ECHOS OF OUR CHILDREN GETS BEHIND KATIE WILSON
The South End Speaks: Community Power Rallies Behind Katie Wilson
When Seattle’s south end began searching for real leadership—voices that would listen, connect, and act—community organizations rose to the moment. Echoes of Our Children, Black Excellence in Cannabis, and Emerald City Collective formed an unexpected alliance, working behind the scenes and around the clock to build support for Katie Wilson in the mayoral race.
These groups have something that political consultants don’t: direct reach to the poor, the unheard, and the disenfranchised. Their organizing didn’t start in campaign offices—it started in church basements, daycare centers, living rooms, dispensaries, and community kitchens. They spoke to people the city had ignored for too long. They knocked on doors where politics had never gone. They organized with urgency and purpose—but above all, with heart.
Why They Chose Katie Wilson
Katie Wilson didn’t step into the south end to take photos—she came to listen. While some politicians appear when the cameras do, Wilson showed up quietly and consistently. She asked questions and—unlike her predecessor—waited for the answers. Grassroots leaders saw that difference immediately.
“Bruce Harrell treated people as if they were beneath him,”
said Donnitta Sinclair, president of Echoes of Our Children.
“He failed to connect with the very people that got him elected.”
The sentiment was wide and deep. For many, the disappointment wasn’t just political—it was personal. The promises Bruce Harrell made to south-end families never turned into action, and the distance between City Hall and the communities who elected him only grew wider.
Keshia McGee, treasurer of Echoes of Our Children, did not mince words:
“Bruce Harrell never built a bridge between the south end and the Central District. I call him ‘Non-Action Bruce.’”
She continued,
“Katie Wilson didn’t dodge that responsibility. She pleged to do more in the bridge-building that we’ve been waiting on for years.”
The Organizing Power
Black Excellence in Cannabis and Emerald City Collective—both rooted in economic justice and community recovery—mobilized like seasoned field generals. They used dispensaries as information hubs, social media as rally points, and neighborhood leaders as ambassadors. Community volunteers ran voter drives, informational sessions, and town halls that were more honest than anything coming out of City Hall.
For too long, Seattle praised its diversity but failed to invest in it. These organizations refused to accept silence as the status quo. They turned political disengagement into political power by bringing politics back to the people.
The Message Was Clear
We don’t need a mayor who visits the community.
We need one who is part of it.
Katie Wilson became that candidate—not by slogan, but by action. And that is why the south end moved for her. Not for a political party. Not for a promise. But for presence.
A New Era of Accountability
This movement is more than a campaign—it is a warning. The days of dismissing working-class voices are ending. The communities that have long been talked about are now speaking for themselves—and they are doing it with coordination, strategy, and purpose.
Now elected, Katie Wilson has now inherit the city.
She has inherit the expectations of the people who built her path to City Hall.
That is not a burden.
That is the beginning of a new standard in Seattle.
The Map speaks truth.
