Democratic Seattle Mayor-elect Katie Wilson declared that she will not allow private grocery stores to close in a resurfaced video from September.
Wilson said during her mayoral run that corporate grocery chains should not be allowed to only sell food to those who can afford it and expressed support for a “public option,” meaning that government-run grocery stores would be established. Her proposal emerged at a time when Democratic New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani had promised to establish government-run grocery stores throughout the city.
“Access to affordable, healthy food is a basic right. We cannot allow giant grocery chains to stomp all over our communities, close stores that will leave behind food deserts,” Wilson said. “Together, we can build a Seattle where fresh food is for everyone, not just for those who can afford it. Food deserts are not natural, corporations create them when they abandon our communities.”
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The then-mayoral candidate called on corporations to give a 90-day notice for mass layoffs and a fair severance package to those who had been laid off.
“When grocery corporations lay off hundreds of people overnight, the whole community suffers. We need to set the standard here in Seattle. Corporations must give 90 days notice for mass layoffs and fair severance pay for laid off workers,” Wilson said. “Seattle families deserve fresh, affordable food and workers deserve dignity and stability,” Wilson continued.
In New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul publicly opposed Mamdani’s call to open government-run grocery stores by saying she supports free enterprise. Supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis told the New York Post in August that government-run grocery stores are doomed to fail, pointing to one in Kansas City, Missouri, which closed after substantial taxpayer losses and issues such as shoplifting.
Wilson has promised to appoint members to her cabinet who are black, Indigenous, Hispanic, “Latinx,” LGBTQ, and Asian all in the name of “equity,” according to her website. She has also promised to protect Seattle’s status as a sanctuary city and defy President Donald Trump’s administration’s immigration enforcement.
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