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Mayoral election in Seattle, Washington (2021)

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2021 Seattle elections
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Election dates
Filing deadline: May 21, 2021
Primary election: August 3, 2021
General election: November 2, 2021
Election stats
Offices up: Mayor
Total seats up: 1 (click here for other city elections)
Election type: Nonpartisan
Other municipal elections
U.S. municipal elections, 2021

Bruce Harrell defeated Lorena González in the nonpartisan general election for mayor of Seattle, Washington, on November 2, 2021. Mayor Jenny Durkan did not seek re-election.[2]

Harrell was city council president from 2016 to 2017 and from 2018 to 2019. González was the city council president as of the election. Associated Press's Chris Grygiel wrote that the primary "set up a choice between candidates representing the political divide between activist-left residents and more moderate progressives in one of the nation’s most liberal cities," with González representing the former camp and Harrell, the latter.[3]

Harrell said after the primary, "Our campaign’s message of unity, accountability, and action clearly resonated with voters. I’m looking forward to taking this energy into the general election and into office as Mayor as we unite Seattle to make real progress."[4]

González said, "Of votes counted to date, two-thirds of voters voted against the corporate-backed, status-quo candidate. That reflects the frustration I’ve heard from voters all over the city — they want bold, decisive, progressive action from their leaders."[4]

Homelessness and housing policy were major issues in the race. González and Harrell differed on zoning rules and their approach to encampments. Click here for more on their positions. Click here for candidates' responses to questions from The Seattle Times on policy questions including defunding the police department by 50%, property and sales tax increases, and rent control.

Two council members who did not endorse in the 2021 primary—Alex Pedersen and Debora Juarez—endorsed Harrell on August 16. Juarez and Pedersen were the two candidates of seven who won city council elections in 2019 with endorsements from the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce's PAC, Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy, which spent $2 million toward the elections.

Four of nine Seattle City Council members endorsed González in the primary. Three of them were up for election in 2019. Two were endorsed that year by the political action committee (PAC) Civic Alliance for a Progressive Economy. Committees affiliated with labor group UNITE HERE! supported Andrew Lewis, who endorsed González. Combined, these PACs spent more than $1 million in 2019.

Click here for background information on the 2019 elections.

As of November 1, the PACs that were active in the 2019 elections were not engaged in the 2021 mayoral election. The two groups that had spent the most in the 2021 election were Bruce Harrell for Seattle's Future, which had spent $493,000 supporting Harrell and $655,000 opposing González, and Essential Workers for Lorena, which spent $443,000 supporting González and $467,000 opposing Harrell.

Seattle uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[5]

For coverage of the August 3, 2021, primary election, click here. Seattle also held elections for two city council seats and city attorney in 2021.

  • Click here to learn more about the city council elections.
  • Click here to learn more about the city attorney election.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Mayor of Seattle

Bruce Harrell defeated M. Lorena Gonzalez in the general election for Mayor of Seattle on November 2, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bruce Harrell
Bruce Harrell (Nonpartisan)
 
58.6
 
155,294
Image of M. Lorena Gonzalez
M. Lorena Gonzalez (Nonpartisan)
 
41.2
 
109,132
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
777

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 265,203
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Seattle

The following candidates ran in the primary for Mayor of Seattle on August 3, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bruce Harrell
Bruce Harrell (Nonpartisan)
 
34.0
 
69,612
✔
Image of M. Lorena Gonzalez
M. Lorena Gonzalez (Nonpartisan)
 
32.1
 
65,750
Image of Colleen Echohawk
Colleen Echohawk (Nonpartisan)
 
10.3
 
21,042
Image of Jessyn Farrell
Jessyn Farrell (Nonpartisan)
 
7.3
 
14,931
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Arthur Langlie (Nonpartisan)
 
5.6
 
11,372
Image of Casey Sixkiller
Casey Sixkiller (Nonpartisan)
 
3.4
 
6,918
Image of Andrew Grant Houston
Andrew Grant Houston (Nonpartisan)
 
2.7
 
5,485
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
James Donaldson (Nonpartisan)
 
1.6
 
3,219
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Lance Randall (Nonpartisan)
 
1.4
 
2,804
Image of Clinton Bliss
Clinton Bliss (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
0.8
 
1,618
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Omari Tahir-Garrett (Nonpartisan)
 
0.2
 
391
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Bobby Tucker (Nonpartisan)
 
0.2
 
377
Image of Henry Dennison
Henry Dennison (Nonpartisan)
 
0.2
 
347
Image of Stan Lippmann
Stan Lippmann (Nonpartisan)
 
0.2
 
323
Image of Don Rivers
Don Rivers (Nonpartisan)
 
0.1
 
189
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
386

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 204,764
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff compiled a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[6]

M. Lorena Gonzalez

Image of M. Lorena Gonzalez

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

Seattle City Council Position #9 At-Large (Assumed office: 2016)

Biography:  González graduated from Washington State University and received a J.D. from Seattle University. She was a partner at Schroeter Goldmark & Bender. González was a founding member of the National Advisory Committee for the Latino Victory Project and served as co-chairwoman of Casa Latina's Capital Campaign. In 2020, members of the Seattle City Council elected her to serve as council president.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

González's campaign website said she "brings strong, experienced, and collaborative leadership to a bold progressive vision."

González said she spent her career fighting for working families. She said her experience losing her mother-in-law and her home in a fire motivated her to run for mayor and "lift each other up through programs like affordable childcare, housing, and mental healthcare rather than punching down on those who don't have as much as we do."

She said her record included passing paid family leave, expanding pre-K, increasing protections for sexual abuse victims, holding the police department accountable, expanding LGBTQ rights, election reforms, and pandemic assistance for small businesses.

Show sources

Sources: Lorena González's 2021 campaign website, "Home," accessed June 29, 2021; Lorena González's 2021 campaign website, "Seattle We Can Be," accessed June 29, 2021; The Seattle Times, "Meet Seattle's 2021 candidates for mayor, M. Lorena González," accessed June 29, 2021; YouTube, "WATCH: Seattle mayoral debate between Lorena González and Bruce Harrell," October 14, 2021; Seattle.gov, "About Councilmember Lorena González," accessed June 29, 2021

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Seattle in 2021.

Bruce Harrell

Image of Bruce Harrell

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

Seattle City Council District 2 (2008-2019)

Biography:  Harrell received a bachelor's degree and a J.D. from the University of Washington. He worked as an attorney and in other legal positions, including as chief legal advisor to the Rainier Valley Community Development Fund, the First A.M.E. Church, and the First A.M.E. Housing Corporation. During his city council tenure, council members elected Harrell president from 2016 to 2017 and from 2018 to 2019. In 2020, he led the city's COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Task Force.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Harrell said he was running because Seattle needed "a decisive leader fully committed to productive dialogue, planning and execution."

Harrell emphasized homelessness, police reform, and small business revitalization as priorities. He said he wanted parks cleared of people living outside and to house and provide services to those people. Harrell said he wanted an effective police department and criticized González by saying she had supported the defund narrative.

He said his record included passing ban-the-box legislation, leading minimum wage negotiations, expanding affordable housing, working for police reform, and helping chart the city's pandemic recovery.

Show sources

Sources: Bruce Harrell's 2021 campaign website, "About Bruce," accessed June 29, 2021; West Seattle Blog, "VIDEO: See how 8 Seattle mayor candidates answered 8 questions at the 34th District Democrats’ forum," June 5, 2021; The Seattle Times, "Meet Seattle's 2021 candidates for mayor, Bruce Harrell," accessed June 29, 2021; YouTube, "WATCH: Seattle mayoral debate between Lorena González and Bruce Harrell," October 14, 2021; Seattle.gov, "About Councilmember Bruce Harrell," accessed June 29, 2021

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Seattle in 2021.

Noteworthy endorsements

Links to endorsement lists on candidate websites are included below.

The following table shows endorsements issued after the August 3, 2021, primary. The "Previously endorsed" column shows the name of a primary election candidate if the person or group endorsed a different candidate in the primary.

Noteworthy endorsements
Endorsement González Harrell Prevoiusly endorsed
Newpapers and editorials
The Urbanist elections committee ✔ Colleen Echohawk
The Daily of the University of Washington editorial board[7] ✔
Elected officials
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) ✔
State Rep. Noel Frame (D) ✔
State Rep. Joe Nguyen (D) ✔
State Rep. Jamila Taylor (D) ✔
State Rep. Jesse Johnson (D) ✔
Seattle City Councilmember Debora Juarez[8] ✔
Seattle City Councilmember Alex Pedersen[8] ✔
Seattle Port Commissioner Sam Cho[8] ✔ Colleen Echohawk
Seattle Port Commissioner Fred Felleman[8] ✔
Individuals
Former Seattle Mayoral Candidate Andrew Grant Houston ✔
Former Seattle Mayoral Candidate Jessyn Farrell ✔
Former Seattle Mayor Charley Royer[8] ✔
Former Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw[8] ✔ Colleen Echohawk
Former Seattle Councilmember and Interim Mayor Tim Burgess[8] ✔
Former Seattle Councilmember Richard Conlin[8] ✔
Organizations
34th Legislative District Democrats[9] ✔
32nd Legislative District Democrats ✔
43rd Legislative District Democrats ✔
46th Legislative District Democrats ✔
EMILY's List[10] ✔
IUPAT District Council 5 ✔
350 Seattle Action ✔ Andrew Grant Houston
Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates West ✔
APACEvotes ✔
Sierra Club ✔
Washington Conservation Voters ✔
Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund ✔
Seattle Indivisible ✔
Washington State Council of County and City Employees[11] ✔
Seattle Fire Fighters Union (IAFF Local 27)[12] ✔
Iron Workers Local 86 ✔
IBEW Local 77 ✔

Policy stances

Housing and homelessness

Homelessness and housing policy were major issues in the race. González and Harrell differed on zoning rules and their approach to encampments.

Zoning

  • González supported changing zoning rules to allow apartment buildings to be built in neighborhoods where only single-family homes were allowed. She said, "Despite Seattle’s progressive nature, we are not immune to a legacy of racist policies that include redlining and exclusionary zoning. Over 80% of our residential land is zoned for single-family homes, which creates a housing shortage that has a disproportionate impact on low-income people and people of color."[16]
  • Harrell said, "Without a plan and community engagement, broadly and quickly eliminating single-family zoning could lead to serious negative consequences: Significant and racially-disproportionate displacement as the cheapest locations, typically in communities of color, are flipped and developed; negative climate effects by not focusing development along transit lines; and an antagonistic public that feels left out and driven to disrupt progress."[17]

Encampments

  • Harrell emphasized restoring public spaces and said there would be consequences for people living in public spaces who refuse shelter when offered. He said, "It is inhumane to allow people to stay in those parks under those conditions, without heat, without water, without services."[18]
  • González said, "I’m the only candidate in this race who has unequivocally stated that I do not support forcibly removing people from public spaces when there is insufficient shelter or homes to offer people who desperately need it."[19]

Interviews and questionnaires

King 5 interviews

King 5 did one-on-one interviews with the candidates. Click here to view the videos.

Belltown United Q&A

Belltown United hosted one-on-one Q&A's with candidates for mayor and council. Click here to view the video.

The Seattle Times Q&A

The Seattle Times asked mayoral primary candidates a series of yes-or-no questions and published responses from eight candidates. González's and Harrell's responses are presented below, organized by issue area. For full quotes from candidates on related and additional topics, click here.

Public safety
Question González Harrell
Should the Seattle Police Department be defunded by 50% or more during your mayoral term (to invest in other needs)? Maybe No
Should police unions be allowed to engage in collective bargaining over accountability issues? No No
Housing
Question González Harrell
Should Seattle eliminate zoning that allows only single-family houses and instead allow multi-family housing on every block (beyond current allowances for accessory units)? Yes No
Were Seattle allowed by the state to enact rent control, would you support doing that? Yes Maybe
Taxes
Question González Harrell
Should Seattle increase taxes on large corporations? Yes Yes
Would you support raising property and/or sales taxes during your mayoral term? Maybe Maybe
Legal system
Question González Harrell
Would you support Seattle establishing poverty and behavioral health as defenses for certain misdemeanors? Yes No
Should the possession of all drugs be decriminalized in Seattle? Yes Yes
Homelessness
Question González Harrell
Would you vote for the proposed Compassion Seattle charter amendment, related to homelessness policies? No Yes
Broadband
Question González Harrell
Should Seattle create municipal broadband? Yes Maybe

KUOW Q&A

Click the links below to read candidates' responses to a series of questions from KUOW. Click here for more election coverage from KUOW.

Campaign themes

See also: Campaign themes

Lorena González

González's campaign website stated the following themes.

“

Solving Homelessness

All Hands on Deck to Solve Homelessness
We Must Act Urgently to Solve This Crisis

Every day in Seattle we see painful evidence that homelessness is an unacceptable crisis affecting all who live, work, and visit here, most especially our neighbors living outside. This demands effective, consistent action to address the daily situation and make a healthier future where every Seattle resident has a home. We must increase housing and services that are proven to work and ensure city policies are effective and grounded in our shared humanity.

As your next Mayor, I ask: what kind of a city do we want to build for our children? As a parent, I want to build a city for my daughter and all children that’s just and equitable, where all people have homes. We want to be a Seattle where all residents live in safety and with dignity and have access to good public services: clean restrooms and public spaces, working water fountains, and green parks in every neighborhood.

I commit to tackle homelessness with every resource available and on multiple fronts. We must respond to the immediate needs of people outdoors, create more homes, and get at the underlying reasons people lose their homes in the first place. Trying to cope with symptoms of homelessness without addressing the root causes will not succeed. My administration will leverage all Seattle’s resources and lean into our partnerships at every level of government and in every neighborhood. In the first 100 days, I will take urgent actions to move progress on multiple fronts:

Ramp up Emergency Responses to Keep People Safe and Healthy: Our emergency response must be guided by public health starting on day one. I will work rapidly to increase shelter capacity and assess encampments across all neighborhoods and quickly work with city staff and community service providers to identify people we can immediately help move inside into hotel rooms and other non-congregate settings.

Rapidly Build More Affordable Housing: Housing is the lasting solution to homelessness. My first priority is to secure funding to rapidly build more housing, with wraparound services for individuals who need that support. As Seattle Mayor, I know we must lead in our region and work closely with local, regional, state and federal partners to develop the housing we need: about 37,000 more affordable homes for families and individuals living on extremely lowincomes (according to the latest 2020 McKinsey & Co. report).

Bring better Mental Health and Addiction Services to Seattle Residents: Our current system is failing the people experiencing homelessness in Seattle and King County who suffer from serious mental health and substance use issues. I will push for more wraparound services for people with mental health and substance use disorders, skilled 24/7 crisis response teams (like Health One and Triage One), and service-enriched supportive housing for those who need it.

Tackle the Skyrocketing Costs of Living in Seattle: I will provide the leadership and collaboration we need to tackle what it costs to live in our beautiful and desirable city. We must address housing costs for people who are getting priced out: limit rent hikes, require several months’ notice for significant rent increases, and get rental assistance to Seattle tenants and landlords who need it most. To support Seattle families with babies and toddlers, I will expand affordable child care throughout the city. Because we will all do better when we reduce income inequality, I will pilot a universal basic income program and invest in skills and career training.

Welcome People to Every Neighborhood: I am committed to creating an inclusive and interconnected city, investing wisely and deeply in the housing and strong public transit we need. We should make sure more homes of all shapes and sizes are available for our neighbors: legalize housing like duplexes, triplexes, and other lower cost homes across Seattle. To build the affordable homes we need, we have to change outdated laws that prevent multi-family housing in 70% of Seattle’s residential areas. As the next Mayor, I will center this vision of a vibrant city as we plan for and put Seattle on a path to being an affordable and sustainable city.

Equitable Development: Our Black, brown, and Indigenous neighbors experience the trauma of homelessness at disproportionately high rates due to systemic inequities. We should drive down this disproportionality with policies and priorities that recognize and focus on what people and communities need to heal, stabilize, and thrive. We need to ensure that as we continue to develop our city, we are creating more affordable housing with, for, and in BIPOC communities. I have long supported the Equitable Development Initiative and as Mayor will work to increase and stabilize this funding.

Make Seattle Livable for Regular People by Taxing the Wealthy and Corporations: How will we create affordable housing and services we need, and achieve good results on homelessness and income inequality? Big corporations and the very wealthy must finally pay their fair share. During the COVID-19 pandemic, average Seattle residents struggled to help their children learn, pay rent and mortgages, and stay safe, while Amazon’s profits soared 220%. The largest corporations and wealthiest individuals can afford to invest in a better future for the city they call home -- they must, or many more Seattleites will lose their homes.

I will be a Mayor who is willing to stand up to the wealthy and big corporations -- I have the track record to prove it. I will work with community leaders and the Council to start rebalancing the tax code so regular Seattleites don’t foot the bills alone anymore. We can and will strengthen Seattle so we can all be at home here.

Economic Recovery

Progress for All

Creating a Seattle Economy Where Everyone Thrives

Our city can be a place where every community has economic security and everyone thrives, together.

With effective, progressive leadership in the Mayor’s office, Seattle can do better. We will work to ensure our communities have the resources they need and that we have excellent infrastructure for our small businesses and working people to thrive. By centering the wellbeing of families, communities, and small businesses, and not the demands of the corporate elite, we can build a more just and democratic economy where everyone prospers.

1. A Bold Vision for Just Transition: Solving the climate crisis demands– and creates an opportunity for – Seattle to lead the transition to a green economy based in local ownership, good jobs, and environmental justice. As the federal government deploys grants for infrastructure, recovery, and a Green New Deal, Seattle will be ready with capacity in community-based organizations, locally owned businesses, and a skilled workforce.

● With our industrial lands, innovative culture, and manufacturing prowess, Seattle is poised to invent the clean manufacturing future. We must modernize our industrial infrastructure and prepare to build the technology for the green economy.
● We will create thousands of stable, high-quality jobs by retrofitting homes, restoring the Duwamish River and the Salish Sea ecosystems, and building green infrastructure.
● We will partner with Seattle For A Green New Deal leaders and direct resources to their community-based priorities for clean air, clean water, and environmental justice.

2. Thriving future for vibrant neighborhood commercial and cultural districts

Seattle's magic lies in our vital neighborhoods and commercial districts where people of all ages, abilities, income levels, races, and cultural backgrounds can thrive together.

● Ensure land use, transit, and commercial policies support complete neighborhoods with arts, restaurants, entertainment, healthy food, pharmacies, affordable childcare, parks, and community spaces.
● End apartment bans and add affordable housing so workers can live near their work.
● Provide frequent, affordable public transit to all job centers, a full network of protected bike lanes, and safe walking/rolling facilities to make it easy to get around without a car.
● Implement municipal broadband so every community has excellent affordable internet.

3. Confront racialized wealth inequality and restore community wealth and health

Whether we’re Black, white or brown, we want our families to be whole and our communities to be vibrant. Politicians who blame those who struggle to pay rent, or demean those who fight for justice, fortifying a divide between haves and have-nots. Let’s stop over-policing poor, immigrant, Black, and Native neighbors and instead invest in resilience and economic security.

● Work with community-led efforts to shift funding from SPD to investments that will heal communities, from local safety to food security to culturally responsive mental health.
● Reverse displacement of low-income communities by tripling permanently affordable housing, expanding land trusts, beefing up renter protections, moving surplus public land into community-based stewardship, and funding Equitable Development projects.
● Work with a partner to help them set up a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) to offer patient, low-cost capital to community-serving enterprises.

4. Empower workers and create good jobs

Good jobs in well-run businesses sustain healthy families and strong communities. When employers don’t pay living wages or take advantage of their workers, the public sector is called on to pick up the pieces. We all benefit from good union jobs, workers getting a fair return for their work, and holding the private sector to a high standard. Let’s put our progressive values into action by building a culture of sharing wealth and power via innovative ownership models - so everyone benefits from success, no matter the size of their job.

● Establish incentives and provide technical assistance for worker co-ops, workerowned collectives, profit sharing, and employee ownership.
● Expand the use of Community Workforce Agreements and Community Benefit Agreements, creating high quality jobs, increasing local community hiring, and ensuring that large development projects are responsible to community needs and impacts.
● Establish a citywide ‘access to hours’ policy so that current hourly employees who want to work up to 40 hours can get them before adding new part-time employees.
● Ensure workers in the caring economy know their rights and have protections & benefits.
● Raise standards in the gig economy by ending sub-minimum wages and improving access to benefits.

5. Reinvigorate Office of Economic Development to serve as an energetic community partner.

We will create a blueprint for a robust small business economy based in local ownership and reinvent and empower OED as a center for resources, tools and technical assistance.

● Create a clear action agenda for local ownership of small businesses, community ownership of assets, and targeted solutions for neighborhood economic resilience.
● Serve local businesses with tools they need to find capital and technical assistance, with attention to removing barriers for new entrepreneurs from lowincome communities.
● Ensure immigrant businesses have in-language, culturally competent guidance.
● Help protect local ownership and family businesses transitioning to the next generation, whether in fragile neighborhoods like CID or unique industries like fishing and maritime.
● Partner with the Greater Seattle Business Association and other groups representing LGBTQ+ business owners to promote LGBTQ+ small businesses in Capitol Hill and other parts of the city that are struggling to stay afloat from lost revenue due to COVID-19.

6. An equitable tax system to provide resources to fund the infrastructure we need

Today, we know that wealthy individuals and massive corporations like Amazon take in record profits while not contributing fairly to the schools, infrastructure, and services we all use. Our state tax code has been the most upside-down in the nation, taxing poor and middle-class households at much higher rates than the wealthiest As Mayor, I will:

● Work with the State toward a balanced tax code, where corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share through a wealth tax, estate taxes, and a progressive income tax.
● Require foundations and Donor Advised Funds to grant an annual minimum amount.
● Work with Council to explore progressive local revenue options as well as B&O tax reform to reduce the burden on smaller and low-margin businesses.

7. Create affordable and accessible childcare

Childcare costs place a major strain on the budgets of working families. They have also made it hard for people, especially women, to re-enter the workforce. According to the National Women’s Law Center, women’s participation in the workforce has dropped to its lowest level since 1988 due to the pandemic. Childcare in our city needs to be affordable and accessible for all.

● Treat childcare as essential infrastructure, not a commodity to be bought and sold. This means looking at every source of funding: city, regional, state, and federal. We finally have a President that understands the importance of these critical investments, and we need to seize this moment.
● Provide technical assistance to childcare providers to help them navigate the bureaucratic hurdles, so they can focus on what they will do best. My administration will work to cut the red tape.
● Drastically expand access to affordable and safe childcare for infants and toddlers across the city, and address “childcare deserts” by ensuring that childcare is not only affordable but accessible to people in every neighborhood.

We knew we had steep challenges in our city already, and the pandemic and 2020 racial uprising refocused our energy: we are no longer waiting for hoarded wealth to trickle down, we won’t let corporate lobbyists block what we know is right, we won’t turn our backs on neighbors in harm’s way.

When we go all in for all of us, we can make Seattle a place we’re proud to call home with the world-class public schools, affordable housing, abundant good jobs, healthy local businesses, and community services our families need. As Dr. King made clear 58 years ago, racial justice and economic justice are inseparable. Strong communities and determined public leadership are the key to remake our local economy into a dynamic force for equity, where we all thrive together.

Police Accountability & Public Safety

Transforming Seattle’s Public Safety & Police Accountability

Creating Equitable Community Safety

As a civil rights lawyer for more than a decade, I worked tirelessly to get justice for victims of police violence and racially biased policing across Washington and Seattle. In one of my most high-profile cases, Monetti v Seattle, I sued the Seattle Police Department on behalf of a young Latino man after a detective threatened to “beat the Mexican piss” out of him, while other officers stood around observing and failing to intervene. My work on this and other civil rights cases is what fuels my vision and commitment to transform Seattle’s approach to public safety and accountability.

We need real police accountability that meets this civil rights moment, and we need leaders with a track record to implement it. In 2017, I worked with the community to champion the passage of landmark legislation to expand civilian oversight of the police department, establish the Office of Inspector General for Public Safety, and make the Community Police Commission permanent. I also worked to end the SPD’s acquisition of military surplus equipment. I worked to pass the first reduction of the SPD’s budget in Seattle’s history to reallocate resources to community-based, safety programs and participatory budgeting.

While I am proud of the work we have done together to advance true police reform, accountability and community-based investments in alternatives to law enforcement, there is much more we must and can do together.

Seattle’s next Mayor will be responsible for building on the progress that we have made. Armed law enforcement should not be responding to a mental health crisis or a non-violent situation. This is not only an unnecessary use of resources but too often results in needless death and trauma in our Black, brown, and indigenous communities. My administration will work to shift funds away from SPD toward programs like the Health One Mobile units, the Crisis Response Team, alternative community safety programs like Community Service Officers, and other public-health models that rapidly address the health and crisis needs of those experiencing homelessness.

As the next Mayor, I will bring together community, council and labor to ensure that the next contract with the police officer’s guild includes critical components of the 2017 Police Accountability Ordinance, which I worked to pass, that have been left on the table by past mayors.

Our next Mayor also must take a hands-on approach to crisis management and exercise their legal authority over the Seattle Police Department. Recent reporting revealed that the order to abandon the East Precinct last summer was given while the Mayor was apparently absent from the discussion. Civilian control of the police is critical to a functioning democracy, and the Mayor cannot abdicate her responsibility to exercise control over the Seattle Police Department. It is unacceptable to have un-elected officials making these crucial life and death decisions, and it will not happen under my administration.

We also need to work to reduce gun violence that disproportionately impacts our Black, brown, and indigenous communities. As a Mexican-American growing up in the Lower Yakima Valley, I lost friends to gun violence and have also survived, without injury, drive-by shootings. That is why as a councilmember I have prioritized working with gun safety advocates to pass three major gun violence prevention laws during my tenure. The first requires safe storage of firearms, reducing the theft of firearms, suicides, and accidental deaths. The second was increasing penalties for individuals who failed to report a lost or stolen firearm. The third expanded the regional domestic violence firearms enforcement unit to get guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals. Lastly, I also supported the appropriation of revenue from the ammunition tax to fund public health research at Harborview to continue supporting data-driven research to prevent gun violence.

In 2021, I also voted in support of allocating $10.4 million toward community safety programs to address the epidemic of gun violence harming our communities. I will work with urgency to immediately implement gun-violence prevention programs.

Additionally, we have to work with our federal and state partners to allow Seattle to build on the gun safety laws we have already passed. Currently we are preempted by federal and state laws from passing true and meaningful gun safety legislation, such as a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

Seattle’s mayor plays a critical role in setting the narrative and sending a clear message to the NRA and their political allies that their policies are wrong for the people of our city. Much of the gun violence inside major cities comes from guns that are legally purchased in other jurisdictions with looser laws. We need stronger state and federal gun violence prevention laws to keep guns out of our city, and we need to work with our state and federal partners to prevent illegal guns from coming into Seattle. That’s why I’m so honored to have the endorsement of federal and state leaders like Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña. These relationships will be critical to supporting their advocacy and making sure they have local support to champion reform and accountability in Olympia and DC.

Climate, Transit, and Housing

The simple truth is that ending our reliance on fossil fuels will improve life for everyone. Transitioning to a 100% clean future will cut pollution that contributes to asthma and lung disease—whether it’s from gasoline and diesel on our highways or dangerous natural gas emissions from our boilers and furnaces—and it will help stop the ever-worsening march of climate change. As Seattle faces record heat waves, as families hide indoors from fast approaching smoke and constructions and other outdoor workers are exposed to it, it’s becoming clearer than ever: Seattle must act, and fast.

I have a strong record on climate change, and I’m committed to making sure that as mayor, we turn Seattle into the nation’s greenest city. I was proud to support the Seattle Green New Deal, and the JumpStart Seattle tax to fund it, and I was proud to support updates to the commercial energy code that will help make our largest buildings fossil-free and more efficient. As mayor, Seattle will go even further.

Transit & Housing

The largest source of carbon pollution in Seattle is transportation. A transition to a climate stable future will require planning a city that is car-optional, and ensure that all remaining cars, trucks and buses on the road are clean, zero-emission, electric vehicles. Making it safe to walk and bike and increasing the reliability and usability of transit helps everyone—it cuts congestion, it improves air quality and cuts climate pollution. We will:

● Recommit to transit in Seattle, expanding transit service hours and frequency. Transit should serve all Seattleites. That means those that work 9-5, but also crucially people that work other shifts, that don’t commute to downtown, and more. Car ownership costs the average household $9000/year, so expanding access to transit and helping more households opt out of car trips will save money and cut pollution.
● Help people get around by bike and walking. We must finish the Bike Master Plan and provide for sidewalks in every corner of Seattle. It’s no mistake that South Seattle has the highest concentration of people of color in the city, has some of the least complete sidewalk and bike infrastructure, and is home to the most dangerous streets and highest pedestrian injury and death rates—it’s the result of a legacy of underinvestment we must rectify. Dedicated bike and walking lanes, road design to discourage dangerous driving an speeding, and other measures will reduce conflicts between road users, increasing safety and encouraging more to walk and ride—it also will help everyone get where they’re going faster.
● End exclusionary zoning that makes our neighborhoods sprawl, increasing reliance on driving and causing congestion. Increase mixed use zoning that allows more corner stores, coffee shops and other neighborhood amenities within walking distance, making extra car trips unnecessary. We need policy to support this--that means zoning that encourages complete communities, and a permitting process that preserves community voice but prevents obstructionism.
● Accelerate the electrification of Seattle’s own fleet of vehicles and of King County Metro. Provide access to public charging for those drivers that live in apartments or don’t have dedicated parking, so we’re not locking anyone into fossil fuels. Support access to electric vehicles for low income households as well, through electric low income car share programs and more.

Buildings

Climate pollution from natural gas use is growing at a faster rate than any sector of emissions in Washington—faster even than transportation emissions. Methane gas use indoors is also dangerous to our health, especially for apartment dwellers who often have less ventilation and safety measures. A recent UCLA study found that after just one hour of cooking with gas, 90% of homes have indoor air quality that violates federal ambient air quality standards—it would be illegal outside. And a Harvard study found that in 2017, more Washingtonians died from building pollution, including methane gas, than from all vehicle collisions in the state.

● We must ensure that new buildings in Seattle are 100% clean on day one. Seattle City Light is among the cleanest utilities in the nation and world, and the City should maximize this valuable asset in the fight for public health and against climate change. We just shouldn’t allow new buildings that depend on fossil fuels anymore.
● Build on existing state and city policy to require large commercial buildings to eliminate their emissions and go fossil free. Commercial buildings already must cut energy use beginning in 2026 by state law—they should cut pollution and fossil fuel use at the same time.
● Seattle City Light and the City Council must incentivize and aid homeowners and renters who want to electrify their homes. Too many Seattleites are exposed to the dangers of methane gas—increasing childhood asthma, lung disease, and more. As people switch and upgrade their appliances, the City and our electric utility should be a partner in the conversion to an all-electric future.
● We must create union jobs as part of this transition, and do so for both electric and gas workers. While electrifying our buildings, we must also support the use of hydrogen and fossil gas replacements in other sectors. We should use Seattle’s hydro assets to produce 100% clean hydrogen for industrial uses, for example, and partner with the Port of Seattle and other regional entities to use this clean energy in the transportation and shipping sectors. We should also upgrade our district heating utility in Seattle to be zero-carbon and more efficient, and make substantial investments in water conservation and clean water access, including making sure that no child is exposed to lead in their school’s drinking water.

Arts & Culture

Seattle’s public spaces and cultural spaces define who feels welcome, who belongs, whose stories are worth listening to. In our cultural life, we need artists from all backgrounds sharing their stories and world with us. If we want to be a multicultural city that celebrates Black and Indigenous histories and cultures, and the stories and contributions of all the uniquely diverse immigrant communities, we need artists making art. We need public spaces that tell our different experiences of shared history and stories from communities.

I’m proud to have supported $3 million in funding in assistance for arts organizations as part of the Seattle Rescue Plan. Arts and culture are essential infrastructure, and we need to invest in ensuring artists can stay in our communities and continue to create cultural spaces and art. As Congress considers an infrastructure package, I will be working with our federal partners, like Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, to identify new opportunities to secure additional funding for arts and culture in our city.

We also need to recognize that we cannot have a thriving arts sector without tackling income inequality in our city, which impacts workers in the arts sector. We need to invest in affordable housing, affordable transit, and affordable childcare to ensure these workers can continue to call Seattle home. I have proposed a comprehensive plan for economic recovery that is focused on helping workers and small businesses throughout all of our city’s neighborhoods.

My plan also proposes reinvigorating the Office of Economic Development so that it serves local businesses with tools they need to find capital and technical assistance, with attention to removing barriers for new entrepreneurs from low-income communities, BIPOC communities and the LGBTQ+ community. Artists are often small business-owners themselves who need to keep their books, pay their employees, and file their taxes. Providing technical and small business assistance for artists and culture workers is one way to ensure they are part of shared prosperity possible in Seattle.

Artists also need spaces to call home where they can create, collaborate, and plan. Art spaces have been some of the first casualties of our affordability challenges and we have lost too many. We need to preserve our existing spaces and identify currently underutilized spaces that could be used for our arts community. Theater Off Jackson is an example of a space that needs to be preserved; it's in a historic neighborhood for people of color and currently serves as a space where BIPOC theater, queer theater, body positive theater, and burlesque can run.

Recognizing the rich contributions that arts and culture makes to our community should also be recognized by designating neighborhoods that are arts and culture hubs as arts districts, which will help with placemaking and economic revitalization. As we continue to build affordable housing, we can, and should, incentivize development of co-located housing and arts and culture spaces for permanent places where ideas and art can grow, incubate, and flourish.[20]

”
—Lorena González’s campaign website (2021)[21]

Bruce Harrell

Harrell's campaign website stated the following themes.

“

We Can Rebuild Our Economy Consistent With Our Progressive Values

Now is the time for big thinking and creative genius to put our city back on track and help reach our collective potential. I will bring together unions, business and civic leaders, community voices and advocates, environmental and health experts, leaders in the arts, education, and philanthropy, to create the Seattle we can all be proud of.

Seattle has always been an example for the nation – a progressive city where higher wages fueled greater equity and opportunity, where entrepreneurs were welcomed and nurtured, where investments in our parks, libraries, transit and affordable housing showed what a city can do when focused on a bright, inclusive future.

The pandemic disruption has turned back the clock for too many – widening inequalities in wealth, pushing vulnerable people out of housing and depriving access to needed support. These devastations have impacted a generation of students, young workers, and families struggling to make ends meet.

Here are some bold ideas for recovery and equitable growth that harnesses the best of Seattle:

  • Help Small and Minority Owned Businesses: Economic recovery will not happen overnight, and small businesses – especially those owned by women and BIPOC entrepreneurs, risk falling farther behind. We will protect short term, dedicated resources to help these businesses not only get back on their feet, but expand and take advantage of the opportunities ahead to create more jobs. The City of Seattle will establish new “business to business” partnerships to ensure that smaller businesses and BIPOC entrepreneurs enjoy the ancillary revenues and success of many larger businesses. I have direct expertise in developing these models.
  • Affordable Health Care for All: No one in our city should live without access to health care. Cities like San Francisco have developed basic coverage models that provide access to those at risk of falling through the cracks of a costly, cumbersome, and racially inequitable system. Employees of small businesses, gig economy workers, young people, and anyone experiencing homelessness or economic disruption all deserve quality care. Let’s come together and build a system that shows our commitment to what we may call “Healthy Seattle.” Where the Affordable Care Act and county health services fall short, particularly in the areas of preventative health and post-COVID trauma and mental isolation illnesses, “Healthy Seattle” may be critically important for the survival of our most vulnerable Seattle residents and lower wage workers.
  • A Smarter Approach to Invest in Better Neighborhoods: Seattle is divided into 7 Council districts, but we have yet to change our core neighborhood investment strategy. I will explore appropriating real resources – $10 million dollars would make an impact – in each of the 7 districts to provide Councilmembers with the opportunity to work directly with their communities to invest in specific localized priorities: small business recovery; homelessness solutions; parks and open space; cleanliness; pedestrian and public safety strategies or cultural facility preservation. Each district has unique needs, and each Councilmember will work collaboratively with City departments to meet those unique needs working closely with community.
  • A Seattle Jobs Center: Seattle must win the emerging jobs war. Using all available commercialized online job boards, state sponsored employment ads, executive search materials and every means to help employ every possible employee, and making sure we provide resources to re-tool and re-train job applicants seeking work, we will explore making sure Seattle is the facilitator of employing every available job applicant. Some employers have phenomenal programs for supporting returning military veterans or previously incarcerated residents. Seattle will provide a user-friendly infrastructure and be known as the city that values and promotes jobs, jobs and jobs. Our educational strategies will be closely aligned with our Seattle Jobs strategy.
  • Revitalize Arts, Culture and Nightlife: Few sectors of our economy have been as hard hit as our city’s dynamic – and critical – arts, music, food and nightlife economy. Let’s re-imagine how we support these critical nonprofits and businesses – from preservation of historic buildings and venues, to exploration of sustainable revenue to support organizations that advance equity, inspire and teach, and provide a stage for the next Quincy Jones, Macklemore, or countless other creative voices in our community.

As your Mayor I’ll be a strong – and consistent – voice for small businesses and working people, protecting and improving equity, wages, and work standards and building upon my 30-year career helping diversify businesses opportunities in our city.

We Will Plan – and Act – To End Homelessness

The homelessness crisis devastates not only the lives of those suffering on our streets and in our parks, but it affects the safety and peace of mind for too many Seattle families. It is a crisis that has divided our city and shaken our confidence as a compassionate, can-do city.

We need a Mayor who will take immediate and decisive action, a relentless leader who will take ownership of the problem. I will own it. My plan is to bring a new approach – one that will combine local and federal resources and work to coordinate with regional partners to ensure an ambitious plan – urgently getting people out of parks and streets and into stable housing with the on-site services they need.

To ensure coordination and accountable planning, I’ll work with local and regional partners to develop an accountable, ambitious plan with transparency and benchmarks to expand and provide housing and services on demand to every unsheltered neighbor. This plan will be online and accessible to the public with measurable outcomes and defined reporting, and establish progressive, dedicated revenue tied to meeting housing and cleanup goals, restoring public confidence.

This spring, I called for the City to use a majority of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to immediately expand support services, while drawing on existing local dollars to fund the purchase, construction, and transition of hundreds of units of permanent housing through hotels, tiny homes, and other long-term, stable supportive housing options.

While the current Council fell short of the needed majority level funding, in 2022, we can and must go further, combining scheduled American Rescue Plan Act funding, local and state resources, and philanthropic support.

From my first year in office, we will treat the homelessness crisis appropriately as the greatest challenge facing our city. By uniting together on this shared mission, rather than pointing fingers, we will help restore lives, revitalize shared spaces and parks, and strengthen our communities and city.

My wife, a former United Way of King County CEO, and I have experience in raising significant, dedicated funding for health and human services. So many neighbors want to help solve the homelessness crisis, but don’t know what to do. What is their entry point? We are a compassionate city and people are tired of seeing stalled progress and continued in-fighting. Seattle will be nationally known for our collective effort and my job as Mayor will be to create and lead this effort.

With your vote, I will secure needed resources through a variety of existing sources, including:

  • Establish a minimum 12% of the City budget to address this housing crisis. This is both an increase in current funding and a sustainable level identified by a coalition of civic and housing services leaders for making a needed, immediate impact.
  • Dedicate a minimum 50% of 2022 American Rescue Plan Act to housing and services. The pandemic made the homelessness crisis worse, and one time funds are available to help. We cannot repeat the mistakes made this year with underfunding homelessness response and leaving people literally in the cold.
  • Leverage additional state and private resources through the Regional Homelessness Authority, the most effective way to make sure that Seattle is both doing a fair share to provide housing and services, and coordinate with other cities who must do their part as well.
  • Create a Dynamic Non-Profit Partnership, creating a model where every resident and business can make tax deductible donations that go directly to addressing homelessness and where they can participate in community clothing drives, food distribution lines, clean-up work parties, resume drafting sessions, drug and alcohol treatment conversations and other activities that provide direct support to those experiencing homelessness. Our children will learn from our collective ability to show compassion.

These interconnected one time and long range funding models will be set in motion to deliver real housing and needed services, including:

  • Identify 1,000 units of emergency, supportive shelter in the first 6 months of my administration, with another 1,000 by the end of year one. These levels are ambitious but attainable – and critically needed to help those suffering outdoors receive the stability they deserve. The County is hard at work identifying hotels and other indoor spaces to address this need – the city can and must be an active partner in making this a reality.
  • Bring accessible, culturally competent, and individualized service plans to scale, partnering with nonprofit providers and experts in outreach and recovery to ensure that when the city thoughtfully approaches an encampment with housing and services, everyone receives the care they need to transition not only into housing, but also recovery and support.
  • Identify and address factors that drive overrepresentation of Black, Indigenous and other People of Color among those experiencing chronic homelessness. We can and must tailor existing and new City programs and resources to address these underlying, ongoing inequities. I passed Seattle’s first Race and Social Justice Initiative to remove barriers for BIPOC advancement and success in our city programs, contracting, and employment – critical experience for tackling the structural issues that lead to unacceptably high rates of homelessness among minority communities.
  • Provide specific, dedicated support for LGBTQ+ youth and seniors. LGBTQ+ youth are four times more likely to end up homeless compared to non-LGBTQ+ counterparts. While addressing root causes of this challenge – often familial rejection, discrimination, missing economic opportunities, and lack of societal support structures – we must also work to provide tailored, culturally-appropriate housing, services, and outreach to those already experiencing homelessness, and where possible and appropriate, reunite families. Further, we need to create the conditions to give LGBTQ+ seniors the options to age in place in their long standing neighborhoods or with fellow members of the LGBTQ+ community where they can feel safe and comfortable.
  • Expand Emergency Rental Assistance programs using federal, state, and local funding. The best way to prevent homelessness is to make sure people on the margins, experiencing job loss or a financial emergency, or suffering a mental or physical health issue remain housed and supported. It is much more cost effective to keep people housed than to provide shelter and services later.
  • Build a non-law enforcement crisis/rapid response team focused on urgent response to behavioral health crises, non-violent public disruption, and other issues where a uniformed, armed officer is neither needed nor appropriate.
  • Fund low-barrier, rapid-access mental health and substance use disorder treatment services with a focus on those who are chronically homeless and face the greatest barriers to engagement and lasting success with these services.
  • Employ a rigorous “Housing First” strategy for encampment removal and mitigation. Dispersal only causes harm to individuals, and perpetuates the lack of public confidence in city response.
  • Ensure that City parks, playgrounds, sports fields, public spaces and sidewalks and streets remain open and clear of encampments. These sites not only lack essential sanitation and often create challenges for engagement and outreach by service providers, but create public health and safety conflicts with the intended use of these spaces. It is simply incompatible to have an encampment on or near school property, on a playfield or recreational trail, in a business district, or other similar spaces.
  • Fund Restoration of Parks and Public Spaces, linking progress in housing with restoration and activation of parks, sidewalks and green spaces—with immediate funding and City personnel dedicated to trash and debris cleanup, neighborhood response, and de-escalating conflict while we bring housing and services to scale.
  • Build Affordable Housing Faster. Critical, housing levy funded projects are too often needlessly bogged down in our own red tape. Persistent delays throughout our process can make a project wait far beyond a year before it receives a building permit. Further, these delays add to the overall cost of the project. We are in a crisis and this is a preventable situation. As Mayor, all affordable projects will get their approval within 12 months of submitting for a permit, or faster. We have an incredible city workforce and I will empower them to safely and efficiently evaluate and permit these desperately needed units. Delaying homes in a housing crisis is avoidable and unacceptable.

Our actions on these policies and more will be driven by our compassion as a city – not our anger and frustration at the problem. We will demand that every person be treated with dignity.

There are no quick fixes to this crisis, but we know strategies that provide immediate shelter, personalized case management, and long-term care and treatment work. Let’s do this, together.

We Can – and Must – Address Structural Racism and Police Bias, Ensuring Public Safety

Black Lives Matter is the most impactful civil rights movement in my adult life, and I stand in unity with those seeking justice and reform – as I have throughout my career in law and public service. This commitment is reinforced by my own experience growing up, and later raising two young Black men in our city and society. As an attorney, I would commonly ask potential jurors to recount their lived experiences when being interrogated by police officers, and I have seen tears in the eyes of many African Americans when reliving their trauma.

That is exactly why I was the sole drafter of Seattle’s unprecedented “Bias Free” policing law which requires our City to daylight the information as to who is stopped by law enforcement, and why.

With your support, we will start 2022 with a baseline that Seattle must be different than what has occurred and continues to occur to countless African Americans at the hands of police officers. Our own officers will work with community leaders to change OUR narrative.

  • Budgeting that Ensures Training, Proper Response, and Needed Staffing: We need to move beyond arbitrary and divisive public safety budget debates and align the needs of our entire community with the mandate of ending bias, improving response times, and reducing crime. We need the right kind of personnel to respond—like social workers and addiction specialists when an armed officer isn’t needed or appropriate. Accountability and training—and appropriate staffing for our growing city—require resources and reforms. We can do both.
  • Greater investment in proven upstream prevention and intervention programs, building up successful community-driven models that reduce gun violence, identify and mentor at-risk youth, assist crime victims and address trauma, and provide mental health support.
  • Expand “Safe Harbors” for individuals in crisis, including emergency supportive housing, sobriety centers, long term care and rehabilitation services, and other culturally and medically appropriate locations for people to begin the process of recovery and rebuilding lives.
  • Invest in existing – and build new – programs to increase recruitment and retention of fire fighters, police and other first responders from Seattle communities. Utilizing Running Start, Seattle Promise and other tools, Seattle can build training and coursework to match our values for first responders, prepare for the changing nature of this work, and reflect what fire fighters and police officers are encountering in the field. This includes skills related to Race and Social Justice Initiatives and implicit bias, but also conflict de-escalation and crisis communications. By providing onramps and certification opportunities that increase diversity and expanding opportunities for advancement among BIPOC responders, we build a public safety system that is representative of our city and restores a sense of pride and public trust in our police and fire departments.
  • Our Race and Data Initiative: With the assistance of experts in technology, the developer community, data mining and the use of test cases, for the first time in Seattle’s history we will daylight and organize behavioral data to address how Seattle can address institutional and historic racism. Under this initiative, we will better understand who are denied jobs; what level of housing discrimination exists; who are treated unfairly in our court systems; who is most likely to be the victim of violence. We will not be afraid to examine our City’s frailties as this will be a first step in healing as a city.
  • Beyond Training and Reform, A Pledge: In addition to state-mandated reforms in training, techniques, and conduct, I would like every sworn police officer in Seattle to watch the 8 minutes and 46 seconds of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis and voluntarily sign an open letter stating: The Inhumane Treatment of Fellow Human Beings Will Not Be Tolerated In Seattle. To further this mission, I will work to personally recruit officers looking to be internal change agents, heroes within the department to help coach, train, love and inspire our officers to be the department we all deserve.

The “us” vs “them” conversation is not working. We must start from the common baseline that every human being deserves respect and dignity.

We all deserve safe streets and communities. We know the difference between peaceful protest and criminal destruction of property. We need real talk. We need leadership.

As Mayor, I’ll never lose sight of the goal: a Seattle police department that is responsive to community needs, that protects all people and neighborhoods without bias.

Health Care for All Seattle Residents

No one in our city should live without access to health care. Cities like San Francisco have developed basic coverage models that provide access to those at risk of falling through the cracks of a costly, cumbersome, and racially inequitable system. Employees of small businesses, gig economy workers, young people, and anyone experiencing homelessness or economic disruption all deserve quality care. Let’s come together and build a system that shows our commitment to a healthy community.

  • Partner with providers and hospitals to allow affordable, point of service or ongoing care
  • Leverage additional foundation and private sector support to offset program costs
  • Work with small businesses to scale program access and cost
  • Make broader care and coverage an integral part of our plan to address homelessness; as we expand treatment and services, it is less expensive to offer comprehensive and preventative care than rely on emergency rooms and first responders.

Launching this type of program will require trust and collaboration, bringing all parties to the table with a common goal of providing coverage and support to all in our city. I’m excited to take on this important and overdue challenge.

Taking on the Climate Crisis – and Securing an Emerald City for Generations to Come

With temperatures rising year over year and less than a decade left to prevent the worst effects of climate change, Seattle must set the example as America’s leading climate-forward city – and we cannot leave anyone behind.

I will define a bold climate agenda guided by science that sets ambitious and necessary goals, so we can do our part. Every issue is connected to our environment – housing, transportation, the economy, racial and social justice. Climate action cannot be an afterthought or a secondary consideration.

Addressing the climate crisis with urgency – and agency – we will:

  • Develop a localized clean energy economy through new, green, union jobs in energy, transportation, and construction and retrofitting – with a just transition, strong labor standards, and apprenticeships that ensure workers thrive.
  • Establish truly 100% Clean Buildings – by ending the use of natural gas in new construction, supporting efforts to replace aging gas systems with clean electricity in existing homes and buildings, and expanding adoption and accessibility of rooftop solar.
  • Better connect our neighborhoods to each other and within, through strong transit networks, walkable and bikeable pathways, and by committing to thoughtful urban planning where jobs, schools, childcare, and other needs are proximate to dense and affordable housing.
  • Preserve and invest in Seattle’s world-class parks, protect p-patches and encourage community gardening, conserve and expand our tree canopy, and fight air and stormwater pollution with an emphasis on environmental justice.

We all have a stake in preventing climate catastrophe – and, more so, an obligation to our youth and future generations to live up to this moment.

From crisis rises opportunity – and as your Mayor, I will bring the city together around a shared vision to defeat climate change and ensure a healthy environment and a more equitable city for all.

A Robust Transportation Network and Infrastructure to Match

Access to affordable, reliable transportation opens new doors and a city full of possibilities. We need the kind of expansive and synergistic transit system that connects people to the places they want to go and lives up to this city’s innovative spirit.

Meanwhile, Seattle’s decaying infrastructure puts this potential at risk – ill-equipped to keep up with the city’s growth, creating long commutes and transportation headaches. We must solve existing issues and proactively respond to future challenges.

With your vote, I will act on critical transportation priorities to:

  • As we emerge from the pandemic, get transit back on track, by increasing frequency of service, broadening route options, and working with Metro to better connect different methods of transportation.
  • Increase e-bike usage and support electric cars by placing and constructing charging stations so they are widely available and conveniently located. As demand for gasoline decreases, work to clean up and repurpose valuable land for electric vehicles, affordable housing, retail, and community uses.
  • Accelerate repair and maintenance of aging facilities like the West Seattle Bridge, Magnolia Bridge, and other critical infrastructure needs that connect our neighborhoods and people.
  • Continue investing in safe sidewalks and bike lanes while implementing Vision Zero concepts that will help keep every commuter safe.
  • Listen to and act on the needs of transit and rideshare drivers – investing in solutions to ensure safety and wellbeing on the job, and furthering first-in-the-nation organizing protections.
  • Push the boundaries of transportation innovation, work to expedite Sound Transit 3 construction, explore groundbreaking potential proposals like Cascadia high speed rail, and work with the Biden administration to secure funding for new and existing projects.

As Mayor, I’ll look holistically at our transportation system, to improve service, make needed infrastructure investments, and committing to equitable, reliable service for every resident.

By doing so, we will lower emissions, reduce commute times, and boast a world-class transportation system that connects neighbors to jobs, schools, and each other.

Reducing Gun Violence in our City

Gun violence is a preventable public health crisis that disproportionately impacts BIPOC and lower income communities. It is a crisis that has grown in Seattle, where a full 50% of firearm homicides take the lives of Black residents, primarily young men, a number hugely disproportionate to the population as a whole.

This overall rise in gun violence is made worse by recent white supremacist action, creating the need to act on open carry and public intimidation and threat by those who come to our city seeking to do harm. As a community we will have zero tolerance for hate, and zero tolerance for armed intimidation.

We must take action to reduce gun violence in our city – and across the state and nation. While state preemption laws prevent Seattle from taking unilateral action to ban firearms and firearm use in our city, we can elect a Mayor who will be a strong advocate for responsible gun laws, and will work locally to to address gun crimes and health impacts including:

  • Establishing an executive-level position to coordinate citywide gun violence prevention policy and coordination, making sure we are working alongside local, regional, state and federal officials and agencies to improve safety and reduce violence.
  • Improving education and outreach, from making sure residents understand that we are all safer with fewer guns in our homes, to safe storage for those who do legally possess firearms.
  • Investing in community based response for people and places most impacted by gun violence.
  • Building and enhancing Seattle’s partnership with King County on firearm enforcement, making sure we employ the data gathering, public health leadership, and law enforcement strategies needed to reduce violence in our homes and communities.

As Mayor, I will prioritize a safe and welcoming city – regardless of where you live, work, express your faith, or go to school. We must reduce the threats of gun violence and give everyone a chance to live life to their fullest potential.[20]

”
—Bruce Harrell’s campaign website (2021)[22]


Noteworthy events

González pulls campaign ad, defends criticisms of Harrell

On October 22, 2021, González released a campaign ad in which a woman said she was sexually assaulted and that her attacker was never prosecuted. She said Harrell had "repeatedly sided with abusers," referring to his time as a lawyer and to comments he made in 2017 about then-Mayor Ed Murray when he was accused of sexual assault.[23]

Both González and Harrell were on the city council at the time. González asked Murray to consider stepping down. Harrell, then-council president, did not call for Murray to resign and said the city's residents "did not ask us to judge anyone for something that happened 33 years ago or maybe didn’t happen."[24]

The Harrell campaign released a letter signed by several individuals on October 23, 2021, calling on González to stop airing the ad, describing it as an "advertisement wherein a white woman insinuates that Bruce Harrell, a Black man, is in some way connected to her trauma as a sexual assault victim." The letter said that, in 2017, Harrell "authored a letter, cosigned by several of your colleagues, demanding Mr. Murray immediately 'stop referring to the criminal background of his accusers' to prevent 're-traumatiz[ing] survivors and hinder[ing] the City’s efforts to enact policy to assist people…' You did not sign that letter."[25]

On October 25, González stopped airing the ad.[26] She said in a video that she was "sorry we did not work harder to center the voice of a sexual assault survivor from our community of color who was also willing to tell their story. But I will not let my opponent's choice to attack the messenger instead of explaining his actions silence survivors."[27]

Campaign advertisements

This section shows advertisements released in this race. Ads released by campaigns and, if applicable, satellite groups are embedded or linked below. If you are aware of advertisements that should be included, please email us.

Lorena González


Bruce Harrell


Satellite ads

Opposing Harrell

Debates and forums

October 28, 2021

The Washington State Debate Coalition hosted a debate focused on public health and safety. Click here to view a video.

October 17, 2021

ACLU of Washington, Choose 180, Black Action Coalition, and Puget Sound Sage hosted a candidate forum focused on public safety. Click here to watch a video.

October 14, 2021

KING5 News hosted a debate focused on business and the economy. Click here to view a video.

September 29, 2021

The Seattle Times hosted a debate focused on homelessness. Click here to view a video.

September 16, 2021

The Human Services Coalition hosted a forum with mayoral, city council, city attorney, and King County executive candidates. Click here to watch the video.

Questionnaires

Geekwire interviews

Click here to read candidates' responses and watch video interviews.

The Seattle Times public safety Q&A

Click here to read candidates' responses to The Seattle Times' Q&A on public safety.

The Urbanist questionnaire responses

Asian Counseling and Referral Service questionnaire responses

Click here to read candidates' responses.

Downtown Seattle Alliance

Click here to read candidates' questionnaire responses.


Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
Seattle mayoral election polls
Poll Date Harrell González Other Margin of error Sample size Sponsor
Change Research Oct. 12-15, 2021 48% 32% 20%[28] ± 4.1 617 LV Northwest Progressive Institute
KOMO News/360 Strategies Sept. 13-16, 2021 40% 33% 27%[29] ± 4.6 450 RV N/A
Crosscut/Elway Sept. 7-9, 2021 42% 27% 28%[30] ± 5 400 LV N/A


Campaign finance

Campaign contributions for each candidate are below.

Totals include funds from the Democracy Voucher Program. The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission distributed Democracy Vouchers to Seattle residents in early 2021. Each eligible resident received four vouchers worth $25 each. Under the program, residents can give some or all vouchers to city election candidates who are participating in the program.[32] Democracy Voucher fund totals for each candidate are shown in orange below.

Satellite spending

Satellite spending, commonly referred to as outside spending, describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[33][34][35]

This section lists satellite spending in this race reported by news outlets in alphabetical order. If you are aware of spending that should be included, please email us.

The following figures were reported as of November 1:[36]

  • Bruce Harrell for Seattle's Future had spent $493,404 supporting Harrell and $654,988 opposing González.
  • Essential Workers for Lorena had spent $443,039 supporting González and $466,663 opposing Harrell.
  • National Association of Realtors Fund spent $97,624 supporting Harrell.
  • Seattle Fire Fighters PAC spent $95,992 supporting Harrell.

Background: 2019 city council elections

See also: City elections in Seattle, Washington (2019)

The 2019 elections for seven Seattle City Council seats took place amid conflict surrounding a 2018 tax on businesses grossing at least $20 million. The city council passed the tax in May 2018 and repealed it the next month following opposition from the business community.[37]

The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce opposed the tax. Its political action committee (PAC), Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy (CASE), received $1.5 million from Amazon—which is headquartered in Seattle—and spent around $2 million supporting and opposing candidates in 2019. The PAC endorsed in all seven races.[38][39] The PAC Civic Alliance for a Progressive Economy (CAPE) formed in 2019, spending around $350,000 in opposition to some CASE-backed candidates and supporting different candidates in five races.

Two CASE-backed candidates (Alex Pedersen and Debora Juarez) and four CAPE-backed candidates (Lisa Herbold, Tammy Morales, Kshama Sawant, and Dan Strauss) won in 2019.

In 2020, the Seattle City Council passed a tax on companies with payrolls of $7 million or more a year. The tax passed on a 7-2 vote with five sponsors, including González. Juarez and Pedersen voted against it. Durkan opposed the ordinance and let it pass unsigned.

CASE announced it would not spend toward the 2021 elections, and as of July 30, 2021, CAPE had not been active in the races.[39][40]

Mayoral partisanship

See also: Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2021)

Mayoral elections were held in 28 of the 100 largest U.S. cities in 2021. Once mayors elected in 2021 assumed office, the mayors of 64 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party.

The following top-100 mayoral offices changed partisan control in 2021:

Past elections

2017

See also: Mayoral election in Seattle, Washington (2017)

Seattle held general elections for mayor, city attorney, and two at-large seats on the city council on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on August 1, 2017. The top two vote recipients after the final count of the primary vote advanced to the general election. The filing deadline for this election was May 19, 2017. Jenny Durkan defeated Cary Moon in the general election for mayor of Seattle.[42]

Mayor of Seattle, General Election, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Jenny Durkan 56.53% 118,803
Cary Moon 43.47% 91,345
Total Votes 210,148
Source: King County, "November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed November 28, 2017


The following candidates ran in the primary election for mayor of Seattle.[42]

Mayor of Seattle, Primary Election, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Jenny Durkan 27.90% 51,529
Green check mark transparent.png 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

2013

Mayor of Seattle, 2013
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngEd Murray 52.1% 106,384
Mike McGinn Incumbent 47.9% 97,935
Total Votes 204,319
Source: Seattle, Washington, "Historical Election Results," accessed June 21, 2017

About the city

See also: Seattle, Washington

Seattle is a city in King County, Washington. As of 2020, its population was 737,015.

City government

See also: Mayor-council government

The city of Seattle uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[5]

Demographics

The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.

Demographic Data for Seattle, Washington
Seattle Washington
Population 737,015 7,705,281
Land area (sq mi) 83 66,455
Race and ethnicity**
White 65.8% 73.5%
Black/African American 7.1% 3.9%
Asian 16.3% 8.8%
Native American 0.5% 1.2%
Pacific Islander 0.3% 0.7%
Other (single race) 2.4% 4.8%
Multiple 7.6% 7.1%
Hispanic/Latino 7.1% 12.9%
Education
High school graduation rate 95.2% 91.7%
College graduation rate 65% 36.7%
Income
Median household income $97,185 $77,006
Persons below poverty level 10.2% 10.2%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


See also

Seattle, Washington Washington Municipal government Other local coverage
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Seal of Washington.png
Municipal Government Final.png
Local Politics Image.jpg

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ King County, "King County Elections Calendar," accessed August 18, 2021
  2. ↑ The Seattle Times, "Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan won’t run for reelection," December 7, 2020
  3. ↑ Associated Press, "Seattle mayoral primary sets up fight between liberal camps," august 4, 2021
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, "First count in primary looks good for Harrell-González race for Seattle Mayor — UPDATE," August 3, 2021
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 City of Seattle, "Elected Officials," accessed September 15, 2014
  6. ↑ In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  7. ↑ The Daily, "OPINION: 2021 King County general election endorsements," October 18, 2021
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Bruce Harrell's 2021 campaign website, "FORMER SEATTLE MAYOR CHARLEY ROYER, LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS RALLY BEHIND BRUCE HARRELL FOR MAYOR," August 16, 2021
  9. ↑ My Northwest, "‘Abolitionist’ Seattle City Attorney candidate scores endorsement from local Democrat group," August 13, 2021
  10. ↑ Twitter, "EMILY's List on August 17, 2021," accessed August 18, 2021
  11. ↑ Washington State Wire, "Major Public Employees Union Endorses Bruce Harrell for Seattle Mayor," August 12, 2021
  12. ↑ Daily UW, "Seattle mayoral candidate Bruce Harrell lays out public safety plan, receives Seattle Fire Fighters Union endorsement," September 30, 2021
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 The Seattle Times, "Endorsements roll in for Seattle mayoral, council races," July 15, 2021
  14. ↑ Twitter, "Mike McGinn on June 24, 2021," accessed June 28, 2021
  15. ↑ Downtown Seattle Association, "Candidate Scorecard," accessed July 16, 2021
  16. ↑ The Urbanist, "Lorena González 2021 Questionnaire — Seattle Mayor," June 16, 2021
  17. ↑ PubliCola, "PubliCola Questions: Bruce Harrell," July 9, 2021
  18. ↑ Komo News, "Gonzalez, Harrell debate homeless response in race for Seattle mayor," September 30, 2021
  19. ↑ The Seattle Times, "Seattle mayoral candidates clash on zoning and encampments in homelessness debate," updated September 30, 2021
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  21. ↑ Lorena González's 2021 campaign website, "Issues," accessed October 5, 2021
  22. ↑ Bruce Harrell's 2021 campaign website, "Issues," accessed October 22, 2021
  23. ↑ YouTube, "Lorena for Seattle - Survivor," October 21, 2021
  24. ↑ Seattle Times, "How mayoral rivals Harrell and González responded to the Ed Murray sex-abuse scandal," October 28, 2021
  25. ↑ Bruce Harrell's 2021 campaign website, "LETTER TO COUNCIL PRESIDENT LORENA GONZÁLEZ," October 23, 2021
  26. ↑ King 5, "Campaign ad pulled after it is labeled by Seattle mayoral candidate as racist," October 26, 2021
  27. ↑ Facebook, "Lorena González on October 25, 2021," October 28, 2021
  28. ↑ Not sure: 18%
    Would not vote: 2%
  29. ↑ Undecided
  30. ↑ Undecided: 24%
    Neither one: 4%
  31. ↑ Not sure: 32%
    Would not vote: 1%
  32. ↑ King5, "Democracy vouchers: Seattle voters will soon have $100 sitting in their mailbox," February 16, 2021
  33. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed September 22, 2015
  34. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed September 22, 2015
  35. ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," November 6, 2015
  36. ↑ Seattle.gov, "Ethics and Elections Commission, 2021 IE Committees," accessed November 1, 2021
  37. ↑ Geek Wire, "Seattle repeals head tax 7-2 in dramatic reversal that leaves city divided over homeless crisis," June 12, 2018
  38. ↑ GeekWire, "Amazon gives $1M to group seeking to upend Seattle City Council in upcoming election," October 15, 2019
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 The Seattle Times, "Seattle businesses and politicians are at odds. The new Chamber CEO is calling a truce," April 10, 2021
  40. ↑ Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, "2021 IE Committees," accessed July 2, 2021
  41. ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee says he’s becoming a Republican," April 6, 2021
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 King County, Washington, "Who has filed: 2017 candidate filing," accessed May 19, 2017
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