MYNORTHWEST NEWS

130 Seattle executives sign letter opposing head tax

May 8, 2018, 4:21 PM | Updated: 4:45 pm

head tax, Amazon...

(AP Photo)

(AP Photo)

Amazon, Zillow, and Dick’s have already voiced their opposition and now 130 more executives in Seattle have signed an open letter to the city council resisting a proposed head tax.

Zillow slams ‘head tax’ and may grow outside of Seattle

“The City Council’s proposal for a “head tax” is not a solution,” the business leaders say in a letter posted on Medium. Instead, they’d like to see the city council engage them in more dialogue and craft a plan that doesn’t punish entrepreneurs.

The letter even suggests learning from other cities in the same situation and then using the best ideas. They suggest joining forces and showing the world what Seattle is capable of.

Committee vote on head tax delayed after Amazon threat

According to Medium, the following executives signed the letter:

Aaron Bird, Bizible, Founder & CEO
Aaron Easterly, Rover.com, CEO
Adam Selipsky, Tableau, CEO
Adam Wray, AstrumU, CEO
Andy Dale, Montlake, Capital Managing Partner
Andy Liu, Unlock Venture Partners, Partner
Andy Sack, Founders Co-op, Co-founder
Arif Kareem, Extrahop, CEO
Barry Crist, Chef Software, CEO
Ben Slivka, Dreambox, Founder
Bill Owens, Red Bison LLC, Co-founder
Bill Richter, Qumulo, CEO
Bob Kelly, Ignition Partners, Managing Partner
Bob Nelsen, Arch Venture Partners, Managing Director
Bob Ratliffe, Silver Creek Capital, President
Brad C Kleinfelder, Plateau Software, Inc., Founder
Brad Jackson, Slalom Consulting, CEO
Brad Silverberg, Fuel Capital, Co-founder
Brad Tilden, Alaska Airlines, CEO
Brent Frei, Smartsheet & TerraClear, Founder
Bryan Trussel, Glympse, Founder & Chairman
Chad Robins, Adaptive Biotechnologies, Founder & CEO
Chia Chin Lee, BigBox VR, Inc., CEO
Chris Ackerley, Ackerley Partners, Partner
Chris DeVore, Founders’ Co-op, Managing Partner
Chris Jostol, Mechanical Sales, Inc., President
Christopher Young, ChefSteps, Co-founder & CEO
Clayton Lewis, Arivale, CEO
Dan Lewis, Convoy, CEO
Dan Sheeran, Healthslate, CEO
Dan Todd, Influence Mobile, CEO
Daryn Nakhuda, Mighty AI, CEO
Dave Cotter, MessageYes, CEO
Dave Parker, DKParker, LLC, Managing Partner
David Naffziger, BrandVerity, Inc., CEO
Dawn LePore, Drugstore.com, Former CEO
Dhiren Fonseca, Centares, Partner
Doug Ray, HarborTech Mobility Inc, Founder & President
Doug Sackville, Commercial Office Interiors, President
Dylan Dias, Neal Analytics, CEO & Managing Consultant
Ed Lazowska, University of Washington CSE, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair
Eric Anderson, Planetary Holdings, Chairman
Ethan Caldwell, Marchex, Co-founder
François Locoh-Donou, F5 Networks, CEO
Galen Smith, Redbox, CEO
Grant Canary, DroneSeed, CEO
Grant Ries, LiveRamp B2B, CEO
Greg Gottesman, Pioneer Square Labs, Co-Founder
Hadi Partovi, Code.org, Founder & CEO
Hans Bjordahl, Culture Foundry, CEO
Heather Redman, Flying Fish Partners, Co-Founder & Managing Director
J Scott Codespoti, Paradoxes, Inc., Founder & CEO
Jason LaBaw, Bonsai Media Group, CEO
Jason Leekeenan, TraceMe, CEO
Jay Reitz, Axon, Seattle Office Lead
Jeff Hussey, Tempered Networks, Inc., CEO
Jeff Malek, Code Fellows, CEO
Jesse Proudman, Strix Leviathan, CEO
Jim Gaherity, Coinstar, CEO
Jim O’Brien, O’Brien Business GRP, CEO
Joe Heitzeberg, CrowdCow, CEO
John Connors, Ignition Partners, Managing Partner
John Gabbert, Pitchbook, CEO
John Maffei, Matcherino, CEO
John Stanton, Trilogy Partners, Founder
Jon Matsuo, Koverse, CEO
Jon Roskill, Acumatica, CEO
Jonathan Sposato, PicMonkey, Founder & Chairman
Kendall Kunz, Forms On Fire, Inc., Founder & CEO
Kevin Gemeroy, Dynamic Computing, CEO
Kiran Bhageshpur, Igenous, CEO
Kirby Winfield, Ascend.vc, Managing Member
Kristen Hamilton, Koru, Co-founder & CEO
Kurt Shintaffer, Apptio, CFO
Lauren Neiswender, Blue Nile, General Counsel
Manny Medina, Outreach, CEO
Mark Britton, Avvo, Founder & CEO
Mark Hadland, Level 11, CEO
Mark Liffmann, Omnidian, Inc., CEO
Mark Okerstrom, Expedia, CEO
Mark W. Meyer, CodeSmart, Inc., President
Mary Snyder, Seattle Luxury Homes, Founding Partner
Matt McIlwain, Madrona Venture Group, Managing Director
Michael Schutzler, WTIA, CEO
Mike Howell, Dolly, CEO
Mike Metzger, Payscale, CEO
Nancy Heen, Axelerate, LLC, CEO
Nick Huzar, OfferUp, CEO
Nikesh Parekh, Suplari, CEO & Co-Founder
Oren Etzioni, Allen Institute for AI, CEO
Paula Reynolds, Prefer West, CEO
Peder Schmitz, Columbia Pacific Wealth Management, Co-founder
Penny Milliken, HeR Interactive, CEO
Pete Christothoulou, Inspo Network, Co-founder & CEO
Peter Hamilton, TUNE, CEO
Peter Neupert, Adaptive Biotech, Fred Hutch, LabCorp, Board Director
Rahul Sood, Unikrn, CEO
Raj Singh, Accolade, CEO
Raja Narayana, Aditi, CEO
Rob Eleveld, Whitepages, Inc., CEO
Rob Glaser, RealNetworks, Chairman & CEO
Rob Lilleness, SmartLabs, CEO
Robbie Cape, 98point6, Co-founder & CEO
Robert Lehr, Evergreen ID Systems, President
Robert Nelsen, Arch Venture Partners, Managing Director
Rudy Gadre, Founders Co-op, General Partner
Sean Muller, iSpot.tv, CEO
Sethu Kalavakur, Tavour, CEO
Shauna Swerland, Youssefnia Fuel Talent, CEO
Sheila Gulatti, Tola Capital, Managing Director
Spyro Kourtis, The Hacker Group, CEO
Sridhar Chandrashekar, Optio3, Inc., Co-founder & CEO
Srikant Vemparala, 9Logic Technologies, President
Stead Burwell, Swisslog Healthcare, EVP
Steinar Sande, Raima Incorporated, CEO
Steve Banfield, ReachNow, CEO
Steve Murch, BigOven, CEO
Steve Shivers, Doxo, CEO
Steve Singh, Docker, Chairman & CEO
Sujal Patel, Isilon Systems & Ignite Bio, Founder & CEO
Sunny Gupta, Apptio, CEO
Ted Ackerley, Ackerley Partners, Managing Partner
Terry Drayton, Livible, Founder & CEO
Thomas Gobeille, NCA, President & CEO
Thor Culverhouse, Skytap, CEO
Tim Sooter, Legal+Plus Software Group, Inc., CEO
Todd Hooper, Vreal, Inc., Founder & CEO
Todd Owens, Azuqua, CEO
Tom Alberg, Madrona Venture Group, Managing Director
Tom Serry, RealSelf, Founder & CEO
Tom Taft, Laurel Group, Managing Partner

MyNorthwest News

Photo: In this Dec. 27, 2012, file photo, a variety of military-style semi-automatic rifles obtaine...

James Lynch

State commissioner to decide on high-capacity magazine ban

The Washington State Commissioner held a hearing on whether the ban on high-capacity magazines should be lifted while the full court considers the matter.

10 hours ago

An SPD vehicle....

Julia Dallas

Seattle police shoot, kill man suspected of committing crimes against children

A man suspected of committing crimes against children was killed by Seattle police inside a hotel in Tukwila Wednesday afternoon.

11 hours ago

Image: A man got beaten and robbed in broad daylight in Seattle at Cal Anderson Park on Sunday, Apr...

Bill Kaczaraba

Video of man getting knocked out, robbed in Seattle goes viral; Gee and Ursula respond

A disturbing video has gone viral of a man getting knocked out and robbed by a small group of people on Capitol Hill Sunday.

14 hours ago

The logo for Boeing appears on a screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exc...

Heather Bosch

Whistleblower: Boeing involved in ‘criminal cover-up’

A Boeing whistleblower testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee claiming the company is involved in a "criminal cover-up."

14 hours ago

Photo: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is sworn-in before the House Committee on Hom...

the MyNorthwest Staff with wire reports

Senate dismisses two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security secretary, ends trial

The Senate dismissed impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, as Republicans pushed to remove him.

15 hours ago

antisemitic...

Frank Sumrall

Antisemitic instances up 800% nationally, 300% in Washington

ADL reported there has been more than an 800% increase in antisemitic incidents across the country over the last decade.

17 hours ago

130 Seattle executives sign letter opposing head tax