‘It’s not going the right direction’: Seattle legend Scott Fitzsimmons shares what finally drove his businesses out of WA

Scott Fitzsimmons has called Washington home for decades. He once hit a home run at the Kingdome, did a backflip on home plate, and won a car he still drives with the license plate “I-1THIS.” Now he’s selling two properties, moving his businesses to Arizona, and becoming a resident there within weeks.

Fitzsimmons told “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio that he’s been planning the move since 2019 and that a series of problems has finally driven him out.

“This is not a very fun place to do business,” he said. “It’s just terrible, as far as the estate tax, and traffic, and just everything. It’s not going in the right direction.”

Fitzsimmons said the decision has been hard on his family, as Washington is their home, and it feels like they’re getting kicked out.

“It’s always been my home, and many people like this, but I just, I worked so hard to get to a certain point in my career, and I just don’t want it stolen,” he said.

Scott Fitzsimmons calls out Seattle mayor, Gov. Ferguson

Fitzsimmons added that although he’s taking a small loss by selling his properties, he’s moving to a place where he’ll feel appreciated. He pointed to both city and state leadership as part of the problem.

“Look at who we got running Seattle, my goodness, most incompetent person I think I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Ferguson just keeps coming at us with more and more stuff every day. I don’t even know what he’s done that’s good for us. I can’t think of anything.”

Even with his grievances about leadership and high taxes, Fitzsimmons said he can’t bring himself to leave Washington completely.

“We’re always going to have a finger here in the state, but most of our businesses, and I’m selling two properties right now, so we’re on our way out, but we’re still always going to have one little place here,” he said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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