Bruce Harrell Launches Bid For Seattle Mayor

Seattle WA

16 March, 2021

2:27 PM

Description

SEATTLE — Bruce Harrell, former president of the Seattle City Council, is running for mayor, formally announcing his 2021 bid Tuesday morning. Harrell was elected to three terms on the council, serving as its president from 2016 to 2019, and completed a five-day stint as mayor in 2017 after Ed Murray resigned. He did not seek reelection for his District 2 seat in 2019. Harrell joins an already-crowded field of mayoral candidates who have recently announced candidacies for the city's top job after Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced she would not seek a second term. His most prominent opponent to-date is current council president M. Lorena González who opted to seek the mayor's office instead of reelection to the council. Other candidates include architect and activist Andrew Grant Houston, director of the Chief Seattle Club Colleen Echohawk, and Lance Randall, director of economic development for SEED Seattle. In Harrell's announcement Tuesday, he highlighted his history growing up in Seattle's Central District up through 12 years on the city council, where he successfully led efforts to pass "ban the box" legislation, prohibiting housing and employment discrimination based on criminal history. The letter goes on to identify several priorities related to economic recovery, health care, neighborhood development, homelessness and police reform. Read the full letter on the official campaign website.