Sara Nelson Backed Into a Corner: Seattle Shield Initiative Forces a Choice Between Her Small Biz Rhetoric and Her Big Biz Donors

Council Member Alexis Mercedes Rinck is making Council President Sara Nelson sweat.

Rinck and Mayor Bruce Harrell’s Seattle Shield Initiative would temporarily cut Business & Occupation taxes for 90% of Seattle businesses while hiking the rate for the city’s largest corporations. The policy is projected to raise $90 million for essential services. 

And it’s doing more than raising revenue — it’s breaking the spell. The usual business coalition is divided, and corporate-backed politicians like Nelson are backed into a corner. For years, they’ve hidden behind crocodile tears for the plight of small business owners when they actually just shut down new taxes to protect their ultra-wealthy, corporate donors. Seattle Shield exposes that lie — and dares Nelson, as she faces a well-positioned progressive challenger, to pick a side.

As Jordan Crawley said on behalf of his family’s small business in West Seattle, “For too long, small businesses have bought the narrative sold to them by huge corporations and more conservative policymakers that shielding the wealth from sharing equitably and community investments is the only path to prosperity. Budgets have been balanced on the backs of the working class. Wealth has evaporated out of our communities and none of it has ever trickled down. And it never will. Economies grow when small businesses thrive when communities are supported through sustained, reliable public investment.” 

In Wednesday’s meeting of the City Council’s Finance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee, Nelson appeared frantic. Well, more so than usual. She opened by questioning who actually proposed the policy. Committee Chair Dan Strauss reminded her that the committee would treat Rinck and the Mayor’s Office as co-sponsors, so she could address her questions to both of them. 

Let’s be honest: it’s Rinck’s brainchild—but Harrell’s playing the “dad who stepped up.” Maybe it’s the election year, maybe it’s the pressure from a serious progressive challenger in Katie Wilson, but he’s standing next to Rinck as this thing rolls out. And with his sway in City Hall, he’s a powerful ally for what’s often a one-woman progressive bloc.

But it must be confusing for Nelson, who just four short years ago rode Harrell’s coat tails to her first and so far only election victory. Now, it seems he needs the progressive new blood to make up for his sins against the Seattle electorate, particularly after he became the literal face of big business’s failed attempt to undermine social housing earlier this year. 

Nelson asked, “What small business outreach has been conducted so far and with whom?”

A representative from the Office of Economic Development (OED) explained their office has been sending out information to small business networks as well as individual small businesses. He noted that a number of them came to the press conference last month to express their support including Ollie Garrett of Tabor 100, Tanya Nguyen of ChuMinh Tofu and Vegan Deli, Eric Chan of Jade Garden Restaurant. Many others provided statements for the press release announcing the restructure proposal.

But Nelson did not seem satisfied with Rinck, the Mayor’s Office, and OED’s engagement. Or perhaps just not the conclusion they came to. Afterall, if small business actually does support the Seattle Shield Initiative (and public comment and conventional wisdom would suggest they do), Nelson won’t be able to trot out weepy small business owners to excuse a vote against the reform. At least not if she hopes to please her corporate overlords.

In 2021, corporate Independent Expenditures shelled out about half a million dollars to promote her and smear her opponent, abolitionist and longtime community organizer Nikkita Oliver. (Not to mention those corporate donors flushed more than a million more down the drain to buy her a whole slate of friends in 2023 that she’s so far failed to wrangle into the conservative agenda churning machine that business interests had hoped for). She’ll need them behind her again if she hopes to win, especially because the Progressive People Power (P3) PAC will likely funnel a solid chunk of change into her progressive challenger, Dionne Foster. 

If Nelson hopes to stay in lock step with the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Seattle Association, and the other corporate donors who oppose this tax restructure, she'll have to vote "no" on it or pull some kind of fuckery like she did to delay the social housing tax initiative to lower turnout election. And she'll have to do some serious mental gymnastics to tell a cohesive narrative about that vote that paints her as a "pragmatic progressive" looking out for the best interest of small business. Get stretchin'!

“I’m, uh — because it’s being called the ‘small business relief’ or ‘fund’ or — I don’t know how you presented it but I do — because now I feel like I’m in the position of needing to do outreach as well to find out what people think, that’s our job is to talk to our constituents,” Nelson said. “So I would love to have a list of the folks you’ve already spoken with so I don’t have to repeat that.” 

Then Nelson pivoted to championing “medium-sized businesses,” or businesses that bring in more than $2 million in gross revenue. She cited a statement from the Greater Seattle Business Alliance (GSBA), which claimed that a tax increase on “medium-sized businesses” would “further contribute to our city’s stagnating economy.” 

While the exemption from the B&O tax stops after a business rakes in more than $2 million in gross revenue, those businesses will still save money, along with 90% of all Seattle businesses. According to the City’s math the median business in Seattle, which reports $5 million in gross revenue, would see a decrease in B&O tax obligation — from $15,200 in 2025 to $13,972 in 2026. Only the largest 10% of Seattle businesses will see an increase in City B&O obligation. Because tax information like that is confidential, we can’t know what businesses reside in that upper 10%, but when you’re bigger than 90% of the others, you may have to grapple with the fact that you’re a big business, no euphemistic language needed. 

Proponents at the meeting encouraged Nelson to do her own outreach, afterall, the small business community is diverse. But at the end of the day, the policy will save money for 90% of businesses in Seattle and eliminate the B&O cost for many. 

“On balance, we think that’s a healthy proposal,” said Deputy Mayor Greg Wong.