Amazon’s top legal executive delivered an unusually explicit public commitment to maintaining the company’s presence in Seattle on Tuesday, declaring “We are not going anywhere” just weeks after the election of democratic socialist Mayor-elect Katie Wilson, signalling the tech giant’s intention to maintain its home base despite years of political tensions and a new administration that campaigned on policies including increased corporate taxation.
David Zapolsky, Amazon’s chief global affairs and legal officer, made the statement during an Amazon Community Impact Reception at The Spheres, the company’s distinctive glass dome structures in downtown Seattle, where executives and community partners gathered to discuss Amazon’s philanthropic and civic initiatives spanning affordable housing, food security, and homelessness services.
“Obviously, this is a time of change, both in this region and around the world,” Zapolsky stated. “Amazon remains committed to our home, this Puget Sound region. We are not going anywhere. And so we remain committed to building this community.”
The explicit reaffirmation of Seattle as Amazon’s primary base represents a noteworthy public statement from a company that typically communicates through carefully worded press releases rather than executive declarations at community events. The timing, following Wilson’s victory over incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell, suggests Amazon recognises the need to establish its position early in the transition to new political leadership.
The statement follows years of political disputes between Amazon and Seattle city government over tax policies, business regulations, and the company’s role in contributing to affordability challenges that accompanied the region’s technology boom. These tensions contributed to Amazon’s strategic decision to shift thousands of jobs to Bellevue, Washington, and Northern Virginia, diversifying its geographic footprint beyond its historic Seattle concentration.
With Katie Wilson’s impending inauguration as mayor on 1 January, Amazon faces the challenge of establishing a working relationship with a city leader who campaigned explicitly on addressing affordability issues that many attribute partly to rapid technology sector growth that Amazon epitomises. Wilson’s policy platform includes expanded social housing, rent stabilisation, and increased corporate accountability, positions that place her considerably to the left of Harrell on the political spectrum.
Wilson defeated Harrell, who had cultivated a more business-friendly relationship with Amazon than the company experienced during previous administrations marked by confrontational dynamics between City Hall and the technology sector. Harrell’s approach emphasised partnership and mutual accountability rather than adversarial positioning.
“I’ve tried to have a very supportive relationship, but also one on mutual accountability,” Harrell stated in January about his dealings with Amazon. “I think it’s working out well.” His defeat suggests Seattle voters prioritised progressive policy positions over business accommodation, potentially signalling challenges ahead for Amazon’s relationship with city government.
During her campaign in September, Wilson indicated she aims to work with the technology sector and Amazon on innovative solutions to civic challenges, suggesting pragmatic engagement rather than ideological opposition despite her democratic socialist political identification and history of organising against corporate interests.
A longtime community organiser and co-founder of the Transit Riders Union, which advocates for expanded public transportation and transit-oriented development, Wilson played a central role in designing and passing Seattle’s controversial JumpStart payroll expense tax in 2020. The tax, which applies to businesses with Seattle payroll exceeding $8 million annually, generated $360 million in revenue in 2024, with a majority coming from 10 large companies including Amazon.
“Obviously Amazon and the other big tech companies are very important players in our city and in our economy, and so I think it’s very important that the city has working relationships there,” Wilson stated during the campaign, acknowledging the necessity of functional relationships with major employers whilst maintaining her commitment to policies that increase their tax obligations.
In the same election that elevated Wilson to the mayor’s office, Seattle voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 2, a tax restructuring plan developed by Harrell and City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck. The measure reshapes Seattle’s business and occupation tax, which applies to gross revenue rather than profits, creating impacts for both small startups operating on thin margins and large technology companies like Amazon generating billions in revenue.
According to public disclosure records, Zapolsky contributed $550 to Harrell’s re-election campaign, whilst Amazon HR chief Beth Galetti contributed $650 and Amazon Stores CEO Doug Herrington contributed $550. These relatively modest contributions, given the executives’ substantial compensation, suggest they viewed Harrell as preferable to Wilson from a business perspective whilst avoiding the appearance of attempting to buy influence through large donations.
During Tuesday’s event at The Spheres, Amazon executives highlighted the company’s philanthropic investments and measurable community impacts, statistics designed to demonstrate Amazon’s value to Seattle beyond its economic contributions through jobs and tax revenue:
- $900 million committed through Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund to create or preserve more than 10,000 affordable homes in the Puget Sound region, Arlington, Virginia, and Nashville, Tennessee
- 4.5 million meals delivered to families experiencing food insecurity since 2020 through partnerships with food banks and community organisations
- 380,000 bed nights provided through Mary’s Place, the family homeless shelter that Amazon hosts within one of its Seattle office buildings, serving families experiencing homelessness
Zapolsky traced the evolution of Amazon’s community engagement strategy from informal, small-scale efforts during the company’s early years to the structured, principle-driven approach employed today.
