With just ten days until she is sworn in as Seattle’s 57th Mayor, Katie Wilson’s transition has moved from planning to positioning. While her first few weeks were defined by stability, this week she signaled exactly where she intends to be a disruptor: our streets and our housing.

If you want to know what a Wilson administration will prioritize, look no further than the shakeup at the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and the high stakes surrounding the Social Housing Developer.

1. Social Housing: From Ballot Measure to Brick and Mortar

Wilson’s insurgent campaign was born out of the February special election victory for Prop 1A. Now, the Social Housing Developer she fought for is no longer just a theory, it’s a Public Development Authority with roughly $65 million in voter-approved annual funding.

The developer is reportedly on track to have its first property under contract in early 2026. This is a massive “Watch” item for us. Progressives want to see the city move fast on acquisitions to prove the model works, while skeptics are waiting to see if a public agency can actually manage real estate more effectively than the private market. Wilson’s ability to clear bureaucratic hurdles for this new agency will be the ultimate test of her Socialist-Pragmatist brand.

2. The SDOT Shakeup: Transit First

On Wednesday, Wilson made her first major “ideological” leadership change, moving on from Harrell-era transportation leadership. As a former transit organizer, Wilson is signaling that the era of incrementalism is over. She is expected to pivot SDOT toward her vision of “world-class transit” and protected bike networks. However, she’ll need to prove to moderates that she can still manage the boring-but-vital bridge maintenance backlog while she builds out her vision for a car-light city.

3. The Council’s Budget Tripwires

As Wilson prepares to take office, the outgoing City Council has handed her a difficult fiscal hand. The 2026 budget passed last month includes several provisos (spending locks) designed to hem in her executive power:

• The Sweep Lock: A $30 million proviso ensures that funding for the Unified Care Team (UCT) remains strictly earmarked for encampment removals. Wilson will have to decide early: does she continue these sweeps or fight a newly adversarial Council to unlock that money for services?

• The $125M Fiscal Cliff: The 2026 budget relies heavily on one-time fund balances. This means Wilson will face a structural deficit of nearly $125 million for her first real budget in 2027.

4. Year One: What We’re Watching

We are tracking three key “litmus tests” for the new Mayor in Q1:

• The CARE Expansion: Can she double the Community Crisis Responder teams by March as promised?

• Social Housing Acquisition: Will the Developer ink its first deal by the end of Q1?

• The Federal Backfill: How will she deploy the Seattle Shield funds to protect residents from expected federal cuts to SNAP and housing vouchers?

The transition is all but over. The governing, and the fighting, is about to begin.