From the CEO

At a time when there is continuing chaos emanating from the other Washington, the voice of voters here at home is clear: Seattleites don’t want the Trump Administration to take us backwards, and they don’t want to give an inch on the progress we have made on addressing local issues like public safety.

In our recently released installment of The Index, voters are recognizing the forward movement that has been made on addressing quality-of-life issues like public safety, homelessness, and downtown revitalization. While we still face challenges, we saw the overall Index rating hit 4.75, the highest it has been since we began this research in 2021, indicating voters are feeling more optimistic. In fact, 66% of voters said they are optimistic about the future of the region – up five points from October, and half of voters say things in the city of Seattle are on the right track – also the highest we have seen since 2021.

Voters want leaders to continue to make progress on the issues most important to them: 89% say the city should take care of basics like filling potholes, and 80% want to maintain progress on public safety. At the same time, they want city leaders to hold the line against federal overreach from Trump Administration actions that don’t align with our values: 67% believe we should be protecting progressive values like social justice, equity, and inclusivity and 72% believe we should be aggressively standing up to the Trump Administration including joining lawsuits against the administration when it overreaches.

The economy is front and center for many Americans, and that is true here in Seattle as well. Seattleites are deeply concerned about economic actions coming from the Trump Administration, with 90% worried that national economic policies will lead to a recession and 84% indicating they are more concerned about their personal economic situation since President Donald Trump took office.

Voters, too, are clear about what they want to see leaders do in the face of these economic uncertainties: 76% want leaders to incentivize businesses to create good jobs, and 81% want to see our local economy protected by lowering the cost to start and run a business in Seattle.

To us, this data paints a clear picture: resisting the Trump Administration can take many forms, but here in Seattle, resistance looks like protecting our economy, operationalizing our values, and maintaining a great quality of life. Continuing to foster the Seattle we want is the best way to resist any moves to take us backwards.

And the clearest evidence of that? Six in 10 voters agree with the following statement: “we can’t go back … the city is finally making progress” on things like reducing encampments, drug markets, and public safety, and while we absolutely must fight Trump, we can’t let that chaos distract us from this progress.

I would encourage public officials, candidates for office, and community leaders to take note: messages only about fighting Trump, or policy positions to roll back gains in public safety or taking actions that will make it more expensive to run a business and create jobs – that’s not the resistance voters are looking for.

Rather, we should maintain our forward momentum and keep making progress.

Relentlessly yours,
Rachel

Rachel Smith (she/her/hers)
President & CEO
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