Slog AM: Katie Wilson Is Our Next Mayor, the Government Shutdown Is Over, and Google Chooses Evil

Katie Wilson Is Our Next Mayor: After more than a week of edging, we can finally call the mayor’s race, and it’s good news people. In the ballot drop yesterday, Wilson was up by 1,976 votes. It’s tight, but it’s mathematically impossible for Harrell to catch up. Katie Wilson will be Seattle’s next mayor. Shortly after the ballots dropped, Bruce Harrell announced that he planned to address the city at noon today. He’ll probably concede.

So What’s Next? Contrary to the narrative Harrell wanted us to believe, Katie Wilson does have a job right now, and someone now has to replace her as the head of the Transit Riders Union. Then it’s transition time. Come January, we’re going to have a whole new government: two new City Council members, a new Council President, a new City Attorney, and a new mayor. We’ll still have some conservatives in the City Council—Bob Kettle, Rob Saka, Maritza Rivera, and Debora Juarez are still comfy in their seats, for now—but our new elected officials represent a real progressive caucus. Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who has been a progressive caucus of one for the last year, told The Stranger that she’s excited to help get the newbies up to speed. She has so many spreadsheets to show them, she says.

Speaking of Governance: After the longest shutdown in the history of this country, our federal government is open again. Six Democratic representatives seem to have forgotten why the government was shut down in the first place (attention spans these days, am I right?) and broke the blockade in the House, passing a spending bill that screws over the millions of Americans that depend on ACA subsidies for their healthcare. Unsurprisingly, one of those representatives was Washington’s own Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who called the government shutdown a “car crash” and said that the fight for healthcare benefits was nothing more than a “messaging victory.” I hope our friends in southern Washington remember this when she runs for reelection. 

The Upside of Caving: The government says that SNAP benefits should be fully online today. And those federal workers who’ve been going without pay? Historically it’s taken about a week to get everyone caught up, but since the Trump Administration DOGE’d some federal agencies’ payroll offices, they could see some unpredictable delays.

Aaaand Another Consequence: The 20 Head Start early-childhood programs that had to shut down could take weeks to get back up and running.

More Dems Piss Off More Dems: On Wednesday, DNC head Ken Martin announced a mandatory return to office starting in February, in the leadup to the midterm elections. According to the New York Times, the move was meant to ensure that information wasn’t siloed and to make sure that people were clued into time-sensitive decisions. This happened on a Zoom call, and Martin was met with a flurry of thumbs down emojis, like a scene from The Circle. Martin suggested that people who were unhappy with the decision were welcome to find other jobs, which went over as well as you’d expect: their union called his reaction “callous” and “shocking.” 

Going by the Book, This Time: On Wednesday, America’s Roman Catholic bishops made a rare, almost unanimous statement against Trump’s anti-immigration campaign. The statement, which was passed at the bishops’ annual conference in Baltimore, said they “oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and “pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.” The letter goes on to say that they “feel compelled now in this environment to raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity.” (The last time they did this, they were coming out in opposition to the Affordable Care Act’s birth control mandates.) This statement is awesome. Next, let’s find that yen for human dignity when it comes to women, trans people, and victims of sexual abuse.

Don’t Cross the Picket Line: Do you really want that Starbucks Red Cup today? No you don’t. After being stonewalled in their fight for a fair contract corporate for literal years, the Starbucks union is going on strike. Lynne Fox, president of Workers United, said in a press conference this morning that she’s negotiated hundreds of contracts, but has never seen “an employer act with such reckless disregard” of labor laws. More than 1,000 union baristas across 40 cities are going on strike today. In Seattle, workers plan to picket this morning outside stores in the U-District (4147 University Way NE) and on Queen Anne (1144 Elliott Ave. W). Then, at 4 p.m., workers will rally outside the closed Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill. Go get a coffee at Cafe Vita and then show up in support. 

Another Bad Day for Sara Nelson: Remember earlier this year, when Council President Nelson pushed through a bill to allow new housing in SODO? It moved quickly, had a huge amount of opposition, and got through council despite concerns from the surrounding industries? It all felt a little sketchy, and it turns out it was.

Oops! According to the city’s Growth Management Hearing Board, the city didn’t follow proper procedure to greenlight the housing in the area, relied on an outdated 2022 environmental review, didn’t notify the state’s commerce department, violated the State Environmental Policy Act, and failed to meet the city’s requirements for public participation. So for now, the city won’t be allowed to build housing in the area, but Council is welcome to draw up new legislation, and put it through the proper process like they should’ve.

Relevant to Our Interests: San Francisco, a city famously mired in bureaucracy, may have found a very straightforward solution to a very complex problem. The city opened a new facility in an old Goodwill building that serves as a round-the-clock clinic for people having public mental health breakdowns. According to the New York Times, “It is always open. It is always staffed with a nurse and several mental health specialists. A doctor is always on call. Police officers, paramedics and street crisis counselors can drop off people who need help at any time. People in crisis can walk in themselves, or be brought in by family members or friends. As of Oct. 1, the state has certified it as an alternative to emergency rooms, which means that ambulances can drop people there.” It’s showing early success, and it’s something Seattle should watch. 

A Headline That Shouldn’t Surprise You: “Google Had Chosen a Side in Trump’s Mass Deportation Effort,” and it’s the side of Mass Deportation. The company is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to ID immigrants, and has actively removed apps that help citizens report ICE. Remember when they removed “Don’t be evil” from their code of conduct?

A Song for Your Thursday: Robyn saw what 2025 was doing to us, and she gave us new music, as a treat.

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