really proud of that work. And that's going to be ongoing work like throughout you know these four years where we're going to be continuing to try to open up new shelter. And and it's going to be challenging, too, because we are in a very difficult budget situation. right yeah um we have an almost million dollars a year it um And so we're obviously looking at what new revenue options do we have, um but like we also are going to have to make some cuts and it's going to be painful. yeah um And so that's something that we're working a lot internally on is just you know how are we going to do this in the the best way possible, the way that preserves our essential services and has the least police harm possible. And for those people who don't know, you can't be in a deficit. You you you really can't. need a balanced budget. We're not like the federal government. We can't just like issue debt. um yeah It's just not something we can do. So we need to find. And, you know, this is a longstanding problem that's gone back. I was going to say you inherited this situation. Right. And it's been like, frankly, it's been papered over with kind of one time fixes for quite some time in a way that like we've we've kind of run out of tools. So even if I wanted to do like irresponsible budgeting and paper it over with one time fixes, like there's just not a lot of those options left. um And so we're working on it. I mean, I wish that there was some major, you know, federal bailout. Yeah, well, that that would be great. and But even just like a major kind of progressive tax option that we had at our disposal that would not, um you know, adversely affect, you know, you didn't have to raise property taxes or do like things like that. And we don't even really have.
00:42:07
Speaker
much of an option to do that. So it is a very challenging situation. I mean, the easiest thing we could do to get more money would be to dial up our Jumpstart payroll expense tax, which is our tax on large corporations, which has been you know very successful and robust in revenue. It's the only reason you're floating right now, correct? Right, exactly. um it would be a lot worse without that. um but But yeah, but I mean, we are in this situation where the future of our our local and regional economy and the tech industry is very uncertain. and um And so we don't want to create additional incentive for you know big tech companies to move over to to Bellevue instead of Seattle. And so politically and and practically, it's very challenging to look at that to raise major new revenue. I'm not saying that's off the table because like everything's going to have to be on the table yeah um as we consider how to deal with this deficit. But um it's challenging. and And obviously, as someone coming in wanting to um improve public services. That cost money. Yeah, exactly. um So that's a challenging situation to be in. One other thing I'll say that I'm really excited about, we just rolled out ah yesterday. um No, today? Yesterday. Sorry. Time means nothing. It's continuous. It doesn't stop.
Transit Expansion Plans
00:43:14
Speaker
um But we are ah putting a renewal measure on the ballot this fall for our Seattle transit measure, which is basically Seattle buying a bunch of bus service from King County. um And we are significantly increasing the size of that measure. um So that's going to allow us to who um really improve our bus service. and I'm really excited about that because um we I mean, what I really want to do is get ah get back to and surpass the levels of service that we had pre-pandemic. And so this is going to allow us to blow past that. And, you know, with transit, it's really like build it and they will come, right? yeah The more we have frequent, reliable public transit, the more people can use it, the more people don't need to drive every day. And I'm really trying to pitch this too. I mean, obviously I'm like a big transit person and I don't own a car, but um this is not just for people who ride transit, right? Like if you have to drive, if you want to drive, you don't want those like thousands of people, you know thousand people who move to Seattle every month like all have to have cars. Like you don't want them on your roads. You don't want them parking in your parking spot. So like we need to make it possible for more people to ride transit. And this is a big step to being able to do that. And that's, of course, ah kind of on top of the new light rail station openings. And you know we just made big decisions at Sound Transit. I'm on the board um around continuing to build out our regional light rail system. And obviously, big deficit there, some some challenging decisions. But I'm ah cautiously optimistic about where we landed and about being able to continue to take some really big strides to improve our transit system. I guess I'll just I'll ask on that because I did have it written down. I know we're getting short on time here, but the ST3 update.
00:44:47
Speaker
Correct. They're Ballard FC fans. They might be a little disappointed with a Ballard station. which We're going to get to Marcus Street. That is my commitment. So, um you know, we what I'm excited about. I shouldn't interrupted you. No, no, no. That's your. Sorry. You're good.
00:45:05
Speaker
i like it you're you're You're convicted on it. And i that's what we want to hear. We are going to get to Market Street. So ah what what I was really excited about um in the package that we passed is that i was able to bring an amendment to bring Graham Street Station into affordability in the plan. um And Graham Street Station, right this has been something the community has been waiting for for a very, very long time. um So now we're on track to you know complete design, get it built by 2031. So that's really exciting.
00:45:33
Speaker
And that means that my attention and the attention of the other North King board members can now be 100% focused on let's how do we get to Ballard. um And I'm really hopeful. I mean, we had to make this decision around what that affordable plan looks like before we've done all that work, planning work that allows us to find cost savings. So now we can do that work now that we've approved that plan. um And as we do that work to find those cost savings, as we go back to the state legislature asking for that 75-year bond authority, as and there's other some other finance tools that that we can look at, um ah I'm really hopeful that we're gonna be able to get a lot further than Seattle Center, because that is not a good terminus. We do not want that to be the terminus. um and ah And even if we need new revenue, then like we'll we'll figure that out too. But my goal is that right now we're moving forward, all um full steam ahead with ah planning and design to find those cost savings. And my goal is that by the time you would actually be starting construction on Ballard, we have figured out the financing so that there's no actual delay going on here. So that is my goal. And um we're going to be working really hard to make that happen.
00:46:42
Speaker
There's a lot happening. The economy is not great and you're you're doing it out here. So we appreciate you. Last question here for you. The US is obviously playing in the World Cup. They're playing a game here against Australia.
00:46:55
Speaker
Do you have any World Cup predictions for the US? And secondarily, are there any other teams you're going to be rooting for? That might get you in trouble, but I'm still going to ask it. I mean, I'll just say, of course, I am. I'm rooting for our team. Yes. um And I believe that I might be actually attending that match.
00:47:15
Speaker
We'll see. Hey, if you've got a plus one, just let me know. You need a plus one. I mean, like, you know, I'm great for... like I already have a date lined up. I'm great at carrying a bag like ah Gary from Veep.
00:47:26
Speaker
Chapstick. this ba Let me know. hi Yes. Obviously, I'm rooting for our team. Of course. I'm i'm going to leave it at that. All right. Beautiful. Well, thank you so much, Mayor Katie Wilson. Would you like to plug anything?
00:47:40
Speaker
while we're here. You know, I feel like we covered a lot of ground. Just always fun to talk with you and really excited. Let's welcome the world to Seattle. We keep saying that. Let's welcome the world to Seattle. Thank you, man. Global stage.