SEATTLE — Amazon is putting more than $1 million into Seattle’s City Council races, new donations that boost its spending on politics in its hometown this year to $1.45 million.
The Seattle Times reports the online retail giant has now spent on the Council races than any other business or union, and all of Amazon’s company money has gone to a political-action committee associated with the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, which has been buying direct-mail advertisements and paying door-to-door canvassers.
Wayne Barnett, executive director of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, said Amazon’s outlay is the largest “in anyone’s memory” by a single entity in a Seattle election cycle.
Amazon spokesman Aaron Toso said in a statement: “We believe it is critical that our hometown has a city council that is focused on pragmatic solutions to our shared challenges in transportation, homelessness, climate change and public safety.”
The Service Employees International Union and the Unite Here hotel-workers union also have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the Council races, mostly to support candidates competing with those backed by the Chamber.
