Seattle’s newly elected socialist mayor comes from a background that afforded her certain privileges, as her father has candidly shared. He elaborated on the extent of financial support she received from her family as she prepared for her political career.
David Wilson, the father of Mayor-elect Katie Wilson, is a respected former academic who has financially supported his daughter, contributing several thousand dollars over time to assist her and her household.
In an exclusive conversation with the Daily Mail, the 76-year-old David disclosed that he, along with his wife, also a former professor, provided around $5,000 to aid their daughter. He expressed hope that with her forthcoming $250,000 salary from City Hall, she would become financially independent.
Katie, aged 43, who has a two-year-old daughter with her unemployed spouse, recently acknowledged that her parents have been helping cover childcare expenses, which amount to roughly $2,200 each month.
While David admitted to sending about four or five checks to his daughter, he was reluctant to delve into the specifics of their financial assistance.
“Oh please, don’t get that specific,” he remarked, questioning the necessity of such details, “I mean, what’s the point?”
Regardless, he doesn’t think he will be pulling out his checkbook again anytime soon.
‘The mayor’s salary is in, I think, the $250,000 range, so they’ve increased their salary by a factor of four or five or, or whatever,’ he said.
David Wilson, the father of newly elected Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson (shown here together),said he ‘forked over a couple thousand here, a couple thousand there’ to help his daughter and her family
Katie Wilson has pledged to make her city more affordable, in the vein of newly minted New York City Mayor-elect and fellow democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani
Incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell, who Katie defeated on November 4, earned $230,360 last year, according to government payroll data.
‘Now they can afford to live in… more than a one-bedroom apartment, and so they’re fine,’ David said.
‘But does that mean we’re gonna stop being grandparents? What would you say to that? I mean, s***, come on, I mean let’s get back to the real world here.’
David said he thinks it’s ‘stupid’ that critics are shaming his daughter’s privileged background – and the fact she dropped out of Britain’s prestigious Oxford University just six weeks shy of graduation.
On her parents’ dime, Katie studied physics and philosophy at the world-renowned college before abruptly quitting to drift across America on a bus.
Outgoing Mayor Harrell’s reelection website highlighted a quote from Carolyn Riley-Payne, former Seattle King County NAACP President, who said: ‘It’s hard to trust a candidate running on their challenges with affordability when her family’s wealth shields her from actual consequences and financial stress.
‘Wilson chose to not graduate from college, and now chooses to rely on parental subsidy to avoid financial hardship.’
David described the criticism as ‘lame and tone-deaf.’
Katie (right) studied physics and philosophy at Oxford University before abruptly dropping out to drift across America on a bus
David described the criticism as ‘lame and tone-deaf’
After dropping out of college, Katie worked several odd jobs and continued her education by frequenting the library, her father said
Still, he was shocked to discovered that Katie abandoned college at the 11th hour.
‘Of course it’s a big thing for your daughter to go all the way through college and then decide to walk away from a degree,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘At the time, it seemed really ill-advised,’ he added. ‘Why walk away from something like that? Why choose to start from nothing?’
Katie and her husband, Scott, eventually landed in Seattle after traversing America.
‘They toured the country by bus to decide where they wanted to settle, and the reason they chose Seattle, they had a number of reasons, but one of them was that they had an open university library system.’
David said his daughter worked several odd jobs and continued her education by frequenting the library.
Katie had no backup plan while pursuing a life of activism, but she was self-sufficient, her father explained.
He didn’t give her any handouts at the time, and it would have been ‘inappropriate for her to ask,’ he noted.
In August, Katie won the mayoral primary by 9.5 points
Another core part of her platform is addressing Seattle’s homelessness crisis, which is one of the worst in the country
While Katie’s husband is currently unemployed, David said it doesn’t bother him ‘in the least.’
‘He’s very ambitious about opening a bakery. He’s actually a genius at making bagels and pizza, and what he really wants is to run a small bakery and be a small business owner,’ he shared.
‘Until then, he’s being a great father and a strong supporter.’
David continued that ‘this whole idea that your worth is judged by your job is part of a broader worldview — and that’s just not who they are.’
He’s not ashamed of having written his daughter checks, even as her political star began to rise.
‘If you’re lucky enough to have parents who can pitch in a little bit,’ he said, ‘that’s not something to be embarrassed about.’
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