(WSB photo)
11:55 AM: Katie Barrett Wilson is now Seattle’s 58th mayor, third woman in the job. We’re at City Hall, where her swearing-in ceremony has segued into photo ops. She stood at a city-logo podium on a small stage, in City Hall’s huge main lobby, with her husband Scott Myers – who emceed the ceremony – and their daughter Josie at her right, as the oath of office was administered by Pauline Van Senus, a founding member of the Transit Riders Union, the nonprofit that Mayor Wilson led before her election.
(WSB photos from here down by Torin Record-Sand)
Wilson’s speech, in front of supporters holding campaign-style signs with her “This Is Your City” slogan, emphasized that she can’t do the work ahead alone – the city’s success “is going to require all of you. … Seattle is what we make of it together.” She didn’t list any specific policy plans but rather a sweeping vision that this should be a city where what you do in your off-hours should be valued too – “a city that thinks you should be able to read a book,” or make music, or sit in a park and daydream: “We need bread, but we need roses too.” We have her speech on video, and what others said before she took the stage, and will add to this story when we’re back at HQ.
2:07 PM: Above is video of the ceremony in its entirety, from her ovation-greeted arrival, through the four speakers who preceded her oath of office, followed by her speech. The crowd filled the lobby, and some watched from the mezzanine:
ADDED 3:33 PM: First speaker was Ifrah Abshir, a Somali-American health services researcher and writer now working on her doctorate:
“Rights are not just words – they are practice,” she observed, adding that while “cities can’t fix everything … they can help.” She also recalled her work, when studying at Rainier Beach High School, improving bus service for students.
Speakers also included Cynthia Anne Green, an 80-year Seattle resident and longtime community advocate:
She hailed Wilson as “a mayor who didn’t come from the loudest rooms or richest donors, but from the long hard work of organizing, the type of person the world needs more of.” She suggested that people might suggest lowering their expectations only because they’ve “grown comfortable living with inequity” and added that
Wilson’s election brought new hope, while also cautioning that this is just the beginning, though it’s a jubilant moment as a “victory for those who refused to disappear from this city.”
Also speaking (above) was Jarvis Capucion, an advocate for homeless people, formerly homeless himself. He addressed that issue, stated by Wilson as one of her top priorities, declaring that “without shelter, people die.” He is looking for the new mayor to address the homelessness crisis “at the scale it deserves.”
ADDED 4:55 PM: Wilson referred to “at least one former mayor” in attendance – we believe she was referring to West Seattleite Greg Nickels, visible in the lower left corner of our photo above, who was there with wife Sharon Nickels. They sat in a gallery that included other dignitaries – toward the center of the photo you’ll see new King County Executive Girmay Zahilay. Our area’s King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda was there too..In addition to her and the Nickels, locals we noticed included a delegation from the Duwamish Tribe – including Tribal Council member Ken Workman and longhouse director Kristina Pearson – and Paulina López of the Duwamish River Commmunity Coalition, a member of Wilson’s transition team; she was among those standing onstage with the new mayor during the event, and told us she’s encouraged that Wilson is paying attention to Duwamish issues.
WHAT’S NEXT: Mayor Wilson has yet to announce some key leadership decisions. Meantime, city politics-watchers will also turn their attention to the City Council, which will elect its new president on Tuesday.
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