There is a growing assumption in Seattle political circles that attacking big business is politically popular. You hear versions of it all the time: big companies are the problem, business and progressive values are somehow in conflict. Repeat an idea enough times and eventually it starts sounding like truth.
The problem is that politics has a way of creating its own reality. Too often, people end up campaigning for the city they see on social media while voters are living in the one they experience every day.
That is one of the reasons I love the Chamber’s Index. It gives us a chance to test assumptions against reality.
Twice a year we ask Seattle voters what they actually think about the city, where it is headed, what worries them and what they want leaders to prioritize. The latest Index just came out and if you care about the future of Seattle, I would encourage you to spend a few minutes with it because some of the findings genuinely surprised me.
Because when you move beyond headlines and online narratives and ask people what they think, a very different picture starts to emerge. The results tell a story that feels very different from our political discourse.
Seattle voters are not asking leaders to choose between progressive values and economic growth. They are not demanding a fight between business and government.
They are asking us to stop arguing and start delivering.
The biggest surprise may be around business. We tested a factual statement explaining the role large employers play in Seattle’s economy: that they generate tax revenue, create good-paying jobs, bring people downtown, and support thousands of small businesses that rely on the broader ecosystem around them. Nearly three quarters of Seattle voters agreed.
Read that again.
In Seattle. 73% of voters agreed that large businesses are essential.
That finding is eye opening because it exposes a gap between what political insiders often assume and what voters are saying. There is a sentiment in some circles that being anti-business is politically safe territory. That voters want leaders to pick a side and that side is against large employers. But the data suggests something much more nuanced.
Seattle voters understand ecosystems.
They understand that an office tower is not just an office tower. It is the coffee shop downstairs. It is the restaurant owner hoping for lunch customers. It is the daycare provider, the transit rider, the small business owner and the tax base that funds parks, public safety and services.
People understand something else too: if businesses struggle, eventually everyone feels it.
More than 70 percent of voters agree businesses are leaving or closing because the cost of doing business has become too high, and nearly two thirds say city leaders are not doing enough to make Seattle a good place to do business.
Now before anyone jumps to conclusions, Seattle voters have not suddenly become anti-progressive or dare I say more conservative.
Not even close.
Voters still overwhelmingly support building more housing. Most continue to believe growth has been a positive force. Seattle remains deeply committed to inclusion, equity, and caring for vulnerable communities.
Seattle is still Seattle. The values have not changed.
But what may be changing is patience.
There is a tendency in our politics to act like there is a contradiction between being progressive and supporting business. I have never really understood that framing because progressive goals depend on a thriving economy.
If you want to support workers, you need jobs for them to work in.
If you want to tax the rich, you need rich people to tax.
If you want world class schools, public transit, affordable housing, climate action, and a stronger safety net, you need an economy capable of sustaining and funding those ambitions.
There is no contradiction.
Progressive outcomes require economic outcomes. You cannot separate the two.
That may be why the most interesting finding in the Index has less to do with ideology and more to do with expectations. Fifty-two percent of voters say quality of life is getting worse. Three out of four worry about downtown’s future. More than half have considered moving out of Seattle.
But here is what makes this moment important: eighty percent still say they are proud to call themselves Seattleites.
People love this place.
They love the mountains, neighborhoods, diversity, culture, and values that make Seattle special. They are not giving up on Seattle. If anything, they are asking for something much simpler and much harder of leaders:
Show results.
Fix roads and parks. Address public safety. Make housing more affordable. Protect jobs.
Make progress visible.
In game theory, there is a concept called The Prisoner’s Dilemma. Two groups acting in their own self-interest can create outcomes that leave everyone worse off.
Sometimes Seattle feels like that.
Business sees rising costs and uncertainty and pulls back. Government sees frustration and inequality and grows more skeptical of business. Everyone starts playing defense and everyone loses.
But Seattle voters seem to be saying something very different.
Stop playing the game.
Work together and deliver outcomes.
Seattle does not have a values problem. We know what kind of city we want to be. The real question is whether we can work together well enough to deliver results people can see and feel.
Because the future of this region will not be decided by who wins the loudest argument. It will be decided by whether we can still solve problems, build things and move forward together.
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