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Bruce Harrell
Photograph of Bruce Harrell
Harrell in 2022
54th and 57th Mayor of Seattle
Assumed office
January 1, 2022
Preceded by Jenny Durkan
Acting
September 13, 2017 – September 18, 2017
Preceded by Ed Murray
Succeeded by Tim Burgess
President of the Seattle City Council
In office
January 5, 2016 – January 5, 2020
Preceded by Tim Burgess
Succeeded by Lorena González
Member of the Seattle City Council
In office
January 3, 2008 – January 6, 2020
Preceded by Peter Steinbrueck
Succeeded by Tammy Morales
Constituency District 2 (2016–2020)
Position 3 (2008–2016)
Personal details
Born
Bruce Allen Harrell

(1958-10-10) October 10, 1958 (age 66)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse
Joanne Harrell
(m. 1992)
Residences Seward Park, Washington, U.S.
Education University of Washington (BA, JD)
City University of Seattle (MS)

Bruce Allen Harrell (born October 10, 1958) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 57th and current mayor of Seattle, Washington. He was a member of the Seattle City Council from 2008 to 2020. From 2016 to 2020, he was president of the city council. He was acting mayor of Seattle from September 13 to 18, 2017. He was elected mayor in his own right in the 2021 Seattle mayoral election, becoming the second Black mayor since Norm Rice, and the first African-Asian American mayor of the city.

Early life and education

Harrell was born in 1958 in Seattle, to an African American father who worked for Seattle City Light and a Japanese American mother who worked for the Seattle Public Library. As a child during World War II, Harrell's mother was interred with her family at Minidoka internment camp in Idaho. Growing up, Harrell and his family lived in the Central District in Seattle in a minority neighborhood. He attended Garfield High School and played football there as a linebacker, becoming named to the all-Metro team. Harrell graduated from Garfield in 1976 as class valedictorian.

After high school, Harrell attended the University of Washington on a football scholarship, rejecting an offer to attend Harvard University. He played for the Washington Huskies football team from 1976 to 1979 and was named to the 1979 All-Pacific-10 Conference football team. He also received the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award, made the national Academic All-American First Team in football, and was named the Husky defensive player of the year.

Harrell graduated from the University of Washington in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. Four years later, he earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Washington School of Law. In 1994, Harrell earned a master's degree in organizational design and improvement from City University of Seattle.

In 2007, Harrell received the University of Washington Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2012, he won the University of Washington's Timeless Award, and in 2013 he was inducted into the NW Football Hall of Fame.

Legal career

After attending law school, Harrell joined US West, now Lumen Technologies, in 1987. Harrell was chief legal advisor to the Rainier Valley Community Development Fund, chief legal advisor to the First A.M.E. Church and First A.M.E. Housing Corporation, chief counsel to US West, and general counsel to Moovn and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Zeta Pi Lambda chapter.

Seattle City Council

African American Parent Involvement Day (32072188453)
Councilman Harrell with mayor Ed Murray met with African American leaders

Harrell was elected to the Seattle City Council in 2007. In 2011, he wrote a letter to now former US Attorney Jenny Durkan asking that the federal government mandate body cameras in Seattle.

In 2014, Harrell was the only dissenting vote when the City Council's land use committee voted to rezone the area around the Mount Baker Light Rail Station to permit dense housing construction. Harrell unsuccessfully introduced amendments that would have delayed the upzoning indefinitely for further study and reduced the amount of housing that could be constructed near the public transit station. When the upzoning was put up to a vote in the City Council, Harrell was the only member to vote against it.

Following years of at-large city council elections, Harrell was reelected into the newly created District 2 position after a change to district-based city council elections. On January 4, 2016, he was sworn in to the District 2 office and elected council president by fellow councilmembers. In 2016, Harrell supported a measure to attempt to bring back the Seattle SuperSonics, but the measure was defeated in a 5–4 vote.

Acting mayor of Seattle

Bruce Harrell Sworn-in as Seattle's 54th Mayor (37073194761)
Harrell being sworn in as acting mayor

..... Harrell served as acting mayor for a five-day period, after which the city council elected Tim Burgess to fill the position until the November election. Harrell declined to continue as acting mayor until November, which would have required him to lose his city council seat.

Mayor of Seattle

Joe Biden in the Oval Office with newly-elected mayors FGq2Q3EXwAQiJZ9
Harrell joins other individuals that had recently won mayoral elections in meeting President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House

After Mayor Jenny Durkan announced in 2021 that she would not seek reelection, Harrell announced his candidacy. He won the November 2021 election and was sworn in as the 57th mayor of Seattle on January 1, 2022.

Appointments and staff

Announcement of the Storefront Repair Fund thumbnail IMG 0793 (52405007754) (1)
Harrell during an October 2022 press announcement

Deputy Mayor Kendee Yamaguchi resigned in July 2022. Harrell informed his cabinet that Greg Wong, the Director of the Department of Neighborhoods, would be promoted to deputy mayor. Harrell appointed Adrian Diaz, the interim chief of the Seattle Police Department, to become permanent in September 2022. Harrell appointed Gino Bettis, the former assistant state's attorney for Cook County, Illinois, as director of the Office of Police Accountability on August 1, 2022. In July 2022, Harrell nominated Gregg Spotts as director of the Seattle Department of Transportation. In September 2022, Harrell named Parks Anthony-Paul Diaz as Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent.

Issues

Deputy Secretary Sherman With Seattle Mayor Harrell (52457507483)
Harrell with Wendy Sherman (U.S. Deputy Secretary of State) in 2022

Housing

L-22-03-22-B-007 (51956778630) (Marty Walsh and Bruce Harrell)
Harrell with Marty Walsh (U.S. Secretary of Labor) in March 2022

In 2023, Harrell sought to limit the applicability of a new Washington state law that permitted construction of fourplexes and sixplexes in zones previously zoned exclusively for single-family housing. The state law was intended to increase housing construction amid a housing shortage. In explaining Harrell's attempt to limit density and new housing construction, his spokesperson cited concerns over gentrification and displacement.

In July 2022, the Pacific Northwest experienced a historic heat wave that brought dangerously high temperatures to Seattle. Harrell's administration faced harsh criticism for continuing to remove homeless encampments during the heat wave.

In 2024, the Harrell administration released a comprehensive 20-year housing plan that proposed to slow housing construction in Seattle.

Transportation

In July 2022, Harrell's administration reversed a decision made by former mayor Jenny Durkan to allow the Department of Transportation to issue parking violation tickets instead of the Seattle Police Department. The move resulted in the cancellation of 200,000 parking tickets that had been issued by the Department of Transportation, with Seattle vowing to refund nearly $5 million to those who had paid fines.

Climate change

In September 2022, Harrell signed Green New Deal legislation in Seattle allocating $6.5 million for climate projects in the city, including funding towards efforts to get city-owned buildings off fossil fuels by 2035.

Bruce Harrell with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel while on trade mission to Japan (Fhl2TaBWAAIFa8P)
Harrell with Rahm Emanuel (U.S. ambassador to Japan) while on a November 2022 trade mission to Japan

Personal life

Harrell and his wife Joanne married in 1992; they have three children and live in Seattle's Seward Park neighborhood.

In 2022, Harrell was honored by Gold House (which honors those of Asian Pacific descent). The organization honored him and fellow mayors Aftab Pureval and Michelle Wu as having made the "most impact" in the field of advocacy and policy.

Electoral history

2007 election

Seattle City Council Position 3, Primary Election 2007
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Venus Velazquez 31,554 43.72%
Nonpartisan Bruce Harrell 20,520 28.43%
Nonpartisan Al Runte 9,397 13.02%
Nonpartisan John E. Manning 5,665 7.85%
Nonpartisan Scott Feldman 4,810 6.66%
Nonpartisan Write-in 223 0.31%
Turnout 84,038 25.03%
Registered electors 335,746
Seattle City Council Position 3, General Election 2007
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Bruce Harrell 80,839 59.88%
Nonpartisan Venus Velazquez 53,539 39.66%
Nonpartisan Write-in 626 0.46%
Majority 27,300 20.22%
Turnout 159,120 47.46%
Registered electors 335,276

2011 election

Seattle City Council Position 3, General Election 2011
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Bruce Harrell 96,978 61.05%
Nonpartisan Brad Meacham 61,138 38.49%
Nonpartisan Write-in 737 0.46%
Majority 35,840 22.56%
Turnout 197,524 52.87%
Registered electors 373,630

2013 mayoral election

Mayor of Seattle, Primary Election 2013
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Ed Murray 42,314 29.85%
Nonpartisan Mike McGinn 40,501 28.57%
Nonpartisan Peter Steinbrueck 22,913 16.16%
Nonpartisan Bruce A. Harrell 21,580 15.22%
Nonpartisan Charlie Staadecker 6,288 4.44%
Nonpartisan Doug McQuaid 2,546 1.80%
Nonpartisan Kate Martin, planner 2,479 1.75%
Nonpartisan Mary Martin, factory worker 1,498 1.06%
Nonpartisan Joey Gray 1,318 0.93%
Nonpartisan Write-in 334 0.24%
Turnout 144,306 34.95%
Registered electors 412,847

2015 election

Seattle City Council District 2, Primary Election 2015
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Bruce Harrell 8,066 61.72%
Nonpartisan Tammy Morales 3,223 24.66%
Nonpartisan Josh Farris 1,725 13.20%
Nonpartisan Write-in 55 0.42%
Turnout 13,258 26.81%
Registered electors 49,450
Seattle City Council District 2, General Election 2015
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Bruce Harrell 9,532 50.79%
Nonpartisan Tammy Morales 9,188 48.96%
Nonpartisan Write-in 46 0.25%
Majority 344 1.83%
Turnout 19,866 39.74%
Registered electors 49,987

2021 mayoral election

Mayor of Seattle, Primary Election 2021
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Bruce Harrell 69,612 34.00%
Nonpartisan Lorena González 65,750 32.11%
Nonpartisan Colleen Echohawk 21,042 10.28%
Nonpartisan Jessyn Farrell 14,931 7.29%
Nonpartisan Arthur Langlie 11,372 5.55%
Nonpartisan Casey Sixkiller 6,918 3.38%
Nonpartisan Andrew Grant Houston 5,485 2.68%
Nonpartisan James Donaldson 3,219 1.57%
Nonpartisan Lance Randall 2,804 1.37%
Nonpartisan Clinton Bliss 1,618 0.79%
Nonpartisan Omari Tahir-Garrett 391 0.19%
Nonpartisan Bobby Tucker 377 0.18%
Nonpartisan Henry Dennison 347 0.17%
Nonpartisan Stan Lippmann 323 0.16%
Nonpartisan Don Rivers 189 0.09%
Write-in 386 0.19%
Total votes 206,814 100.00
Mayor of Seattle, General Election 2021
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Bruce Harrell 155,294 58.56%
Nonpartisan Lorena González 109,132 41.15%
Write-in 777 0.29%
Total votes 265,203 100.00

See also

  • Washington Huskies football statistical leaders
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