Bruce Harrell has become the second Black and first Asian mayor in Seattle’s history.
Election Day results: Harrell, 63, won by about 65% of the vote, totaling almost 85,000 votes.
- He won by almost 30 points over his opponent M. Lorena González, who won by about 35% of the vote, totaling just over 46,000 votes.
- On Nov. 2, Harrell stood on stage at his watch party, accompanied by his wife, children and grandchildren.
- “These results prove that we can and will change the narrative in this city by coming together, uniting around our shared values, and doing the work to move Seattle forward. I can’t wait to get started,” Harrell wrote on Twitter.
- Norm Rice, the first Black mayor of Seattle, supported Harrell and gave a speech at his party, according to the Seattle Times.
- “I have tears in my eyes and joy in my heart and a belief that we moved on because someone believes in where we are and what we are going to be,” Rice said.
Campaign promises: The 63-year-old attorney promised to expand services to the homeless and clean up the city on the campaign trail.
- Harrell also criticized González’s interest in “defunding the police” and funding other services in government. Instead, he wants to promote “public safety rooted in trust and transparency.”
- Harrell said he wanted to invest in transit, clean renewable energy and lead the world in tackling climate change.
Harrell’s history: Harrell is the son of a Japanese immigrant mother and a Black father.
- He said his parents encountered relentless discrimination. His mother experienced internment in America during World War II and his father had escaped Jim Crow laws in the South.
- Harrell is a graduate of the University of Washington, where he was on a football scholarship to play as a linebacker.
- He went to law school and worked in technology and telecommunications for decades before running for City Council in 2007.
- Harrell served on the City Council for two terms, and, later, became its president.
- In 2017, Harrell served as mayor of Seattle for five days, following the resignation of former mayor Ed Murray.
