Bruce Harrell has been sworn in as Seattle’s 57th mayor after a ceremony last week at his home. There will be no public ceremony due to the significant increase in COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant.

CHS reported here on the victory by the Central District-born political veteran and his defeat of former City Council president Lorena González.

Harrell replaces Jenny Durkan who announced in December 2020 she would not seek a second term in an administration hit hard by the pandemic and rocked by social unrest over Black Lives Matter and anti-police demonstrations while the former federal prosecutor was in office. The former federal prosecutor cruised to victory in 2017 easily besting her more progressive opponent, Cary Moon, in the wake of the Ed Murray sex abuse scandal. Durkan became the first woman to lead the city since 1926 and the first out lesbian mayor in the Pacific Northwest.

First elected to the Seattle City Council in 2007, Harrell would go on to win two more terms and serve as council president before deciding not to run again in 2019. The 62-year-old was raised in the Central District and briefly served as the city’s first Asian-American mayor in 2017 after Murray resigned. Harrell, who is of Black and Asian descent and served as the chair of the council committee on public safety, has said while he doesn’t support abolishing the police department, he would push for a “reimagining” that would eradicate bad officers from the force and change who is responding in cases where armed police aren’t necessary.

Harrell’s homelessness plan, meanwhile, calls for more housing and would hinge on “a capital campaign” supported by charitable giving from the private sector, not new taxes. Meanwhile, Harrell said parks and streets should be cleared of encampments with increased outreach effort from workers to provide shelter and services.

Happy New Year! Today, I officially enter office with optimism and excitement. Even in these challenging times, I am energized by what we can achieve for Seattle and each other by working together and leading with our shared values.

Onward – to a new year and to a new direction. pic.twitter.com/jQR7aMwMb3

— Bruce Harrell (@bruceforseattle) January 1, 2022

Earlier in December, Harrell made his first announcements about administration appointments including his niece Monisha Harrell serving as a deputy mayor and fellow City Hall veteran Tim Burgess stepping into a new role “working on and overseeing projects designated by Mayor-elect Harrell as key priorities.”

Just before New Year’s, Harrell announced additional administration members including Deputy Mayor of External Affairs, Chief of Staff, Legal Counsel, and Gun Violence Prevention Liaison, while also dropping the axe on “changes in department leadership.” Most notably, Harrell opted to move on from Seattle Department of Transportation head Sam Zimbabwe saying SDOT needs to take a more “balanced” approach that better recognizes “the role of cars and new electric vehicles.”

“Going forward, my vision is for a Seattle Department of Transportation that centers equity throughout our transportation network across every street and sidewalk, in every neighborhood and community,” Harrell said in a statement. “We must create a balanced transportation ecosystem – increasing safety and decreasing travel times by bolstering transit, improving sidewalks, protecting bike lanes, and recognizing the role of cars and new electric vehicles.”

A search for a new leader has begun.

Harrell, meanwhile, also appointed Derrick Wheeler-Smith, currently King County’s director of Zero Youth Detention, to serve as interim director of the Seattle Office for Civil Rights, and said Mariko Lockhart will rejoin the Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) as a deputy director.

Harrell’s administration will also include a new role “to elevate the pressing issue of gun violence.” He has named community leader and Regional Peacekeeper Collective member DeVitta Briscoe as gun violence prevention liaison. Briscoe is the sister of Che Taylor, the Black man shot to death by Seattle Police in 2016 and the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit settled with the city.

Durkan, meanwhile, leaves office with a mixed legacy of having guided the city through the start of the pandemic and 2020’s burst of social unrest. Af frequent target of District 3 representative Kshama Sawant, Durkan also figured prominently in the unsuccessful recall effort against the socialist council member after heavily criticizing Sawant for her participation. in a protest that disclosed the secret location of the mayor’s home.

In a statement thanking citizens, Durkan listed her administration’s accomplishments and said the city was posed to thrive despite more challenges to come.

“I’m proud of the work we have done together for Seattle,” the Durkan statement reads. “We did not just respond to the emergencies we faced. We sought to build a better city for the generations to come. The Seattle of the future can continue to lead the nation on innovation, an equitable economy and climate change.”

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