Saturday: Join Seattle Bike Blog and friends for a bicycle rally on car-free Lake Washington Blvd to support Katie Wilson for mayor
Winning over 50% of the vote in an eight-person primary and beating incumbent Bruce Harrell by nearly 10 percentage points, Katie Wilson is the clear front-runner to win the vote for Seattle mayor in November. Seattle Bike Blog endorsed Wilson in July, but even I did not heed my own advice from April when I wrote, Don't underestimate Katie Wilson." Going into the primary, I thought she had a good chance to be essentially tied with Harrell, and I would have considered that a good outcome since she has less name recognition and the general election usually has a larger and younger turnout than the primary. I was camping in Colorado on election night, and I was able to get just enough internet access to see the results. My spouse Kelli and I yelped and cheered and broke into dance when we saw she was winning.
It is very rare that we get a chance to elect a genuine grassroots community-builder like Katie Wilson to a lofty office like Seattle mayor, and we cannot take anything for granted. You better believe that there are monied interests in this town who wrote her off before the primary and are currently deciding how to respond. We cannot make the mistake of letting up until the November ballots are in. We need to build a wide base of community support that no well-funded smear campaign can topple.
So in a first for Seattle Bike Blog, we and a group of safe streets supporters including Braeden Van Deynze, Jason Rock, Dalan Angelo and more are hosting a bicycle rally to support Katie Wilson's run for mayor. Join us on a car-free Lake Washington Boulevard Saturday! We will host a bike-decorating station starting at 11 a.m. near 43rd Ave S so you can deck out your bike in some hot campaign-supporting livery followed by a slow, family-friendly two-mile group ride to Seward Park at 11:45. Afterwards, form a small crew to canvass along the route, talking to folks about why you support Katie Wilson for mayor and helping them donate or otherwise get connected with the campaign. If you've never participated in a campaign canvassing event before, this could be a great entry point. We're hoping for a day of smiling, cheering, biking and walking.
You can register in advance online (this site also includes other campaign workshops and events you can join), though anyone who shows up will be welcome to join. Details from the event listing:
Why is Seattle Bike Blog doing this?Meet other neighbors and families excited about Katie Wilson's campaign for mayor during Bicycle Weekend!
No bike? No problem! All are welcome!
When & Where:
August 23, 2025
11:00a Decoration Station and Orientation - 43rd Ave S and Lake Washington Blvd S
11:45a Bike Parade - Departure towards Seward Park
12:30p Canvassing Breakouts - From Seward Park
Activities
Bike Decorating, Sign Making, and Orientation Station! We will provide snacks, beverages, shade, plus materials for decorating your bike, making cool signs, and canvassing later in the afternoon! No bike? No problem! Make a cool sign and get campaign materials for canvassing here.
Bike Parade! We will ride at a family-friendly no drop pace along the southern two-miles of Lake Washington Blvd S, car-free for Bicycle Weekends.
Canvassing! We will pair up with new friends and station ourselves along Lake Washington Blvd S to share our enthusiasm about Katie's campaign with our neighbors.
What to Bring:
- Sunscreen
- Your bike, or not! Walkers and rollers welcome!
- Your family and neighbors
- A positive attitude and enthusiasm for Katie Wilson for Mayor!
This is a pivotal moment in Seattle history. Wilson is creating a new path to power in our city, and that doesn't happen very often. Seattle used to have long mayoral dynasties, but we've been stuck since Ed Murray on vaguely centrist, corporate-backed mayors who have been disconnected from the people. Seattle voters keep electing them and then hating how disconnected they are. We are a city in search of another way, and I believe Katie Wilson is it. As we wrote in April, The previous two more lefty challengers for mayor got creamed with Cary Moon losing to Jenny Durkan 43-56 (a gap of 27,191 votes) in 2017 and Lorena Gonzalez losing to Bruce Harrell 41-59 (a gap of 46,162 votes) in 2021. There's no well-worn political lane Wilson can take to win, but it would be a mistake to underestimate her." In the lower-turnout primary, Wilson is leading Harrell 51-41 (a gap of 18,500 votes) as of the nearly-complete August 15 count, the most recent as of press time.
We do not know how the primary results will translate to the general election because we do not have a good comparison race to use a predictor. In 2021, Gonzalez and Harrell were essentially tied in the low 30s after a wide-open primary, but then Harrell surged to win nearly 59% of the general election vote. Did Wilson just do a great job of getting her supporters to turn out in the primary? Or does that primary result show her actual level of support among the electorate? We don't honestly know yet, which is why we gotta make sure we keep spreading the word to win more voters and get her across the line in November.
So that's why Seattle Bike Blog is helping to host a political campaign event for the first time ever. If there were ever a time to go all-in on a mayoral candidate, it's now. I also encourage Washington Bikes and Transportation for Washington to join us and endorse Katie Wilson so we are all in this new people-powered movement for the future of our city together.