Seattle's brand-new progressive mayor is already facing panic inside her own party after a fellow Democrat admitted he is now 'gravely concerned' about the future of the city - just weeks after celebrating her election as the start of a bold new era.
The growing alarm exploded into public view after Katie Wilson – Seattle's self-described Democratic Socialist mayor – mocked fears that wealthy residents and major employers could flee Washington state over rising taxes and hostile rhetoric toward big business.
'I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are super overblown,' Wilson said during a forum at Seattle University before delivering a cold sendoff to millionaires fleeing the state: 'And the ones that leave? Like, bye.'
The remark drew laughter and applause from supporters in the room but also sparked outrage far beyond Seattle, growing fears that America's left-wing cities are pushing away companies that helped them build into economic powerhouses.
Now, even some Democrats appear rattled. 'I am gravely concerned,' Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka told the New York Times as anxiety mounted over the city's trajectory and perception Seattle is becoming openly hostile to wealth creators.
'This is real,' Saka cautioned.
The warning landed with particular force because Saka had enthusiastically welcomed Wilson's victory only months earlier after she defeated incumbent mayor Bruce Harrell.
At the time, Saka praised the 'energy she brings to leadership' and said voters were demanding 'change and a renewed focus on affordability, community, and fighting back against a resurgent Trump agenda.'
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson sparked backlash after dismissing fears about wealthy residents leaving Washington State by saying: 'And the ones that leave? Like, bye'
Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka later admitted he was 'gravely concerned' about the city's business climate and corporate departures
He also said he looked forward to working with Wilson to build 'a thriving, inclusive Seattle' focused on working families, universal preschool and safer neighborhoods.
But less than five months into Wilson's tenure, the mood in Seattle's business and political circles has darkened dramatically.
At the center of the turmoil is hometown coffee giant Starbucks, a company intertwined with Seattle's identity for more than half a century.
The company recently announced plans to establish a massive new corporate hub in Nashville, shifting roughly 2,000 corporate jobs into the booming Southern city while simultaneously trimming positions back in Seattle.
According to reports, Starbucks also cut dozens more workers in its technology division at its Seattle headquarters as part of a broader restructuring effort.
The Nashville expansion immediately fueled fears that Seattle may be losing its grip on one of its defining corporate institutions.
Critics say the move symbolizes a broader migration already reshaping America's economic landscape as businesses increasingly drift from high-tax blue states toward lower-tax, business-friendly red states.
Wilson's dismissive 'like, bye' jab only served to fuel such fears.
Starbucks founder Howard Schultz slammed woke Seattle mayor Katie Wilson for driving businesses out of the city and destroying its long history of entrepreneurship
Starbucks is attempting to relocate parts of its Seattle-based workforce, including its North America sourcing team, to Tennessee. Pictured, Starbucks HQ in Seattle, Washington State
The backlash spread rapidly across social media and conservative media outlets, where critics accused the mayor of displaying contempt toward employers and wealthy taxpayers.
Political commentator Brandi Kruse blasted the clip online, writing: 'Seattle's Socialist Mayor responds to exodus of wealth from Washington State by saying 'BYE'... then laughing. We're doomed.'
The Washington State Republican Party declared: 'This clip will live in infamy.'
In another post, the party accused Wilson of caring more about 'toilet ribbon-cutting photo ops than massive capital flight in downtown Seattle.'
The attack referenced a recent Wilson appearance promoting new downtown public restrooms - an event conservatives mocked as businesses continued sounding alarms about the city's economic climate.
Even business leaders who have long aligned politically with Democrats appeared unsettled by the mayor's tone.
Howard Schultz, the longtime Starbucks chief executive and one of Seattle's most influential corporate figures, publicly rebuked Wilson in a Wall Street Journal column.
Schultz accused the mayor of engaging in 'socialist rhetoric' that 'vilifies employers, even while she continues to rely on them for revenue.'
The criticism underscored a widening fracture between Seattle's progressive political leadership and the corporate class that once helped fuel the city's meteoric rise alongside giants like Amazon and Boeing.
Seattle has wrestled with similar fears before.
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In 2018, Amazon temporarily halted plans for a downtown office tower during a bruising political fight over a proposed 'head tax' on large employers meant to fund homelessness services.
Boeing, meanwhile, moved its headquarters away from Seattle years ago before later relocating again to Virginia.
Now, critics fear another slow corporate unraveling could already be underway.
Washington state as a whole appears to be embracing more aggressive progressive tax policies.
Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson recently signed what critics describe as Washington's first true state income tax - a new 'millionaire's tax' imposing a 9.9 percent levy on households earning more than $1 million annually.
Supporters say the measure is necessary to address inequality and fund public services. Opponents warn it risks accelerating the flight of wealth, investment and corporate expansion.
Seattle's affordability crisis has only deepened the tension.
The median home price in Seattle recently hovered around $860,000, nearly double that of Nashville, while downtown office vacancies and remote work continue to batter the city's commercial core.
Schultz, a billionaire who would have been targeted by Wilson's wealth tax, said in his op-ed that the socialist mayor has got her understanding of how businesses thrive backwards
Schultz shared a scathing op-ed in the Wall Street Journal explaining why he has shifted much of Starbucks' corporate base to Tennessee, blaming Wilson for 'fracturing' Seattle's business culture
Last month, the Columbia Tower Club, a longtime gathering place for executives and civic leaders atop Seattle's tallest skyscraper, shut its doors after more than four decades.
The club cited declining downtown activity and shrinking office traffic in yet another sign of a city struggling to hold onto its business identity.
Wilson also insists she is learning and adapting.
The mayor later acknowledged that her comments about wealthy residents leaving the state had backfired.
'Those comments were not productive in the sense that they caused more harm than good,' Wilson admitted in an interview with The Seattle Times.
She said she now understands that every public remark from a mayor can become a lightning rod and insisted she wants 'a multidimensional relationship' with major employers like Starbucks.
'I want them here,' Wilson said of the coffee giant. 'And I believe they want to be here.'