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: Public Health is investigating a potential measles outbreak....

Julia Dallas

King County Public Health monitoring potential measles case

Last week, the WA Dept. of Health informed Public Health that a group of travelers visiting Seattle were exposed to people with measles.

11 hours ago

Photo: Sequim....

Nate Connors

Annual Washington Coast Cleanup looking for volunteers ahead of Earth Day

The Washington Coast Cleanup is held every year on the Saturday before Earth Day. This year it's Saturday, April 22.

13 hours ago

Photo: A Pierce County teacher was arrested in connection to child molestation....

Julia Dallas

Pierce County elementary school teacher arrested in connection to child molestation

According to the sheriff's department, a student at Evergreen Elementary School in Lake Bay made a report to deputies on February 26.

13 hours ago

Basil is seen in grocery store. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)...

Bill Kaczaraba

Trader Joe’s recall: Salmonella found in basil

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a food safety alert following an outbreak of Salmonella infections.

14 hours ago

Photo: A new vending machine at an Arlington high school is offering students free meals....

Julia Dallas

Arlington school breaks barriers one vending machine meal at a time

Weston High School now offers a vending machine with free breakfast or lunch for students who miss a meal.

14 hours ago

The WNBA's Seattle Storm opens new facility in Interbay. (Seattle Storm X post)...

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer

Seattle Storm unveil new Interbay practice facility, alternative uniforms

SEATTLE (AP) — Alisha Valavanis walked around as the new performance center for the Seattle Storm was unveiled on Thursday filled mostly with joy and a little sadness. The joy for the CEO of the Storm — who has been with the team for nearly a decade — came from helping bring to completion the […]

15 hours ago

130 Seattle executives sign letter opposing head tax