By Erica C. Barnett
For more than a year, records have been trickling into my inbox documenting the astronomical amounts former mayor Bruce Harrell spent to travel in luxury (along with his wife Joanne) while representing the city around the world. One example that I haven’t previously reported: The Harrells bought two business class tickets to Tokyo, at a cost of $10,000 each, for a sister-city meeting in Kobe, Japan in 2023, bringing a large entourage of city staffers with them. (The staffers sat in coach).
The Harrells took another trip to Japan the following year, spending a comparably thrifty $13,000, as I reported late last year. The Harrells even flew in style for short domestic hops—on the high end, they spent $3,500 for two first-class seats to attend two-day event in Columbus, Ohio, while tickets to Washington, D.C. for a three-day event were more than $5,200.
The Harrells paid for the difference between economy and luxury travel, which also included five-star hotels, out of their own deep pockets. Reading over the their travel records in another batch of documents that arrived earlier this year made me wonder: Does Harrell’s successor, Katie Wilson, also travel first-class?
I requested Wilson’s travel records in April, which, her staff confirmed this week, represent all the trips she’s taken so far this year. The records show two trips—a four-day trip to Washington, D.C. for the US Conference of Mayors in January ($600 for one round-trip coach seat on Alaska, plus $332 a night for a standard room at the Marriott), and a three-day trip to Stanford in April ($463 for a round-trip ticket on Alaska, which Wilson’s staff said was reimbursed by the university.)
PubliCola doesn’t have travel records for Harrell’s first year, but during a comparable period—January to mid-July—in 2023, Harrell took at least 10 trips, including international trips to Japan and Norway, totaling at least 51 days out of Seattle over a period of 28 weeks.
When I asked Wilson why she hasn’t taken advantage of her status as mayor to travel in first class, or even comfort economy (Wilson’s seats were all well behind the exit rows economy), she paused, looked at me like I was nuts, and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever flown first class in my life.” I prodded, asking her if she had a miles program or anything. “Honestly, a lot of the time I’ve lived in Seattle—like, we’d go back and visit my parents or something, but we didn’t do a lot of traveling because we didn’t have money.”
So, would the longtime labor organizer just feel weird traveling in first class, as previous mayors have done? Wilson paused again. “I mean…. Why? I don’t—like, why?.” After I awkwardly tried to change the subject, Wilson interjected, “It’s not something I’ve ever considered.”
Wilson does enjoy a window seat and, like me, doesn’t understand why people put the shade down. “I mean—you’re 40,000 feet in the air. Look around!”
Love most of your reporting Erica, but this is weak sauce. Bruce paying for the difference to fly first class was never news, and still isn’t news. It’s what wealthy people (understandably – given how shitty flying has become) do.
With all that is going on, this is news. Shame.
Harrell needed to relax, I mean Stuart Sloan was texting Mayor Harrell on Mayor Harrells vacation about naked Queers next to Sloan’s house at a historic queer nude beach. I mean how could Mayor Harrell deal with all that stress
just you talking about it made me yawn…lol
I am glad Bruce is gone. He sucked. It’s not enough to get full social security as a millionaire. But they want discounts on flights and hotels and cars and everything else. No matter who pays for it, as long as it’s not Bruce. Bruce meditates a lot to compensate. He meditates about how he can help the wealthy get more wealthy and reelection. Helps him relax.
Give her a little time and she’ll be abusing the perks of her office just like the last guy. She may even be worse, given communist leaders are typically massive hypocrites.
Or maybe she’s actually a regular person who’s not into personal extravagance.
Where is it that you saw she’s a communist?
FOX ‘news’ says it alllll the time. ‘news’ max as well.
Don’t you have anything better to do than shit post here? Why don’t you try, I dunno, going outside, helping your neighbors or helping your community out. Maybe you already to these things and I just don’t know, but given the amount of shit posting you do here, I’m guessing you shit post everywhere else, and shit posting takes up a LOT of time. Also, maybe you should work on your biases and preconceived notions and prejudices. Also, do you even live in Seattle? Why do you get the impression you’re some troll who lives on the other side of the state or in Boise or something?
JP dear, I wouldn’t move to Boise. They are rapidly becoming Seattle-lite.
I am getting ready to leave however, after 25 years of paying Seattle property taxes, car registration fees and a bunch of other crap that hasn’t benefited me one iota. The whole state has gotten too red for my liking. And by red, I mean communist of course.
I’ve thought about Idaho (NW corner) but am afraid of the Boise influence, so right now I’m most interested in North or South Dakota.
So your saying he’s a “potatoe?”
Dan Quayle would be proud. It’s the same level of garbage.
“I am getting ready to leave however, after 25 years of paying Seattle property taxes, car registration fees and a bunch of other crap that hasn’t benefited me one iota. ”
Well, since we don’t have a state or city income tax, we have to make up the money somehow . How would you make up the money in order to have a fire or police force, educating kids in schools, etc. (cutting social services doesn’t really do it)?
Every accusation is a confession, as they say.
“If you want to test a person’s character, don’t give them adversity — anyone can stand adversity. Give them power.”
I think Her Honor is going to do just fine but I’m not so sure of her detractors. if everyone who said they were going to leave did, things would get roomy around here.
“Every accusation is a confession, as they say.”
I wasn’t gonna say it…lol…and yes, the thing about “I’ll take my money and move and y’all will be sorry!” My thought is “Like bye”!!!
I want everyone to suck as much money from Seattle as you can hoard. Then take it all with you to a tax haven like Costa Rica or Florida, TX and all the other holes.
I want people to make millions and billions and let it trickle down. We are in a trickle down economy since 1980. Turns out they never let a penny slip through their fingers w/o a fight. Then denigrate you as only worth minimum wages. Thus flat wages for the entire time.
I want them to pay it forward whether their plan is to leave for retirement or stay forever. You can’t run around like locusts. All the time denigrating people who are your neighbors? I say we don’t want them or need them. Let TN. bribe Howie to move. He sold the Sonics because he lost 8 million. Lied about the Billionaire was going to move the Sonics. The fans all knew though. Now they are worth 8-10 billion.
Starswill can completely move forever. Every single shop. That’d be fine. Local shops and new owners will gladly fill the gaps. Better coffee too.
He can suck the cream off of TN. and watch them collapse around him. The cost of living is about to go up. All the cheap homes are going to be bought up. Like ALL of them…lol Housing becomes an investment when that money comes to town. $$$ everywhere…lol
Or maybe you are disappointed she won and you will never see Bruce’s ilk again? Because trickle down Reaganomics doesn’t work. 50 years of it is enough.
I think you simply got to make up stuff to justify your existence. It’s all going to go bad because it’s not going your way?
You can’t bring yourself to say that Katie is making great choices and Bruce abused the system?
Why is MAGA a cult and peoples identity is wrapped up in it. So much so that you feel the need to lash out and call her a hypocrite and so on,,Tie her in with “communist leaders” like what? Vladimir Lenin? He never flew first class either.
You claim she’ll be worse as a forgone conclusion. Once she gets a little power she’ll be a leftist tyrant like Sawant. On and on you people rant. None of it is true. Nor will ever be true. But to disparage the people you disagree with is the go to. And you can’t resist. You gotta put it on paper, forever.
Maybe wait till she “abuses her office” before abusing her and making you look weird and hateful and out of touch. Like really. Completely out of touch with yourself. Stop rage posting and feeding your brain with right wing propaganda? Rage posting is a mental health issue.
People subject to the corrupting influence of power without previous exposure and held to a higher standard due to their annoying ideals and proletarian origins, you mean, as opposed to the usual gang pre-marinated in artisan brews of nepotism and self-dealing, of whom we require nothing better?