‘You can hear the hedging’: KIRO host says Rob Saka is right to be ‘gravely concerned’ about Seattle business, but not bold enough

Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka said in a recent interview with KOMO News that he is “gravely concerned” about the city losing jobs and not having enough employers paying living wages.

KIRO fill-in host Tim Gaydos said that while it was nice to hear a council member speak up, he believes Saka was still holding back what he really wanted to say.

“You can hear the hedging in his voice. You can hear the hedging,” Gaydos said on “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “You know how many times I’ve heard that hedging over the years? People, they’re so concerned, like, ‘Oh gosh, should I actually speak my mind or speak what I think is the truth or common sense, or whatever it is?'”

Following controversy over Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s public encouragement for people not to buy Starbucks products, Saka was asked what message he would send to the coffee giant when he met with them. His response: “We’re open for business.”

“The number one thing we can do to support our business community is create a safe place for their workers, customers, suppliers, partners to gather to work to thrive,” Saka added.

‘Imagine no Amazon, no Microsoft, no Starbucks’: KIRO host says Seattle leaders don’t grasp what businesses bring

Gaydos said he was grateful Saka stood up for businesses, used the words “gravely concerned about our business climate,” and tried to help people understand what businesses bring to Seattle.

“Imagine if we had no Amazon, no Microsoft, no Starbucks, in this region,” Gaydos said. “The people who are running our city right now, they don’t have the ability to actually understand the reality of what they bring and what would happen if they weren’t here.”

But while Gaydos said he appreciated Saka showing support for Seattle businesses, he reiterated that Saka didn’t speak his full mind and urged other leaders to speak theirs.

“I was glad that Rob mentioned that, but you can still hear the hedging in his voice that there’s more there, like he’s got more to say,” Gaydos said. “And I guarantee you, if we were talking to him right now and said, ‘Rob, man, you and me, one on one, I mean, just tell us what you think.’ There’s more there, and we need leaders who are willing to do that if we’re going to make our way out of some of the issues we’ve made.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to John Curley weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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