(The Center Square) – Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has made no secret of what he says is a lack of regional cooperation when it comes to dealing with the challenges of homelessness and drug addiction in Seattle, as well as King County.
During what was supposed to be a Saturday debate with mayoral challenger Katie Wilson – her campaign said she was sick and could not attend – at the Washington Athletic Club, Harrell stated he wanted to “implode” Public Health – Seattle and King County.
“Now, one thing that I did ask when I first got elected, I really wanted to serve on the Board of Health because I thought I should implode it,” Harrell said in response to a question from Andrea Suarez of We Heart Seattle that was captured on video by Discovery Institute journalist Jonathan Choe and posted on X. “Remember, the health department is a $3.5 billion organization run by the county.”
Harrell, who has put pressure on King County and other regional partners to address homelessness more effectively and says that Seattle bears a disproportionate share of the burden, continued.
“There are many cities like Berkeley that run their own health department, and there’s an effort underway on a national basis for cities to get close to running their own health departments, becoming what they call a continuum of care,” he said. “Now, why would cities be interested in doing that? I’ll tell you why. Because during COVID, the monies went right to the cities, and they found out cities were nimble. They knew their constituents better. They knew their streets better than the county. I know the streets better here in Seattle than the county.”
Berkeley, Calif., runs its own health department. It operates independently of the Alameda County Health Department, which typically oversees other incorporated cities within the county.
“OK, so part of the challenge, Andrea, is that I can’t tell them how to do their job, because this enabling of [public drug use] often is exacerbating the problem,” Harrell said.
The mayor went on to note, “And so I struggle a little bit with the Health Department. When I say this during these debates, my opponent will say you’re passing the buck. I don’t pass any bucks. I’m an empowered person. But I have to acknowledge that there are structural issues of how the health department are doing their job, and we are all suffering as a result of that. So I’m on top of the issues. We’re working on it now, and I will guarantee you that we’re making changes to our relationship with the county, because I’m paying into a system that – I think it’s failing all of us.”
The Center Square reached out to Public Health for its take on Harrell’s comments.
“Public Health takes a comprehensive approach to overdose response and recovery, working with our partners, including the City of Seattle, to implement it,” Public Health Communications Director James Apa emailed The Center Square. “Our approach focuses on getting more people into treatment and preventing more overdoses from occurring, which has resulted in the local overdose death rate dropping across the County and in Seattle.”
He cited statistics to support that claim.
“We’re making real progress,” Apa said. “Over the past two years, we’ve seen a promising overall decline in fatal overdoses. For example, in King County overall in 2024, overdoses decreased 22% compared to 2023. In Seattle in 2024, fatal overdoses went down 25% compared to 2023, and between January and October 15th, 2025, they were down 19% compared to the same period in 2024.”
He explained the budget situation.
“The overall budget for Public Health, including overdose response and recovery efforts, is mainly funded by the county, Washington State, and the federal government, along with our partner cities,” Apa noted. “The City of Seattle’s share is roughly $17 million annually. This amount does not include Seattle’s funding for School-Based Health Centers and childcare health programs through various contracts.”
He concluded, “There are multiple causes behind the overdose crisis, which means we need a complete strategy that includes short-term and long-term solutions, and our community understands this reality.”
On Nov. 4, voters will decide who will serve as Seattle’s next mayor: incumbent Harrell or Wilson, who founded the advocacy organization Transit Riders Union. She won the August primary by more than 18,000 votes.
