Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named socialist Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson (D) its August 2026 Porker of the Month for proposing a tax hike and free buses instead of fixing Seattle’s high-cost transit system.

Seattle residents already face one of the highest combined state and local sales tax rates in the nation. Rather than addressing the inefficiencies that have driven transit construction and operating costs even higher, Mayor Wilson has proposed taxpayers pay even more by doubling the transit tax for free buses and other projects. More money won’t help because Seattle’s transit projects already have the second highest cost per mile in the world. Sales taxes hit working families the hardest and they deserve less wasteful spending, not more taxes. And Seattle residents are already the most worried about the high cost of living than inhabitants of any other U.S. city.

CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Mayor Wilson’s proposal to double the transit tax will only make the cost of living in Seattle even worse. Transit system projects need to be more efficient, not more costly. For proposing higher taxes to fund wasteful transit projects, including ‘free’ buses, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is the clear choice for CAGW’s August 2026 Porker of the Month.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the taxpayers.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260820013084/en/

Seattle residents are already the most worried about the high cost of living than inhabitants of any other U.S. city.