Leftist Seattle mayor admits Starbucks criticism 'caused more harm than good'

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is walking back earlier comments urging consumers to boycott Starbucks,as tensions grow over Seattle’s relationship with major employers and the coffee giant expands its footprint outside Washington state. Wilson, a democratic socialist elected last year on a progressive, labor-backed platform, told The New York Times this week that comments she made during a Starbucks worker strike last fall were not productive. "Those comments were not productive in the sense that they caused more harm than good," Wilson told the outlet. The remarks marked a notable shift in tone from comments Wilson made shortly after winning Seattle’s mayoral race in November, when she joined Starbucks workers on a picket line outside the company’s former Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill and urged residents to boycott the hometown coffee chain. MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI SAYS FIRST OF NYC'S FIVE GOVERNMENT-RUN GROCERY STORES WILL OPEN IN THE BRONX NEXT YEAR "I am not buying Starbucks and you should not either," Wilson said at the rally, according to KUOW. She later led protesters in chants supporting striking workers. At the time, several unionized Starbucks workers in Seattle and other cities were striking amid stalled contract negotiations with the company. Wilson’s comments have resurfaced in recent weeks as concerns mount among some business leaders and local officials about Seattle’s economic climate and whether increasingly progressive politics could drive employers and wealthy residents elsewhere. Those concerns intensified after Starbucks announced plans to establish a 2,000-employee corporate hub in Nashville, Tennessee, fueling debate over whether the company could gradually shift more operations away from Seattle, where Starbucks was founded in 1971 and still maintains its global headquarters. Tennessee has increasingly attracted corporate expansions from companies seeking lower taxes, lower operating costs and a more business-friendly regulatory environment than many West Coast cities.