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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.