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We're going deep on taxes this week, even though it's only February. State Democrats have released their so-called millionaire's tax, and we talk about why one particular Dem isn't sold yet.Related LinksSB 6346 - 2025-26WA Democrats’ ‘millionaires tax’ is here, but Ferguson doesn’t support it yetWashington state voters have rejected income taxes 10 times. Is this year different?Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/.Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor, and co-host today is Catharine Smith. Our producers are Gabrielle Healy and Sarah Leibovitz. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where did the idea come from to push back against President Trump by holding a general strike? The story takes us back 100 years to shipyard workers in Seattle. We’ll hear why people think general strikes are an effective protest today and whether they work.On this week's episode, we relied on oral histories and primary sources from the Seattle General Strike Project, Wesleyan University, and Labor Archives of Washington.Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/.Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producers are Gabrielle Healy and Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One year into President Trump's second term, we check in with Washington state’s biggest Trump supporter (or at least, the biggest one in our Congressional delegation) Rep. Michael Baumgartner of Spokane. We also talk with the biggest Trump adversary in the state, Attorney General Nick Brown, who sued the administration 50 times in the last year. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producers are Sarah Leibovitz and Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Democrats think that this is the year when voters and the courts will side with them on an income tax. Axios' Melissa Santos and the Washington Observer's Paul Queary join us to talk about why. They'll also break down what they're watching during this year's state legislative session. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seattle's new mayor, Katie Wilson, joins us to talk about being in the media spotlight, her priorities for the coming year, and what new taxes she might get behind. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Outgoing Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson reflects on her tenure as she leaves office. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producers are Sarah Leibovitz and Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

State Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen is talking about passing a new income tax during next year's short legislative session. Plus, how the state will pay for flood damage with a tight budget. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For weeks, pundits wondered whether incoming Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson would fire the city's police chief. We now know she won’t, but we still have questions about how a democratic socialist who used to support "defund" the police will run the police department. Listen to the full Soundside interview with Chief Shon Barnes here.  Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone. Updated on 12/12/2025 at 3:25 p.m.: An initial version of this podcast misattributed a quote about the role of collective bargaining in police accountability policy to Chief Shon Barnes.  It was a statement by Judge James Robart. That audio has been removed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s the most of the wonderful time of the year in Olympia, the time when the Democrats figure out how to fill a giant budget hole. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Catharine Smith and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're bringing you an interview with incoming Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans. Voters resoundingly supported Evans in last month's elections. How much will the incoming city attorney roll back her predecessor's policies? Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producers are Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Catharine Smith. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How her campaign team took a political newcomer and got her elected mayor of Seattle. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producers are Hans Anderson and Sarah Leibovitz. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's episode is all about certainty. Seattle voters got some certainty on who will be the city’s next mayor. Federal employees can be more certain about getting paid now that the longest government shutdown in history is over. But much about the future of local and federal government remains uncertain: Will government employees stay for the next shutdown or look for work somewhere else? And what will a new mayor bring for the city of Seattle? Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Our hosts this week are Catharine Smith, Paige Browning, and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You heard it here first, folks. Election night in Washington state isn’t exciting. So many ballots left to count. So many potential changes in the coming days. But, a boring election night never stopped us from doing an analysis episode the next day, and we actually do have some likely winners. Let's dig into to what we know on day one after the 2025 general election. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Sarah Leibovitz. Our hosts this week are Amy Radil and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We got a listener question, and we had to answer it. Rich wrote in to say: “I have a question regarding School Board elections. I was surprised when filling out my ballot to be voting for school board directors from across the district rather than just for the director that represents my area of the district. I think neighboring Highline School District (that’s in South King County) does the same. I’m not sure why I never noticed it before, but is this common in other Washington school districts? And if so, why is it like that? What would it take to change it? I don’t feel like the north and south ends of either district should be voting for each other’s representatives.” It's a good question! So, we reached out to KUOW reporter Sami West to get an answer. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Sarah Leibovitz. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a local election in less than a week. Maybe you've been procrastinating with your ballot. You're not alone. Half the people who voted last year will sit this election out. Well, we're here to help. We’ve got a procrastinator’s guide to why you should care about this year’s election. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Sarah Leibovitz. Our hosts this week are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.