12:09 PM: Mayor Bruce Harrell has just started his promised “address to the people of Seattle.” You can watch live via Seattle Channel above; we’ll be writing about it as he speaks. Katie Wilson, meantime, who holds the mayoral-election lead with most ballots counted, is scheduled to speak to media at 2 pm.
12:10 PM: He says he just spoke to Mayor-elect Katie Wilson to “congratulate her on a hard-fought victory,” saying his team “is standing by to start the transition work.” He says it’s been the “honor of a lifetime” to serve as mayor. His wife Joanne is standing with him in the Bertha Knight Landes Room at City Hall. He offers thanks to his cabinet/department leaders and starts to list accomplishments, starting with, “We hired 150 police officers this year. .., We built from scratch the CARE Department,” saying it’s part of a “paradigm shift in public safety.” He also mentions the housing levy – “we should be proud of that work” – and sweeping encampments in parks and on other public property, while increasing the number of people getting shelter. Also: “We brought back downtown from life support,” overhauled the waterfront, changed the tax code. He also mentions the upcoming FIFA World Cup games and the Mariners’ playoff run. “That’s the work you did,” he says to the gathered city. “… That’s work we’ve done, and work that’s in the future.”
He urges people to honor that the Wilson Administration will have new ideas and has “earned the right” to pursue them. He suggests that her victory is the result of “young voters” who must be listened to. “I believe in our hearts that they want the same thing – justice, equity, peace, safety …. environmental sustainability …” He says he hopes they “lead with love” and says that’s what he’s tried to do.
12:20 PM: Explaining his liberal humor, he suggests it’s important even “through pain … you’ve got to smile through it … We’re going to be fine, the city’s going to be fine, because of all of you,” he adds, before thanking various people, saying he’s going to “embarrass them … but I can do that, this is my swan song!” He first thanks political consultant Christian Sinderman and his spokesperson Jamie Housen before adding others including deputy mayor Tiffany Washington, public-safety chief Natalie Walton-Anderson (a West Seattleite), and Adiam Emery (interim SDOT chief) and goes on to lit others … He says he always tells people that as a rule, he advises, “In a workplace, be delightful.” … He also acknowledges, briefly, that work remains, such as finalizing next year’s city budget. … “I’ve said this before and I believe with all my heart that the answers to the nation’s problems will be found here in Seattle.” He also reiterates that he believes his, and Wilson’s, “core values are the same,” saying that’s what his “One Seattle” concept was about – “above all else we will focus on what we have in common.” Though “my opponent and I may have had differences, over the next few years I will focus on what we have in common,” and he reiterates, “Seattle will be fine.”
12:31 PM: As for what he’s going to do next, he jokes he’ll pursue an entertainment career. “In all seriousness,” he goes on to say, he hasn’t figured out what he’ll do next. But he says his granddaughter is happy “because (she’ll) get ‘my Poppa’ back.” … He wraps up and says he’ll take a few questions. First: “Is there anything he would have done differently?” He suggests he’ll “go crazy” if he thinks about that too hard. He believes the decisionmaking process was sound and if it didn’t have the desired outcome, that’s just the way it went … “Any plans for a recount?” Harrell replies that “many are saying I shouldn’t concede … but I looked at the numbers and thought it was appropriate to concede … I wanted to give my staff some closure.” Will he stay in politics? He says he hasn’t ruled anything out, noting he made a “retirement speech” in 2019 – and yet returned. He then name-checks more people from years earlier when he first sought a job at City Hall (including two West Seattleites, former mayor Greg Nickels and former Councilmember Tom Rasmussen). … He’s asked about his achievement in having a diverse cabinet and says that’s important with diversity under siege nationally, but notes that his cabinet members were hired not because of their race etc. but because they are “the best. … I am very hopeful that we set a standard, a bar … Trump has this all wrong … People who identify as diverse, they do not want special treatment, they do not want handouts, they want (equal opportunity).” As a biracial person, he says, he knows what it’s like “to be othered.” … What advice would he give Mayor-elect Wilson and what one thing does he hope she continued? He starts with education and the just-passed expanded FEPP levy … “they have to double and triple down in education.” Then he mentions economic development, “jobs for everybody,” which he says will help alleviate the housing crisis. He says he’s been accused, “He likes business,” while as he sees it, “I like jobs!” Plus: “Public safety is the equalizer … I want everyone to feel safe … I want them to continue emphasizing keeping people safe.” … Did he adequately understand how much people in Seattle are struggling with affordability? He said that’s “almost an offensive question” because the reporter who asked “doesn’t know the scars we have” from growing up in challenging circumstances. “So the pain people feel right now is nothing I have to read about” – he understands it firsthand.
12:54 PM: He concludes with the parting words: “One Seattle.” We’ll add the archived video above later.
| 18 COMMENTS