As primary ballots land in mailboxes across Seattle, City Council candidate Rachel Savage is urging voters to pull them out from under the bills and vote — before the city passes a tipping point it can’t return from.
In a spirited interview on The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, Savage, who’s running for Seattle City Council Position 8, made the case for a political course correction — grounded not in ideological buzzwords, but in what she calls a radical new idea in modern politics: common sense.
“Common sense is punk rock. Doing the practical thing, the moral thing, is the most rebellious act in Seattle politics right now.”
Interview with Seattle City Council candidate Rachel Savage pic.twitter.com/349G3phxco
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) July 25, 2025
“Don’t be fooled, this is a winnable race,” Savage declared. “Republicans can vote for me. Disgruntled Democrats can vote for me. People who are fed up with rising crime, failing drug policy, and endless new taxes — I’m your candidate.”
Savage, a Capitol Hill business owner since 1998, isn’t your typical Republican. She’s tattooed, blunt, and proudly nonconforming — a self-described “walkaway” Democrat who still looks the part but says her values are now unwelcome in Seattle’s far-left political circles.
“What Capitol Hill used to stand for was free thinking, critical thinking,” she said. “Now it’s just groupthink and failed policies.”
But in a city long dominated by one-party politics, Savage says it’s time for a new kind of rebellion.
“Common sense is punk rock,” she said — echoing a mantra Producer Big Mike suggested for her campaign. Savage added, “Doing the practical thing, the moral thing, is the most rebellious act in Seattle politics right now.”
Savage’s campaign stands in stark contrast to her opponent, Alexis Mercedes Rink, a progressive activist who supports expanded social programs and a proposed “shield tax” targeting mid-sized and large businesses.
Savage called that plan “absurd,” warning it will push employers further out of the city without fixing root problems like untreated addiction and mental illness.
“You can’t keep taxing people who aren’t getting services,” she said. “Rink wants to divide businesses against each other — offering bribes to the small ones while punishing the rest. That’s not equity. That’s economic suicide.”
Hoffman weighed in on Savage’s opponent with a signature metaphor: “I’m an American muscle car kind of guy,” he said. “When I look at a Mercedes, it’s flashy on the outside, but there’s not a lot under the hood.”
Savage’s platform includes:
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No new taxes
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Restoration of law enforcement
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Long-term residential addiction treatment
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Inpatient mental health facilities for the severely ill
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An audit of Seattle’s homelessness industrial complex
She didn’t shy away from bold promises on the air. When asked if she’d call for a full audit of the city’s taxpayer-funded homelessness response system — often called “Homeless, Inc.” — she answered immediately: “Absolutely, 100%.” She also pledged to return to the show regularly if elected to report on her progress.
Savage said the city’s current approach to homelessness and addiction isn’t just ineffective — it’s inhumane. “What we see on the streets right now is not compassionate,” she said. “Enabling people to slowly die on sidewalks while taxpayers fund it — that’s not progressive. It’s neglect.”
Her decision to run wasn’t sudden — it was cumulative.
“I started asking myself, ‘Why is this happening?’” she recalled. “Why are people openly smoking fentanyl in front of Safeway? Why are they stealing with impunity? Why are addicts getting free apartments in Capitol Hill with no treatment requirement?”
The final straw, she said, was realizing that if someone like her — a longtime resident, small business owner, and parent — didn’t step up, the city might be lost to radical policies for good.
“It’s either I leave, or I take over,” she said. “And I’m not leaving without a fight.”
Savage wrapped up the interview with a final appeal to voters: “It’s going to take a savage to win this — and trust me, I am one. But I need your vote. We can save Seattle. Let’s bring back common sense — and maybe a little punk rock while we’re at it.”
Ballots are due by Election Day, August 5. To learn more about Rachel Savage’s campaign or to make a contribution, visit her website and vote Savage.
Listen to The Ari Hoffman Show weekdays 3-6 PM Pacific on Talk Radio 570 KVI, KVI.com, the KVI App, and wherever you get your podcasts.
