‘Clean up on aisle three’: Jake, Spike question if backtracking Mayor Wilson can recover from Starbucks comments

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is now walking back some of her recent comments toward the age-old Seattle-based coffee maker, Starbucks, after the company announced its plans to move its headquarters to Nashville.

Wilson changed her stance on the matter, noting that the comments were unproductive and had caused more harm than good to the city.

Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, questioned whether Wilson’s change of heart can help repair any of the damage that’s been made, or if some of the city’s biggest businesses can see the proof in the pudding.

“Here’s a question: what do you think Starbucks response is going to be?” Jake asked. “Do you think it’s possible? She’s out there saying those comments were not productive, causing more harm than good. Would a company like Starbucks rethink its position after hearing such a strong apology?”

“Well, she did take the time to get a band with strings and backup singers,” Spike said. “Will it have a bearing on the future of Starbucks’ position in Washington, specifically Seattle? Maybe. There’s authenticity and truth in their statement that we’re always going to be here at home. We said this in the past, it’s like your room at your mom’s house will always have your lacrosse trophies in it, but you’re not raising your family there.”

Wilson’s comments that went national, the fallout that followed

In response to Wilson’s quote at Seattle University, where she said, “claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are like super overblown,” and saying “bye” to millionaires leaving, Jake warned politicians to be careful of what they say after her comments went national.

“[Wilson’s] got a bunch of classics, and it’s catching up to her,” Jake said. “Now, she’s trying to clean up on aisle three. She’s saying those comments were not productive in the sense that they caused more harm than good. That’s what comments do when you have a leader of a city who says ridiculous things like this when asked about millionaires leaving.

“She’s got this little comment that draws attention and claps, even though there was kind of a tepid response,” Jake continued. “It drew a minor applause from the people who were there to watch her, but how that traveled around the world, that is why you have to be so careful as a politician. Words do matter; you can do a lot of damage. Be careful with what you say, especially for a leader in a city like Seattle.”

Spike piggybacked on that sentiment, arguing that Wilson’s inexperience contributed to the “stupidity” of the decision to make those statements, but also said her administration should’ve had someone speak up and advise against it.

“In a culture where everything you say is forever, and information travels faster than the speed of stupidity, that message has gone global,” Spike said. “The mayor was brand new, inexperienced, and we all knew that was going to be a shortcoming, if not downfall, of this mayor and administration, and the ability to get anything done. It’s great if you’re a socialist running for mayor and you’ve got a labor issue in your town, you want to show solidarity with the labor movement in your city, that’s on brand, but, somebody in that office should have been able to tell her, ‘You don’t go out there and tell the city to boycott one of its foundational industries.'”

Did Wilson really push Starbucks out, or is there a bigger story?

Jake and Spike questioned whether Wilson’s comments carried enough weight to push the world’s largest coffee brand out of its hometown, or whether another player could have had a hand in the company packing up and moving its headquarters to Nashville.

“I don’t want to allow the narrative to be pirated by the mayor’s inexperience, poor judgment, dare I say, naivete bordering on stupidity,” Spike said. “That move to Nashville is so much bigger than whatever comes out of Mayor Katie Wilson’s mouth. That corporate relocation of corporate assets to a more tax-friendly environment, it’s got deeper roots and poorer decisions by stronger people with bigger desks than Katie Wilson’s.”

“She’s definitely a part of it, but yeah, you’re absolutely right. It’s all of the lawmakers in Washington,” Jake said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.