Ursula: Mayor Wilson wants to double Seattle’s transit tax — here’s why I’m voting no
Jun 3, 2026, 2:30 PM
Katie Wilson looks out of a window while riding public transit. (Photo courtesy of Katie Wilson's mayoral campaign)
(Photo courtesy of Katie Wilson's mayoral campaign)
At a time when Seattle residents are already paying some of the highest sales taxes in the country, Mayor Katie Wilson is proposing another increase.
The mayor wants to double Seattle’s transit sales tax from .15% to .3% and lock it in for the next 10 years. The money would pay for additional bus service, subsidized ORCA cards, Seattle’s streetcars, and help support future light rail expansion projects.
The city estimates the tax would generate about $138 million a year. If the City Council approves the proposal, voters will decide its fate this November.
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Seriously?
Every time the Mayor speaks, it feels like she’s still campaigning as the co-founder of the Transit Riders Union instead of governing as Mayor of Seattle. One of her first executive orders was to improve the bus route she personally used before becoming mayor. Now she wants this higher tax.
Look around! Families are getting squeezed by housing costs, groceries, utility bills, insurance premiums, and taxes. Businesses are leaving downtown Seattle. Office towers are selling at massive losses. Public confidence in city government — particularly her office — seems to be at an all-time low.
And her answer was: let’s double the transit sales tax and make it for ten years instead of six!
For what? To expand transit service when ridership is still below where it was before the pandemic? Don’t get me wrong. Transit is important. If the buses are overflowing and people are getting left at the curb, that’s one thing.
But that’s not the problem we’re hearing about. Metro’s own data said overcrowding is not currently a major systemwide problem. One real problem is that 35% of riders are skipping paying fares. Maybe address that issue.
The Mayor is also banking on the fact that the current transit measure passed by 80% of the vote in 2020. What has changed to justify doubling the tax now?
I hope the City Council rejects this proposal. At the very minimum, keep the tax at its current rate.
If they don’t, I hope voters reject it. I will be voting no in November.
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