EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fifth of six profiles of 2017 mayoral candidates we will be publishing before the Stranger Election Control Board announces its endorsements.
At a mayoral candidate forum held in a dimly lit building behind a Capitol Hill church, former US Attorney and candidate for mayor Jenny Durkan takes her first question: Does she support a city income tax?
“I think an income tax is critical,” says Durkan. “I think the city council is right to move forward and see whether we can test the law.”
It’s a notable shift in tone from a much more skeptical take on the same question when she kicked off her campaign a month earlier. The change is emblematic of the calculating candidate who knows when to tack left and when to embrace Seattle’s political establishment, even as other candidates sprint in the other direction.
