Less than five months after Seattle voters installed a self-described socialist as mayor, one of the city's own Democratic councilmembers is sounding an alarm he could have raised before the damage started. Rob Saka told the New York Times he is "gravely concerned" about businesses fleeing the city, the same city whose new leader recently laughed off the departure of millionaires with a breezy "Like, bye."
The contrast between Saka's earlier enthusiasm and his current anxiety tells a familiar story. Progressive leaders promise transformation, win power, and then watch capital walk out the door while the people who backed them scramble to explain the consequences.
Fox News Digital reported that Saka, a Seattle Democratic councilmember, had warmly welcomed Mayor Katie Wilson after she defeated incumbent Bruce Harrell. He praised the "energy she brings to leadership" and said he looked forward to "partnering with her to build a thriving, inclusive Seattle that uplifts working families, expands universal preschool for all, ends food deserts, and creates safer, more connected neighborhoods across our city."
Now, with Starbucks shifting 2,000 corporate jobs to Nashville, an iconic downtown business club shuttered after four decades, and a new 9.9 percent state income tax aimed squarely at high earners, Saka's tone has changed.
"I am gravely concerned. This is real."
Real, indeed. But none of it was hidden from view when Wilson ran for office.
Wilson has never disguised what she is. The New York Post reported that during her campaign she stated plainly: "Yes, I am a socialist." She added, "I'm also not sure that label will help me in the general election. But yes, I'm fine with being called a socialist."
She campaigned on progressive proposals including city-run grocery stores, taxing the rich, and making Seattle more resistant to Trump-era federal policies. She told voters at her inauguration, "You belong here, you have a right to be here and to live a dignified life, whatever your background and whatever your income."
When President Trump publicly described her as a "very liberal slash communist mayor," Wilson's response was not denial. It was satisfaction. "Nice to feel seen," she said, as the Washington Examiner reported.
Wilson has not shied away from comparisons to New York City's Zohran Mamdani, described as a fellow Democratic socialist. The pattern of openly left-wing candidates winning major city races is not limited to Seattle, and the consequences tend to follow a predictable arc.
None of this was secret. None of it required decoding. And Rob Saka cheered it on.
Wilson recently went viral for dismissing the flight of wealth from her city. Her assessment of millionaires leaving Washington state: "I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are super overblown." And for those who do leave? "The ones that leave? Like, bye."
She said it with a laugh. The Washington State Republican Party was less amused, posting on X that "this clip will live in infamy" and adding that Wilson "is not only unfit to be mayor, she lacks grace and gratitude."
Commentator Brandi Kruse offered her own assessment: "Seattle's Socialist Mayor responds to exodus of wealth from Washington State by saying 'BYE'... then laughing. We're doomed."
The state GOP also posted that Wilson "is more concerned about toilet ribbon-cutting photo opps than massive capital flight in downtown #Seattle all the while @SeattleCouncil stands idle as a once iconic city crumbles." That criticism landed on a Monday, with Saka and his fellow council members named as co-defendants in the indictment of civic neglect.
The business departures Wilson waved off are not abstract. Starbucks, a company born in Seattle, synonymous with the city's identity, announced it will shift 2,000 corporate jobs, primarily in IT and supply chain management, to a new regional headquarters in Nashville. Last week, KOMO News reported the company laid off an additional 61 employees as part of a reorganization of its technology department at its Seattle corporate headquarters.
Wilson's relationship with the coffee giant was already hostile. Last year, she declared at a barista picket line: "I am not buying Starbucks, and you should not either." A mayor telling residents to boycott the city's most recognizable employer is a choice. It is also a signal, one that corporate boards tend to receive clearly.
The anti-wealth rhetoric driving Democratic politics in cities like Seattle echoes the broader progressive argument that no one can legitimately earn a billion dollars. When elected officials treat employers as enemies, those employers eventually find friendlier ground.
Nashville, apparently, qualifies.
The Columbia Tower Club, perched atop Seattle's tallest skyscraper, closed last month after more than four decades in operation. The club cited declining office traffic and downtown business activity tied to remote work and high vacancy rates.
A business club that survived recessions, dot-com busts, and a global pandemic could not survive the hollowing out of downtown Seattle. That closure is not just symbolic. It reflects a physical reality: fewer people are coming to work in the city's core, fewer dollars are being spent there, and the institutions that depended on that activity are folding.
On March 30, Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson signed what has been described as Washington state's first-ever income tax, a 9.9 percent levy on households earning more than $1 million per year. The measure, dubbed the "millionaires tax," arrived at the worst possible moment for a city already watching wealth and jobs migrate elsewhere.
Wilson and her allies treat the tax as a matter of fairness. Critics see it as an accelerant. When a state that has historically attracted high earners partly because it lacked an income tax suddenly imposes one at nearly 10 percent, the math changes fast. Millionaires have accountants, lawyers, and moving trucks. They do not need to stay.
Voters in some parts of the country have started pushing back against the far-left economic agenda. Progressive candidates have been rejected in primaries elsewhere when voters concluded the ideology did not match their interests. Seattle's electorate made a different choice, and is now living with it.
Rob Saka's concern would carry more weight if it had arrived before Wilson took office. When she won, he celebrated. He praised her energy. He spoke of partnership and uplift. He framed her victory as voters "calling for change and a renewed focus on affordability, community, and fighting back against a resurgent Trump agenda."
Now, with Starbucks decamping, the Columbia Tower Club dark, a new income tax on the books, and a mayor who laughs at departing millionaires, Saka tells the New York Times he is "gravely concerned."
The concern is warranted. The timing is not.
Wilson, for her part, has also directed the Seattle Police Department to investigate, verify, and document any reports of immigration enforcement activity, a move that signals her priorities clearly. She is focused on resisting federal policy, not on retaining the employers and taxpayers who fund city services.
The Associated Press described Wilson as "a democratic socialist who has never held elected office" before her mayoral win. She defeated the centrist Harrell after later-counted mail ballots broke heavily in her favor. Wilson herself acknowledged the surprise: "No one saw this coming."
The consequences, however, were entirely foreseeable. A candidate who openly identifies as a socialist, campaigns on taxing the rich, encourages boycotts of the city's largest employer, and laughs at departing millionaires is telling you exactly what kind of city she intends to run. The internal feuds roiling the Democratic Party over how far left to go are not theoretical exercises. They play out in real cities, with real job losses and real closures.
Saka got the change he asked for. So did Seattle. The millionaires heard the mayor loud and clear, and they are taking her advice.