Harrell Seeks Second Term

Mayor tells Gazette, "We will not be bullied into changing our values" by President Trump

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is seeking a second term. He faces a challenge from Katie Wilson, a community organizer and Transit Riders Union co-founder and executive director. Early voting began Oct. 17 and the general election is Nov. 4.

In coming weeks, Seattle voters will choose who they want to lead the city for the next four years.

The Georgetown Gazette sent questions to both candidates for mayor. Incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell's responses are below. To read challenger Katie Wilson's answers, click here. Responses were lightly edited for clarity.

Here are the Gazette's questions and Harrell's answers:

Gazette: What is the last place you visited in Georgetown?

Harrell: As mayor, the most recent major event we held in Georgetown was the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) levy bill signing ceremony and celebration at the South Seattle College Georgetown campus on June 24. I was proud to lead the effort to put this transformative investment on the ballot – which will double access to affordable childcare and continue investing in our city’s nationally recognized Seattle Preschool and Seattle Promise programs. We put a special focus on creating more pathways to the trades and apprenticeships – the kinds of programs that South Seattle College’s Georgetown campus excels at preparing youth and workers to succeed in.

Gazette: If you were having a dinner party, would you serve water from the Duwamish River?

Harrell: As you probably already know, cleanup work to clean up the five-mile Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund Site began in late 2024. Led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the City of Seattle, King County, and Boeing are working together to implement the multi-year project. The Duwamish River has been foundational to the people and communities of this region and the natural ecosystem it supports. This cleanup of Seattle’s only river is a much-needed investment in our city and for communities who have been burdened by legacy pollution. We have an obligation and responsibility to care for our natural environment, and through deep partnerships between our residents and businesses, we are building Seattle’s healthy and sustainable future.

Gazette: Homelessness continues to rise. What are two policies the mayor should support or enact to reduce homelessness? Separately, what can the mayor do to make the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) more effective or is it time to reform or sunset the organization?

Harrell: The two policies are: increase available emergency housing spaces and build more affordable housing. As mayor, I have added 2,000 new emergency housing spaces, with another 1000 on the way, bringing people indoors with services and a pathway to recovery. We have seen a 50 percent increase in the number of people moving from shelters into permanent housing because of this work under my administration. We’ve built and preserved over 8,000 affordable homes, delivered 33,000 new homes, invested over $1 billion toward affordable and supportive housing, and tripled the Housing Levy. Through our Unified Care Team, we have reduced tent and RV encampments by 80 percent and 60 percent, respectively. We know we have more work to do, but this has led to a significant decrease in gunshots and fires related to encampments. In my second term, I will remain laser-focused on continuing to innovate, helping people out of inhumane conditions and reducing disorder that impacts neighbors and small businesses.

Our approach is connecting more unhoused people with shelter, treatment, and services; using every tool from enhanced shelter and tiny house villages to permanent

housing; and scaling up rental assistance, eviction prevention, and housing stability programs. To continue this progress– I will eliminate barriers to construction, enable the development of over 100,000 new family-sized homes, and keep addressing homelessness with urgency and compassion.

As we approach 2026, it will be critical to define what the practical application of regionalism means in terms of funding, resource sharing and policy alignment from regional participants. If KCRHA is committed to the direction of regionalism, we must consider unifying and coordinating the funding, policies, and programs of the 39 cities and King County into a single, efficient, successful system. Seventy percent of unsheltered individuals residing in Seattle became unsheltered somewhere other than Seattle. Seattle contributed $110 million in 2025, 53 percent of KCRHA’s total budget suggesting a disproportionate reliance on Seattle’s resources. I am asking KCRHA to make a recommendation on what a unified regional approach could be that best ensures the right services in the right places to meet subregional needs. When KCRHA’s funding, program locations, and service capacity are disproportionately concentrated in one city, the region’s system-wide performance outcomes suffer. We can only be successful if our whole community comes together around one shared vision and plan to dramatically reduce unsheltered homelessness.

Gazette: Next year, many VIPs and dignitaries will land at Boeing Field and drive through Georgetown on the way to the World Cup games at Lumen Field. What should happen to the unhoused people in tents and RVs that live on or near the driving routes to the stadium?

Harrell: One major goal of my administration has been and remains to be focused on ensuring access to public spaces and pedestrian rights of way while connecting our unhoused neighbors with shelter and wrap-around services, including RV safe lots. This goal remains the same for the World Cup, and we acknowledge that we will have to make some adjustments for an event of this size. We have new units coming online over the next 6-12 months that will allow for sustainable change to be made. As a city, we have built a system that prioritizes encampment removals based on multiple factors (like available shelter, proximity to a school, etc.) and not whether an event is occurring. During my first term, we successfully launched an RV safe lot program, but have found difficulties in finding suitable places to permit future investments of this kind. As I push for a regional approach to solving our homelessness crisis, I am working with our neighboring cities to support our efforts – including those with more land resources than Seattle, who can take on additional safe lot and shelter capacity.

Gazette: President Trump could send the military to "clean up" Seattle which he has called "very unsafe." He also suggested in a recent speech to military commanders that U.S. cities could be used as "training grounds." He could also order increased immigration enforcement as seen in some other major cities such as Los Angeles and Washington, DC. How should the mayor respond if any of these things occur?

Harrell: We cannot be under-prepared at this critical moment when President Trump is escalating his attacks on cities and carrying out his cruel deportation agenda on our immigrant and refugee neighbors with warrantless arrests by masked, unidentifiable officers. We have already successfully engaged in litigation taking on the Trump administration as they threaten Seattle’s federal funding over our status as a welcoming city. We will not be bullied into changing our values under my administration.

Recently, I signed two Executive Orders to safeguard Seattle communities from federal overreach and unlawful actions from the Trump administration, with a focus on preparedness and coordination in the event of unilateral troop deployment and protecting immigrant and refugee communities. Together, the Executive Orders will:

Coordinate legal and intergovernmental actions:

● Proactively evaluate and prepare all available legal options, ensuring readiness in the event of unlawful troop deployment.

● Establish coordination citywide if federalized troops are deployed, creating a task force so there is a clear process and communication in place.

● Ensure clear lines of communication and coordination with the Governor, Attorney General’s Office, City Attorney’s Office, and community.

Increase transparency around immigration enforcement:

● Develop an ordinance to ban the use of face masks by law enforcement, with limited exceptions, in the City of Seattle and require law enforcement officials to have visible emblems and badges that identify their agency.

● Develop an ordinance that prohibits federal law enforcement from staging on or conducting immigration enforcement operations on City property.

● Provide the Seattle Police Department clear guidance on how to respond to 911 calls where masked or unidentified individuals are detaining people in the City.

Maintain local control and accountability of the Seattle Police Department (SPD):

● Strengthen policies preventing unconstitutional and unlawful encroachment on the roles, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of SPD by the federal government.

● Reaffirm that SPD has no role in federal civil immigration enforcement, which is solely the responsibility of the federal government.

Protect First Amendment activities:

● Reaffirm the City’s unwavering support for First Amendment activities, and in the event of unilateral troop deployment, directs the City to work with organizers to keep protests peaceful and minimize the potential for conflict.

Gazette: Seattle is routinely included in lists of the most expensive places to live. What should the mayor do to make Seattle more affordable for residents?

Harrell: I am addressing the affordability crisis by building more affordable homes, increasing affordable childcare and education access, increasing food access, and reducing the burden for small businesses. I’ve delivered 33,000 new homes, invested over $1 billion toward affordable housing, and tripled the Housing Levy. I am doubling Seattle’s housing capacity, providing rental assistance, enacted anti-displacement policy, and cutting red tape to accelerate housing production. Under my administration, we have championed CiviForm – a one-stop shop tool for applying for city programs – making it easier than ever for residents to access affordability programs and discounts. This is an example of how we are seeking to make existing services more accessible to all neighbors – including through ease of use, multiple languages, and a wide array of services.

Moving forward, we will invest Housing Levy funds quickly to create at least 3,100 new affordable homes, continue accelerating construction by institutionalizing the permitting reforms begun in my first term, and continue providing resources to the Seattle Social Housing Developer authority. We’re doubling affordable childcare access with the goal of universal access for low-income families, providing up to two years of free tuition at Seattle Colleges for all graduating seniors at public high schools, $52 million for food investments, and lowering taxes for 90 percent of small businesses.

Gazette: Georgetown does not have as many amenities as other city neighborhoods. Plans for a dog park in Georgetown were first proposed in 2020 and announced in 2021 with an expected opening in 2023. There was a delay due to environmental cleanup and design review. Construction was rescheduled for summer 2024-25. Now, SDOT's web site says construction should begin "this year." What should a Georgetown resident take away from the fact that it has taken longer than a mayoral term to begin building a dog park?

Harrell: Authorizing the creation of this dog park was one of the first bills I signed when I entered office as mayor – and I share frustrations that it is not yet complete at a time when we can all agree we need more green spaces for people and pets. While the site’s history required extensive environmental remediation to ensure safety for public use, I’m pleased construction will begin this year and expect the construction phase to remain on schedule.

Gazette: Because of Georgetown's geography and nearby major roads, Georgetown experiences traffic differently than other parts of the city. What is the mechanism in city hall to help the neighborhood communicate its needs and concerns to SDOT when the regular planning and consultation process does not provide results the community needs or wants?

Harrell: I’ve made it a priority to look at our transportation network holistically – designing and championing a transportation levy that balanced interests of freight, transit, pedestrians, and cyclists not in a zero-sum game, but toward investments that would benefit all users. Critical to the success of implementing this effort is thoughtful and meaningful outreach and communication with neighbors and neighborhoods. That’s what we’re doing with the East Marginal Way corridor improvement projects and in the Georgetown to Downtown Safety Project. My direction to SDOT is to keep an open line to residents – it’s your feedback that ensures these projects are designed to actually meet your needs and live up to our shared goals and values.

The Georgetown Gazette does not endorse candidates. To learn more about each candidate, visit their campaign web sites at bruceforseattle.com and wilsonforseattle.com.

The nearest ballot drop boxes for Georgetown residents is at the South Park Library, 8604 8th Ave. S. Click here for a map to search for other ballot drop boxes.