Harley Lever

Harley Lever

Personal

Profession

Small business development consultant

Contact

Personal website

Harley Lever was a candidate for mayor of Seattle in Washington. Lever was defeated in the primary election on August 1, 2017.

Lever responded to Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal candidates. Click here to read his responses.

Biography

Levere is a small business development consultant and the founder of Safe Seattle, an organization that advocates on behalf of the homeless community.

Elections

2017

See also: Municipal elections in Seattle, Washington (2017)

The following candidates ran in the primary election for mayor of Seattle.

Mayor of Seattle, Primary Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jenny Durkan	27.90%	51,529
Cary Moon	17.62%	32,536
Nikkita Oliver	16.99%	31,366
Jessyn Farrell	12.54%	23,160
Bob Hasegawa	8.39%	15,500
Mike McGinn	6.50%	12,001
Gary Brose	2.16%	3,987
Harley Lever	1.81%	3,340
Larry Oberto	1.67%	3,089
Greg Hamilton	0.92%	1,706
Michael Harris	0.76%	1,401
Casey Carlisle	0.71%	1,309
James Norton Jr.	0.54%	988
Thom Gunn	0.25%	455
Mary Martin	0.23%	422
Jason Roberts	0.22%	405
Lewis Jones	0.19%	344
Alex Tsimerman	0.14%	253
Keith Whiteman	0.09%	174
Tiniell Cato	0.09%	170
Dave Kane	0.06%	114
Write-in votes	0.23%	418
Total Votes		184,667
Source: King County, "2017 election results," accessed August 15, 2017

Campaign themes

2017

See also: Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey

Lever participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	Integrating technology can data capturing so we can understand our problems better, know how well our strategies are working, and leverage technology to enhance all of our systems while reducing costs. In many cases, we are literally calling around trying to access information that should be readily available on our smartphones. We can run this city far more efficiently and help those in need better with an infusion of technology and strategy. It is time for "Smart Government" and I want to make Seattle a world leader in "Smart Government".	”
—Harley Lever (May 25, 2017)

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important: city services (trash, utilities, etc.), civil rights, crime reduction/prevention, environment, government transparency, homelessness, housing, K-12 education, public pensions/retirement funds, recreational opportunities, transportation, and unemployment. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important.

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue	Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Homelessness	7	Environment
2	Housing	8	Civil rights
3	K-12 education	9	Public pensions/retirement funds
4	Transportation	10	Unemployment
5	Crime reduction/prevention	11	City services (trash, utilities, etc.)
6	Government transparency	12	Recreational opportunities

Nationwide municipal issues

The candidate was asked to answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions.

Question	Response
Is it important for the city’s budget to be balanced?Answer options: Not important; Not important, but required by state law; A little important; A little important, but required by state law; Important; Very important	Very important
Which level of government do you feel should set a minimum wage?Answer options: None, Local, State, Federal	State
What do you think is the best way to improve a city’s public safety? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Increased economic opportunities, Increased police presence/activity, Harsher penalties for offenders, Public outreach/education programs	We need an all of the above approach (with the exception of harsher penalties). We have too few police officers. We need more in order to slow down the process for officers and allow them to foster relationships with our communities. Currently, they are understaffed and have high workloads. This is a very dangerous way to operate for a person who has to make life or death decisions in an instant. We also need them to make relationships in the communities they patrol. You cannot do this if you are rushing around all of the time. There is no better investment we can make to solve many of our problems than education and skills training. Nobody can ever take your education or skills from you. We need to make sure our educational and skills-development systems are aligned with our economy. Currently, they are not. Increased economic opportunity coupled with an educational system that supports the jobs for the economic development will create an environment of prosperity. All of these will contribute to reducing crime and increasing public safety.
How do you think your city should emphasize economic development? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Changing zoning restrictions, Create a more competitive business climate, Focusing on small business development, Instituting a citywide minimum wage, Recruiting new businesses to your city, Regulatory and licensing reforms, and tax reform	Again, we need an "All of the above" approach. Our City's leadership has lost focus on making sure we have a balance. Small business is under pressure here in Seattle. Small business owners pay high rents, have high employee costs, and a high regulatory burden. Small business ownership is one of the best drivers of prosperity for women and minorities as they do not have the "Glass Ceilings" typical of other forms of employment. We must do everything we can to make sure we have a business environment that allows small business to flourish.
What is the one thing you’re most proud of about your city?	The compassion. Seattle has its heart in the right place.
What is the one thing you’d most like to change about your city?	Fiscal responsibility. Seattle has a tremendous amount of revenue coming in and a tremendous amount of waste. We need to reduce waste so we can lower our regressive taxes and free up money for spending on opioid addiction services, education, and other important initiatives.

Lever provided the following comments in addition to his survey responses:

“	I am the only candidate who brings a strong scientific, small business development, and a blue collar workers background to the race. My experience will help turn Seattle into the "Smart Government" we all want while understanding and balancing the needs of all stakeholders.	”
—Harley Lever (2017)

See also

Seattle, Washington	Washington	Municipal government	Other local coverage

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Mayor of Seattle
• Campaign website