Katie Wilson, leading candidate for mayor of Seattle, embraces comparisons to NYC’s Zohran Mamdani

Katie Wilson, the frontrunner in the 2025 Seattle mayoral race, is not shying away from comparisons to New York City’s leading mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist whose platform includes implementing progressive taxes, government-run grocery stores and alternatives to police enforcement.

Community organizer Wilson – co-founder and executive director of the Transit Riders Union, an advocacy group focused on public transit, as well as issues like affordable housing and stronger renter protections – is challenging incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell. Wilson bested Harrell in the August primary and is seen as a strong progressive alternative to the more moderate Harrell.

“In the wake of the election, I think there’s a feeling that that style of Democratic Party politics failed to stop the train wreck that was [President Donald] Trump’s election,” Wilson told The Center Square in a phone interview. “I certainly see the parallels, and I’m very inspired by Mamdani’s race in New York City.”

Wilson and Mamdani are running on platforms that include more affordable transit, more progressive taxes, stronger renter protections, and universal affordable child care.

Wilson said she is fine with being called a Democrat, a socialist, or both, but notes she is not affiliated with the Seattle chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Mamdani, who has served in the New York State Assembly since 2021, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He has been endorsed by prominent progressive politicians, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

"Obviously the affordability crisis is a very strong parallel and commonality between my campaign and Mamdani's campaign,” Wilson said. “We're in this moment where everything is so expensive: housing, childcare, groceries, and I think we're at this point where people who consider themselves middle-class are struggling to make ends meet.”

That’s not to say there is no daylight between the two candidates’ platforms.

"In terms of our goals I think there's commonalities,” Wilson said. “I look at Mamdani's platform and a lot of the issues he's running on are also things that I worked on over the years like free to affordable transit; we want a lot of free and reduced transit programs in the Seattle area.”

Wilson said she wants free and reduced transit programs specifically, whereas Mamdani wants to permanently eliminate bus fares altogether.

“[I helped] establish the highest minimum wage in the country in Tukwila and several other cities, and we want stronger renters' protection, so there's definitely similarity just thematically in the work that I've done over the years and also my platform to what he's running on in New York City as well,” she continued.

Mamdani has proposed raising New York City’s minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030. Wilson has said in previous debates that that is not part of her platform.

The candidates also differ in their approach to rent control. Mamdani is a vocal proponent of a rent freeze in New York City, whereas Wilson supports strengthening tenant protections and limiting rent hikes in Seattle, where a statewide rent control law has recently been enacted.

Wilson told The Center Square that she and Mamdani share a similar vision of expanding public access to affordable or free childcare. Both candidates have linked affordable childcare to broader issues like workers’ wages and the overall cost of living.

Katie Wilson has supported the idea of publicly backed grocery stores in Seattle, drawing parallels to proposals by Mamdani. Wilson has proposed exploring public-option grocery stores to address food deserts.

When it comes to the issue of law enforcement, Wilson and Mamdani share similarities in that both have disavowed past comments to defund the police.

Mamdani has softened his rhetoric on law enforcement. During his New York City mayoral campaign this year, Mamdani described his 2020 statements as being made "out of step" and "at the height of frustration" following the murder of George Floyd.

Wilson, who supported efforts to defund the Seattle Police Department during the 2020 racial justice protests, has more recently said that her views have shifted since 2020. She has said she supports an adequately staffed police department and plans to continue hiring officers. She has also said she intends to expand alternative response services, such as the Community Assisted Response and Engagement, or CARE, department, to handle crises and allow police to focus on violent crime.

While Wilson doesn’t mind comparisons to Mamdani, the same can’t be said of comparisons to Kshama Sawant, the firebrand socialist who served on the Seattle City Council from 2014 until she left office at the end of 2023.

Sawant worked against people during her time on the council, according to Wilson.

“Sawant was very focused on disillusioning people with the Democratic Party, demonstrating that even the most progressive Democrat pretends to be your friend,” Wilson explained.

“It’s really about bringing people together and finding common ground even if we don’t agree on everything,” she added. “I’m very aware that if I’m successful in this race, I’m going to need to build relationships with [the business community].”

Sawant consistently took an oppositional stance toward big business. Her antagonism was based on the belief that corporate profits should be taxed to fund social services for the working class. Major tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft were often targeted by Sawant.

“I’m not a super ideological person,” Wilson told The Center Square. “I want to focus on actually getting things done that make peoples’ lives better.”

Seattle voters will decide who is the city's next mayor on Nov. 4.