City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth has locked down her social media accounts after a post about her Dutch summer vacation went Pacific Northwest-viral over her comparisons between Amsterdam and Seattle spending on infrastructure and services and the legacy of the slave trade.
Hollingsworth has been unique on the council as she has been increasingly candid and open on personal views on social media and in appearances since her election last fall. This has included matters of faith but also her thoughts on issues ranging from economics to farming.
That openness, at least, on social media, has now changed.
CHS spoke with Hollingsworth earlier this week about the episode as her office was still in clean-up mode and trying to decide how best to respond to criticism and questions over her posts about what she says were observations from a personal trip to Amsterdam during the council’s short August break.
“They (the Netherlands) are able to bring out of those resources that they took out of of other countries,” Hollingsworth told CHS earlier this week. “I was trying to point out this history.”
By Friday morning, Hollingsworth’s messages were no longer available and her private social media account put in locked mode.
The situation began with a Labor Day post — now locked away — from Hollingsworth and a list.
“5 things I learned from visiting Amsterdam this weekend,” Hollingsworth wrote.
1. 60% of all trips are done via bicycle. 2. Clean w/trash removal and and street sweepers 3. Safe to walk around w/first responders 4. Anne Frank House Museum was incredible 5. Coffee Shop means “cannabis dispensary”
The post didn’t take on a life of its own until what Hollingsworth said next after a follower responded, reminding the councilmember those social benefits are available due to Amsterdam’s high taxes. “Seattleites would tax ourselves and especially big business for these things too.”
Hollingsworth, who has taken mostly centrist and pro-business positions in her first year on the council including her recent push to extend the tip-credit minimum wage break for small employers, responded with a lesson on the Dutch slave trade.
“From 1621-1784 the Dutch West Indie Company (Headquarters below) was one of the most powerful, largest and profitable companies during the Transatlantic Slave Trade,” she wrote. “The wealth generated fueled the infrastructure and economy you see today. In 2024, 5.7B budget serving 1.1 M people.”
The point, Hollingsworth told CHS, isn’t that bike lanes are racist. It’s that Amsterdam’s wealth and its history benefiting from one of “the most dominating companies in the world” shouldn’t be ignored by Seattle’s social services advocates and urbanists who point at the city of bikes and ask why we can’t emulate the Netherlands in the Pacific Northwest.
But the juxtaposition and suggestion that slave trade wealth is responsible for Dutch bike culture, cleanliness, and public safety brought a strong response — and lots of questions for Hollingsworth who stopped responding and disappointingly watched the post and criticism of her take go locally viral.
Hollingsworth’s post was eventually flagged with a “community note,” a service added to the X/Twitter platform for users “to collaboratively add context to potentially misleading posts.”
As a Black leader in the city, Hollingsworth says she feels responsible for sharing her viewpoints more broadly.
“A different perspective…. I have had a unique opportunity to have a different perspective on certain outside the box ways to make our communities better,” Hollingsworth said.
But she says her main hope around her use of social media has been connection.
“Just to humanize people,” she said. “I’m joy from Central District from Seattle. Who experiences pain. Who experiences love. Falling short. Making mistakes. I feel like that is also really important.”
Hollingsworth’s personal messages on services like X/Twitter increased after the election with many being simple proclamations of faith. “God is great,” began the latest.
“I’m deeply connected to my relationship with god. I’ve never shied away from my faith,” Hollingsworth says.
She has also spoken more widely about her beliefs around Black economic strength and food security related to agriculture and the ownership of farmland.
The social media boldness had extended to Hollingsworth’s office. Her chief of staff policy director Logan Bowers, also part of the ownership of the Hashtag cannabis chain, frequently posts @loganb with updates about development, politics, and conditions for small business owners and Seattle public safety issues. His personal accounts remain unlocked.
Those messages go far beyond District 3 and the concerns of Capitol Hill and Hollingsworth’s Central District home that were the focus of her successful campaign.
After the Amsterdam conversation, that new dialogue isn’t ending but it will be locked away.
Despite the social media blow-up, Hollingsworth says her takeaways from her brief European vacation will stick with her as she sets about the final months of council work in 2024 including what is expected to be hard fought battles over next year’s gaping holes in the city budget.
Amsterdam, she says, showed her how valuable it is to support services that keep a city clean and safe and that areas like Capitol Hill are “jewels” that need to be protected.
The Dutch have just over 3 police officers per 1,000 people, Seattle, one… and one third.
“Nobody wants to point out that Amsterdam has 5,000 police officers,” Hollingsworth says.
Meanwhile, Hollingsworth is still tweeting from her official city account @CMJoyHollings.
Ms. Ruth & Prince Eric. ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/SyMOYAsHhp
— Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth (@CMJoyHollings) September 6, 2024
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Joy has every right to keep her personal social media accounts private.
Idk the validity of her claims that the wealth from slavery is why that country is prosperous. If she is wrong, it is far from the most egregiously incorrect statement made by a recent city council person. That would belong to dozens of comments made by Kshama Sawant.
I appreciate Joy being open about her beliefs whether it’s religious or otherwise. Why should she not be able to post about her religious beliefs on her personal social media accounts?
I don’t agree with her over everything but I appreciate her non-combative way of communicating.
I voted for her and I do not regret it at all.
That’s the genius of it – she can say whatever stupid shit she wants and you don’t know if it’s right or not, so you just say “I like her tone though? And I still hate sawant so I like her?”. You have no idea how frustrating this post-truth politics is to people who actually value facts.
also first amendment…it was a *private* account, so yes she can. If you don’t like it, do not read it…it should be simple.
Give us the facts Jake
The competition for most inept person on the current council is quite a fight I think Hollingsworth might have just over from Saka.
Why?
Strong disagree.
A lot of us voted for Joy Hollingsworth because she could represent us from her knowledge as a Black Seattleite and small business owner. I appreciate when our politicians demonstrate an understanding of local and global history because that history explains our cultures now. City leaders like Councilmember Hollingsworth who take that perspective in order to understand the nuances of city specific planning is a positive!
I voted for Hollingsworth not because she could represent her knowledge as a Black Seattleite or even a small business owner. I voted for her cuz she seemed genuinely respectful, smart and her heart seem to be in the right place. I’ve seen nothing to make me think that these impressions are untrue.
Just say no when election time rolls around.
Just say yes…I’m so over this city and how it allows crime…so over it. I’m always with Joy!
No, it’s political calculation. She’s trying to keep any cred she has.
So you don’t like the crime rate, but you’ll vote for the council member responsible for the crime rate you don’t like.
You’re part of the problem.
Yes
I’m sure the Native American communities in the region would like a word w her. They could fill her in on the origins of wealth here. Maybe, she should have googled tax rates in The Netherlands too, WOW, I’m embarrassed for her. Maybe people like her are why we can’t have nice things?
And you are embarrassed why?
Oh geez… Amsterdam is pancake flat, no wonder bicycles work so well there. And as for the city itself, it’s over-touristed to the point that there must be 50 McDonald’s in the old town. No thanks.
Disagree! Amsterdam is a beautiful city that works, and it has a rich arts culture as well (Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Concertgebouw, etc.). And of course the charming canals. I had a wonderful time there last year and would love to return.
I agree that Amsterdam is beautiful, but reservations to see the Van Gough museum and the Anne Frank house were booked for weeks out. Luckily the Rijksmuseum was open. I much prefer the older grittier Amsterdam. Today the chain stores have taken over.
I would love to ride a bicycle everywhere in Seattle, but: 1. Seattle is a city of ridges and valleys. Amsterdam is definitely not a hilly city. It made sense for them to invest in bicycle infrastructure all through their history. Electric bicycles and scooters might solve that problem moving forward. It’s becoming more reasonable for Seattle to invest in bicycle infrastructure now. Also: 2. I’ll bet it doesn’t rain as much in Amsterdam as it does in Seattle. Bicycles don’t have the rain protection cars and buses do. That said, I totally support bicycle infrastructure and pedestrian infrastructure. I look forward to Seattle becoming a more walkable and bikeable city.
I do not own a car and get around fine on my scooter all year long. I was raised here and am 60 now. Most people just do whatever, raining, snowing or whatever. A transplant? They take a while to acclimate.
Joy should take note that Amsterdam does not have their own police. The Netherlands has a nationalized police force, and it is strictly regulated.
For instance, in all of the Netherlands, the Dutch police fired their weapons in a total of 16 incidents in 2019 and 27 incidents in 2018. They resulted in a total of 4 deaths per year.
However, in those same years, police across Washington State killed 56 people in 2019 and 39 people in 2018.
Despite have 33% of police per population as the Dutch, we have 13 times more police-involved killings.
Where’s the regulation, JOY??
owning a firearm is a privilege, not a right in the Netherlands… you need a permit to obtain a weapon that involves an extensive background check and self defense is not deemed to be a valid reason to be issued one… The cops there likely have little reason to fear being shot there when doing simple things like making a routine traffic stop or investigating a domestic abuse call…
Being a police officer in the United States is one of the safest professions in existence. Even then, from 2020-2022, the largest contributor to police death was COVID. Now it’s back to gunfire.
To illustrate: in 2022, even with 115 deaths from either COVID or “9/11-related illness” calculated in, only 274 American officers died. Meanwhile 1,023 construction workers died that same year.
Police are unregulated.
That’s a pretty boldfaced lie… no, being a police officer is not “one of the safest professions in existence”… it’s ranked around 15-20ish most dangerous, depending on who’s raking… . Are there more dangerous jobs, sure. Highway workers get run over with distressing regularity by reckless drivers, but that doesn’t make being a police officer safe.
In any case, death rates are quite irrelevant to whether or not intentionally walking into a situation where someone is more likely to be pointing a firearm at you is less stressful than doing the same knowing that they are highly likely to not be doing that…
15-20th…
excuse me typo… walking into a situation where someone is more likely to be pointing a firearm at your is, of course, more stressful than doing the same knowing that they are highly likely to not be doing that…
This is a solid point. US Police kills 33 people per million residents per year. police kills only 14 per million in the Netherlands. Below is the source.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/police-killings-by-country
Voted for Joy but…What has she actually accomplished in office so far to improve the city besides talking about it.
What ate you wanting from her? Let her know .
Travel is an education. I am glad that Joy is getting a broader world view through travel. Seattle is a messed up place and an outlier. Other cities didn’t self-destruct “due to covid”. Our leaders need to get outside the bubble to see that other cities around the world haven’t abolished the police, given free reign to drug addicts, enabled giant encampments everywhere, chased away small businesses with unchecked theft and vandalism, and knocked down core historic neighborhoods to replace them with block-sized “affordable” buildings clad in sheets of hardiboard.
Truth. Could not agree more. Not just “our leaders” but out citizens could all use some perspective that what is going on in Seattle is not normal.
Perspective is the Netherlands has higher taxes for the rich, universal healthcare, and a lot more public housing.
Yeah, you don’t need an all expenses paid trip to learn any of this either.
We have moved on from the horse and buggy. Titanic et ilk
They have internet know. It’s amazing and costs almost nothing.
Are you sure Joy’s trip was taxpayer-funded? The article refers to her “Dutch summer vacation,” which implies that it was a private trip.
Justin/CHS: please clarify if possible.
Good point
Well said.
Soooo? We, the taxpayers paid for that “education”?
You don’t need to go there to know the slave trade story. Nor to see the bike infrastructure. Nor anything else we do here or ever will do here.
Exactly right.
Wildly embarrassing. She refuses to understand and acknowledge this simple FACT OF LIFE: Taxes exist to pay for improvements and repairs to public infrastructure.
You aren’t beating the Republican allegations, Joy.
Brainless political maneuvering at its finest!
Um what?
Tax codes.
Before and after Reagan. Also tax codes in Amsterdam.
When toy got money? It makes things easier to accomplish.
Also Joy, remind us again how the supposed 5000 Amsterdam police officers house their homeless population?
Oh that’s right, they don’t, can’t, and won’t.
If you’re curious how Amsterdam (and the rest of the Netherlands) stays clean, lacks a sizeable homeless population, and remains pedestrian friendly, that’s taken care of by the fact that 42% of the available Amsterdam housing stock is public housing (social housing), with rent caps of 720 euro/month as of 2019, and is required to rent 80% of available units to citizens making 35k euros or less annually. Notice how new “affordable” developments in Seattle (like the utter trash being built by Thrive Communities across the hill) is usually only required to designate 20-25% of their building’s inventory to low-income tenants, if at all.
The solution everyone has been screaming is to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, and to build or convert existing units from private ownership to public, maintained by said tax increases being made permanent. That is how virtually every OECD nation does it…hello? Stop being so obstinate and selfish.
Why not just build more supply? Why the focus on redistributing from people you don’t like instead of just creating more supply? We know how to build tall building, we just outlaw it.
“…and to build or convert existing units from private ownership to public”
Did you miss when I wrote the word build?
The point is public ownership > private Boris! We need to build public housing to disincentivize the degenerate and socially harmful occupation of private landlording. No need to get defensive my man, I’m sure you work a job with a wage and don’t just make all your money leeching off of other’s paycheck’s from a hard day’s work, right?
You’ve obviously never been a landlord… Neither have I (and never will be, no thank you), but my parents were. Small time, mind you. At the most they owned and were managing maybe 15 units spread over 5 small buildings. Not here in Seattle, in a different city. They also remodeled and sold a few houses.
If you think it’s just sitting around “leeching off of other’s paychecks” you are sorely mistaken. My parents worked regular 40+hr/week jobs. They also did pretty much all the maintenance and repairs on their properties themselves – they mowed, they painted, cleaned carpets, unstuffed toilets and drains, they did roofing.. they were moderators when tenants didn’t get along. Most of the money made went into paying the mortgages, taxes and maintenance.
It was hard work, they spent a lot of evenings, weekends and vacations doing it and they certainly never got anything close to rich. Even when they were ready to quit and sold the places it wasn’t any kind of huge windfall.. Real estate there was pretty flat. Nothing was worth much more than it was purchased for.
The people they rented to – a pretty diverse group… the ones I can recall – an elderly couple who had lived in one of the buildings their whole married lives, an opera singer, a family of refugees from the USSR (in the 80’s and my parents are still close to them), a sex worker, more than one gay couple, my dad’s childhood friend who was an alcoholic… Many of them probably would have found it difficult to find a place if forced to apply to corporate landlords.
Public Housing is the only solution
And what’s your plan to keep it from failing again? We’ve already seen that monolithic public housing in this country doesn’t do well.. the places built in the 50’s-60’s with the best of intentions were falling apart and crime ridden by the 70’s-80’s and largely demolished in the 90’s to 00’s… when I was a kid it was absolutely not desirable to live in ‘the projects’… it was a place people wanted out of, not into. Here in Seattle around the time I moved here most of the large public housing areas were already beginning to be torn down and replaced with mixed income development.
That was then. This is now. We’ve learned.
Why is public ownership a focus over increasing supply? The problem is lack of supply, increase that however possible instead of ranting about public ownership.
You ever hear of “The Projects” Boris?
Yes, and they’re not great. Hence my skepticism that public housing is our big gap. It’s simply a supply problem, not specifically a public supply problem.
“Why not just build more supply? Why the focus on redistributing from people you don’t like instead of just creating more supply? We know how to build tall building, we just outlaw it.”
No, we’ll pass on 1960’s housing ideas.
How about 1920’s then? Lots of housing built.
This is interesting. I’d like to hear more about it.
I’m sure the Dutch might visit somewhere in the southern half of the USA and report back that the wealth came from owning slaves. Would it help ?
The entire US benefited from the wealth generated from Trans-Atlantic slave trade. This is not even 101…just History 1
What does it have to do with housing and transportation?
I’m a Seattle native and Capitol Hill Resident who lived in The Netheralnds for most of the last decade. Joy’s comments are in keeping with the Dutch mainstream discussion about their history and the debts and injuries that the Dutch need to grapple with and possibly redress. The King of The Netherlands has even issued an apology for the part his family, the Dutch royal family, played in the exploitative and brutal history of the Dutch East Indies Company and beyond. The point of view Joy shared is common and well respected over there, nothing out of the ordinary—simple honesty. I’m very surprised anyone here finds it out of the ordinary.
+1. These comments are very similar to what multiple Dutch people told me, back when I lived there.
This kerfuffle seems like “much ado about nothing.”
Yup
Okay, hear me out. Being a public servant in this city is a tough job. She obviously enjoys cannabis. She was in Amsterdam, and she posted a non-sequitur of sorts….
Can we just cut her a break? She was on vacation. She was visiting “coffeeshops.” I’m pretty sure she’s not a racist.
“She obviously enjoys cannabis”? Give me a break. She’s in the business but you do not have an effing clue whether she does or does not “enjoy cannabis.” In college I worked as a bartender at a hardcore working class bar and the owner never ever took a drink. Never
So you do not know and you probably should apologize.
You make a good point. No offense meant — I don’t think there is any issue with her enjoying cannabis or not, but I don’t know whether she does or not. Sorry Joy!
Cut her a break? She’s putting poor people out on the street to starve and only cares about her bottom line, not any of us
So, you are blaming Joy for our years-long homeless problem, even though she has been in office for less than one year? And no one is “starving” on our streets….that is inaccurate hyperbole.
You cut ZERO breaks for Sawant. So no.
I smoke weed every goddamn day and you’d never hear Joy’s disgusting comments uttered from my mouth.
If you’ll allow me to summarize, she was directly implying from her statements that ‘everyone pushing her from the center and left in Seattle are so quick to criticize our lack of modern pedestrian and bike infrastructure in comparison to much nicer cities, like Amsterdam, but that little did we all know, Amsterdam only has all that nice awesome ped and bike infrastructure BECAUSE THE DUTCH TRADED SLAVES. So really, do we want all that nice stuff if it means black people’s bodies paid for it?’ No “non-sequitur of sorts” about it, J J. Also, it’s not like we didn’t do slavery in the US???
The problem with her idiotic statement is that the pedestrian and bike improvements in Amsterdam that we all love today didn’t start getting built until the 1970’s, and were in fact funded by appropriately high tax rates that would make Joy’s greedy, rich, asshole constituents shit in their depends.
42% of Amsterdam’s available housing stock is PUBLIC HOUSING WITH RENT CONTROL. 80% of which is designated for those under 35k euro annual salary. That’s how they do it.
Her stuff is getting old. She’s trying to be a politician and she sucks at it. She’s already done and she knows it. So it’s about ginning support now. Like Trump does.
“one of the most dominating companies in the world” hmmm, like Amazon?