Three weeks before the elections for Seattle city council, moderate candidates appeared to be poised for victory.
Voters in every district told pollsters that Seattle was on the "Wrong track," and they expressed an unfavorable opinion of city leadership.
Suddenly, the local election was nationalized, with figures including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren decrying Amazon's "Out-of-control corporate greed" and promoting the message that the Internet retailer was "Trying to tilt the Seattle City Council elections in their favor." The progressive and socialist candidates capitalized on this change, reframing the election as a choice between Amazon and the #Resistance.
Within days, the referendum on a failed city council had been transformed into a referendum on corporate power.
Seattle elected its most liberal city council in history, leaving the business-moderate coalition-which outspent its opponents by a margin of 4-to-1-in tatters.
While the small-town city council in Redmond caters to Microsoft's needs, the city council in Seattle could pose an existential threat to Amazon, which owns billions in real estate and employs more than 40,000 people in the city.
The company has recently embarked on a shopping spree for major real estate in nearby Bellevue, Washington, leading to speculation that it might downsize its Seattle presence-or at least use the threat of departure as leverage against the city council.
https://www.city-journal.org/seattle-progressive-city-council-amazon
Voters in every district told pollsters that Seattle was on the "Wrong track," and they expressed an unfavorable opinion of city leadership.
Suddenly, the local election was nationalized, with figures including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren decrying Amazon's "Out-of-control corporate greed" and promoting the message that the Internet retailer was "Trying to tilt the Seattle City Council elections in their favor." The progressive and socialist candidates capitalized on this change, reframing the election as a choice between Amazon and the #Resistance.
Within days, the referendum on a failed city council had been transformed into a referendum on corporate power.
Seattle elected its most liberal city council in history, leaving the business-moderate coalition-which outspent its opponents by a margin of 4-to-1-in tatters.
While the small-town city council in Redmond caters to Microsoft's needs, the city council in Seattle could pose an existential threat to Amazon, which owns billions in real estate and employs more than 40,000 people in the city.
The company has recently embarked on a shopping spree for major real estate in nearby Bellevue, Washington, leading to speculation that it might downsize its Seattle presence-or at least use the threat of departure as leverage against the city council.
https://www.city-journal.org/seattle-progressive-city-council-amazon
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