Here at the Chamber, we work hard to be a strong voice for business and a force for positive change.
We use our voice to advocate for you and to make the business community’s position on the issues clear. And the good news is, people are paying attention to what we say, and what we say is changing the narrative.
Importantly, you – our members – are paying attention. But also, elected officials and candidates for office are paying attention. The media is paying attention. And the narrative is changing.
Headlines about defunding the police have been replaced by headlines about the right number of officers, what alternatives we need, and what reforms we all know are necessary.
Emphasis on the economic importance of downtown Seattle, and what really drives prosperity in our region, is growing – the voters already know it, and leaders are catching up.
The idea that new taxes alone are a magic wand to cure what ails us, is fading.
And maybe most consequentially – the idea that the business community is somehow to blame for our regional challenges is not the prevailing opinion.
That change in narrative didn’t happen because of a marketing campaign, or a new logo, or a popular spokesperson: it changed because we are doing the work; leading with data and facts.
One example: for nine months I participated in a city-convened Revenue Stabilization Work Group, and during that time we combed through the data and analyzed the numbers. And as a result, what we know is that Seattle has collected new taxes totaling over $1 billion between 2021 and 2023, General Fund revenues have grown every year for a decade, and the city’s spending has outpaced those growing revenues. If the city has a problem, the data would suggest it has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.
I have not been shy about my perspective, which is informed by nearly 15 years working in local government. Budgeting is about making choices, continuously improving, and prioritizing – not defaulting to the status quo and doing everything you have always done in the same way and then adding to it. Downtown Seattle Association President and CEO Jon Scholes and I were clear about this in our latest op-ed in The Seattle Times.
On Tuesday it was refreshing to see Mayor Bruce Harrell’s budget proposal make the right adjustments to deliver on voter priorities with investments in public safety, homelessness and generating more economic activity – especially in our region’s economic engine, downtown Seattle. Importantly, the Mayor’s proposal does not call for any new revenues to balance the budget.
We hope the Seattle City Council will do the same, using taxpayer dollars in a way that reflects voter priorities and is focused on delivering results.
And after these budget adjustments are passed, we all need to focus on managing the city’s impending deficit by getting spending under control, prioritizing existing revenues to meet the city’s highest priorities – including public safety and drug use – and increasing the city’s tax base by making it easier to do business here.
Your Chamber is tracking the city’s budget and working with elected officials to make Seattle a good place to do business – so that you can focus your time on running your business.
As one of our consultants is fond of saying: your Chamber is fully plugged into the matrix – taking action on behalf of this business community every day.
And our pace is fast. We have meetings with local, regional, state, and federal officials nearly every single day, and that doesn’t include the marathon of calls, texts, meetings with staff, events, and press conferences.
We are gathering the intel, hashing out the strategy when we are aligned, and pushing back or negotiating a compromise when we are not.
No matter what discussions arise during the city of Seattle’s budgeting process in the coming weeks, know that your Chamber is your champion, and we are relentlessly advocating on behalf of you, your employees and your business.
Onward,
Rachel
Rachel Smith
President and CEO