(The Center Square) – With less than three weeks left to make his case to voters, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell says he is a seasoned leader who is ready to guide the city through future challenges.
Harrell, in a tough reelection bid against community activist Katie Wilson, emphasized his experience in navigating issues such as public safety, budget deficits and homelessness, during a Wednesday interview with The Center Square.
The mayor emphasized the importance of experience as an elected official, particularly in light of federal pressures from President Donald Trump targeting progressive cities like Seattle. He characterized Wilson, who is the frontrunner heading into next month’s general election, as lacking the experience needed to be the mayor of a major U.S. city.
“When dealing with Trump, he will walk over people that are inexperienced, that are quick to cave in when pressure is there, and this is where I think that I have a clear track record of standing up against people that are bullies,” Harrell said.
Harrell noted Wilson’s shifting stance on public safety, pointing to her past support for defunding the Seattle Police Department during the 2020 George Floyd protests.
Wilson claims her position on law enforcement has evolved.
“I was part of that movement, and I think that I’ve learned a lot since then. I think a lot of people have learned a lot since then,” Wilson said during a recent appearance on “The Jason Rantz Show,” adding that she now favors a community policing model with an emphasis on relationships and problem-solving, as opposed to strict law enforcement.
Harrell said that the change in perspective shows Wilson, co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Transit Riders Union, lacks a “north star” when it comes to a plan for public safety.
“You have to know exactly how to deploy your resources [and] how to manage a budget,” Harrell said. “This is not something you just learn; you have to have some level of either professional experience, professional training, or even human resource experience … certainly my opponent has very little, if any.”
Harrell told The Center Square that his proudest achievement as mayor has been revamping the city’s public safety system and terminating the federal consent decree, which had been in place since 2012, earlier this year. The consent decree was the result of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that found a pattern of using excessive or unnecessary force and engaging in racially biased policing
In Harrell’s first year as mayor, crime rates reached record highs in 2022, with 50,398 individual violent and property crimes recorded. However, crime rates are on track to fall below pre-COVID-19 pandemic lows this year, despite population growth.
Police staffing levels were at record lows in January 2024, but have since rebounded with the help of increased pay and the offering of $50,000 incentives for lateral hires. With nearly 150 new hires in 2025, Harrell anticipates SPD to be fully staffed by the middle of his second term, assuming his reelection bid is successful.
Harrell also launched the Community Assisted Response and Engagement, or CARE, Department, which is set to expand in size and ability to respond to 911 calls as part of a tentative agreement with the Seattle Police Officers Guild.
The mayor expressed some trepidation about implementing new and higher taxes. Harrell noted the thousands of Amazon jobs leaving Seattle. The high-tech sector accounts for 40% of the city’s job growth.
Amazon is relocating thousands of jobs from Seattle, primarily moving corporate and tech employees to its expanding campus in nearby Bellevue. While some jobs are being moved from older Seattle buildings to new Bellevue towers, the company’s overall headcount in Seattle has decreased due to both relocations and recent layoffs, as part of the retail giant’s long-term strategy to consolidate its regional growth in Bellevue.
“Before I tax businesses out of the city, I have to make sure that I have convinced them that we are running a lean machine, and I’m not convinced we are able to do that yet,” Harrell admitted. “I want jobs here, I want businesses here, I want their employees to be safe, so I have to do the work first before I consider what and who I will tax.”
Throughout Harrell’s first term, he was tasked with addressing a collective $642 million worth of budget deficits, which were dealt with through hiring freezes and halting nonessential travel, training, and technology upgrades.
The Center Square asked the mayor if he would consider cutting government services to address future budget deficits. Harrell responded that he avoids the word “cuts” and chooses to label any reductions to city departments as “governmental inefficiencies.”
Homelessness in Seattle is another top priority of the city government, as the homeless population in King County continues to grow, with the 2024 point-in-time count tallying 16,385 people, the most in county history.
The majority of that population resides in Seattle. Harrell pointed out that some 70% of Seattle’s homeless population became homeless outside of the city.
According to Harrell, 85% of tiny homes in King County are located in Seattle, as well as 63% of shelters.
“So that’s tough for Seattle to get in front of the problem, when in fact people are coming from different jurisdictions and those other jurisdictions aren’t funding the approach,” Harrell said.
The King County Regional Homelessness Authority, or KCRHA, has been the organization responsible for coordinating funding and services for unhoused individuals across King County since 2019. Seattle contributes more than $100 million to KCRHA and is by far its largest municipal funder. King County’s other 38 cities collectively provide only a fraction of this amount.
Harrell has a pending motion before KCRHA to “force regionalism, because we’re just not getting the outputs that we want.”
Seattle voters will choose their next mayor on Nov. 4.
