Wow: Microsoft Bails On Doom-Looped Seattle

Los Angeles’ current doom loop led by radical Marxist Karen Bass may grab more headlines, but other Democrat-run cities have been doom looping for longer and more persistently. Seattle has done more to damage itself than most and for longer as well, stretching back at least a decade as radicals seized control of the city, both on streets and in City Hall. Remember the CHAZ/CHOP insurrection zone that the city allowed to operate for months in 2020? The “serial pooper” of 2018? The head tax that was supposed to solve the city’s homeless problems that same year?

To quote election analyst Dan Wasserman, Microsoft has seen enough. The tech giant has partnered with the city for its annual spotlight conference, Build, the latest of which just finished a short while ago. Next year Microsoft plans to take the conference to another city, however, and at least internally, they’re not shy about explaining why:

#BREAKING: I have obtained the internal memo outlining reasons behind Microsoft Build’s(@Microsoft) exit from Seattle. This is an absolute indictment on Mayor Bruce Harrell’s(@MayorofSeattle) administration and shows his failure to get the homeless drug crisis under control. 🧵👇 https://t.co/T5P4wyNrv0 pic.twitter.com/aI50Nnkza2

— Jonathan Choe (@choeshow) June 7, 2025

According to an internal email obtained by journalist Jonathan Choe of the Discovery Institute, Visit Seattle—the city’s official tourism and marketing organization—was informed that Microsoft will cancel its 2026 event and release all future holds for the conference in Seattle. The email, titled “DEFINITE BOOKING CANCELLATION NOTICE,” said the decision was heavily influenced by the experience of company leadership and attendees walking the downtown core between the Hyatt Regency and the Arch Building on 8th Street.

“The customers cited the general uncleanliness of the street scene, visibility of individuals engaging in drug use, and unhoused individuals, including the recurring tent in the Arch Tunnel,” the email stated. “Microsoft has previously addressed these concerns and Visit Seattle has been working actively with SPD, DSA [Downtown Seattle Association], the Care team, and others… Unfortunately for Build, it was a contributing factor to their final decision to move out of Seattle.”

Microsoft’s Build conference has long served as a showcase of Seattle’s innovation and global tech prominence. It typically brings in thousands of developers and tech insiders from around the world and has been a signature event for the city’s economy. Its departure is a major blow to Seattle’s struggling tourism and convention business, especially as downtown continues to battle the aftermath of the pandemic, rising crime, and a homelessness crisis that city officials have so far failed to contain.

So where will Microsoft go? Choe notes that the company already has a couple of options on the table:

But here’s the real kicker. Redmond, WA based Microsoft is done walking around tents, urban filth, and open-air drug use in Seattle’s downtown core. Mayor Harrell had nearly four years in office to handle this problem but has failed to do so. pic.twitter.com/2p5tMSO5c2

— Jonathan Choe (@choeshow) June 7, 2025

Ahem. If Microsoft is tired of “tents, urban filth, and open-air drug use,” then might I suggest leaving San Francisco off the list of alternates? North Seattle might have had one “serial pooper” in 2018, but San Francisco has been practically the home office for serial poopers. Las Vegas might be more expensive — maybe — but the Strip and Downtown areas get much better enforcement against those urban blights. If you’re even in those areas and not dropping at least $20 an hour in a casino, they ship you to Searchlight and detain you in the Harry Reid Shelter for Freeloaders. (A new policy forcing freeloaders to watch the As will be in place soon, I hear.)

In fact, perhaps Microsoft should look to venues where rational government and law enforcement policies exist, rather than the blue-state nightmares that its founder helped establish. Even the blue cities in red states such as Texas, Florida, Tennessee, and the Carolinas are forced to deal rationally with drugs and homelessness, not to mention literal s*** on the streets, euphemistically known as “urban filth.” Why reward bad government with such investment, especially in cities like Seattle and states like Washington and California that punish companies with extra taxes while doing nothing about public order?

The blow to Seattle goes beyond economics, too. Microsoft has practically branded itself as a Washington State company for decades. They established their 500-acre Redmond campus nearly 40 years ago after moving from Bellevue, both suburbs in the Seattle area. Seattle is their home turf and has been since the company’s founding. Abandoning Seattle is more than just a business decision — it is a political statement as well, and one that the company isn’t doing much to hide, either. 

One has to wonder just how attached Microsoft will be to King County and Washington in the long run now, especially with the high taxes and the spreading urban blight that the radicals in charge of Seattle are either refusing or unable to address. The city seems far more interested in redistributing wealth from companies like Amazon and Microsoft, and if that spreads to King County, Microsoft has the resources and portability to relocate to greener pastures. Or redder pastures, as it were. 

Addendum: One has to wonder whether this nonsense played a role in that decision as well:

Demonstrators opposed to Microsoft’s work for the Israeli government attempted to push their way into the tech giant’s annual software conference on Monday in Seattle.

Seattle police arrested one demonstrator after a crowd of dozens tried to push into the Seattle Convention Center, where hundreds had gathered for Microsoft Build. Several demonstrators were doused with pepper spray. …

Shortly after noon, demonstrators gathered on the sidewalk chanting pro-Palestinian slogans and waiving banners. Private security guards had closed a nearby convention center entrance and were escorting Build attendees inside through another gate.

Demonstrators then marched around the convention center to a back entrance underneath Interstate 5 and attempted to push their way in while chants continued. They struggled with security at the doors and were turned back. Some were sprayed with pepper spray.

Seattle might love this mishegass, but why would anyone else choose to put their employees and guests through it? I’d be surprised if Seattle has much convention business left after everyone else takes the cue from Microsoft and looks for more welcoming — and sane — destinations.