How an ‘unknown’ organizer became Seattle’s next mayor: ‘People want to see themselves reflected in office’

Katie Wilson’s rise from transit campaigner to city hall shows how trust, volunteers and years of organizing overcame big-money politics

While a blue wave was sweeping key races in New York City, Virginia, and New Jersey on 4 November, Seattle progressives were biting their nails down to a quick. At 8pm, only the first round of ballots had been counted in Seattle, and Katie Wilson, a longtime community organizer and the progressive challenger in the mayoral race, was behind by seven points.

But it was far from over. Because Washington state votes almost entirely by mail, that first ballot count was less than a quarter of the vote. As the week wore on, and progressives’ fingernails disappeared, Wilson’s share of the vote crept up, slowly but steadily. Eight days after the election, Seattle declared that Wilson would be the next mayor of Seattle.

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