Bellingham City Council votes to formally oppose Kroger-Albertsons supermarket merger

Bellingham City Council members voted unanimously on Monday to oppose the merger of Kroger and Albertsons, a $24.6 billion deal that’s already facing several anti-trust court challenges, including one from the state of Washington.

Councilman Jace Cotton brought the measure forward, saying the proposed merger is a threat to union jobs and to competition.

It would lead to higher food prices, could cause store closings and threaten food access, Cotton said in a committee session Monday.

“Washington state has more grocery stores to be sold than any other state — 124 in total, including five in Bellingham, potentially jeopardizing more than 500 union jobs,” according to the resolution approved Monday.

Kroger owns the Fred Meyer supermarkets in Bellingham, and Albertsons owns Haggen and Safeway. Those stores already dominate the Whatcom County market.

At a committee meeting Monday afternoon, Councilman Michael Lilliquist recognized the potential for economic harm from market concentration.

“Fewer and fewer and larger and larger grocery chains, it moves into the land of monopolies. Monopolies are illegal at the federal level at least because they are harmful to consumers. I really get the idea why this merger is threatening,” Lilliquist said.

A copy of the resolution was to be sent to the Federal Trade Commission, the state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the CEOs of Kroger and Albertsons.

Alberstsons ran afoul of Bellingham officials and neighborhood activists by closing its Birchwood store are preventing another supermarket from acquiring the location, creating a “food desert” in the area. Ferguson recently tanked that move, forcing Albertsons to back off its non-compete clause.

Ferguson, who is running for governor, filed suit to stop the Kroger-Albertsons merger in January and that trial started Monday.

The Federal Trade Commission is challenging the deal in federal court, and closing arguments were expected Tuesday.