Tag Archives: Seattle Mayoral Race

Seattle and King County General Election Results

by Nathalie Graham, Agueda Pacheco Flores, Ashley Archibald, Chetanya Robinson, Marcus Green


Editors’ Note: We will continue to update this article with election updates in the coming days.

Seattle voters appeared to be embracing moderate candidates in key races for mayor, city attorney and City Council, according to early returns Tuesday night.

Updated results as of 11/04/2021

Seattle Mayor’s Race

Update 11/05/2021, 1:00 p.m.:

Lorena González conceded the mayor’s race, making Bruce Harrell Seattle’s next mayor.

She tweeted her concession Thursday after election results showed Harrell leading González 62% to 38% with just under 33% of ballots counted.

“With today’s ballot drop, it’s clear that Bruce Harrell will be the next Mayor of Seattle,” she said on @MLorenaGonzalez “Earlier, I called him to congratulate him on a hard-fought race and wished him much luck in his efforts to make progress on the challenges Seattle faces.”

Update 11/04/2021, 4:00 p.m.:

With just under 33% of ballots counted, Bruce Harrell leads Lorena González 62% to 38%.

Bruce Harrell was leading Lorena González 65% to 35% in a race to elect Seattle’s next mayor and potentially set the course on homelessness, policing, affordable housing, and other critical issues facing the city.

Seattle voters found themselves in a similar position Tuesday night to election nights past: Should the electorate choose a moderate Democrat or a progressive to steer the city? 

Continue reading Seattle and King County General Election Results

OPINION: It’s Possible to Both Stand Up for Survivors and Against Racism

by M. Anthony Davis


It’s okay for two things to be true at the same time. We don’t have to conflate topics. We can recognize nuances within conversations, and even split topics and have multiple discussions simultaneously. Seattle mayoral candidate M. Lorena González has every right to question Bruce Harrell’s stance on sexual abuse, which she has done in debates. 

She has the right to question statements Harrell made in support of former Seattle Mayor Ed Murray who had been accused of sexual abuse by multiple victims. While these statements are true, they do not excuse the use of racially charged tropes in a campaign ad. And while it is our duty to stand up for victims of sexual abuse, it is also our duty to take a hard stand against racism. 

Continue reading OPINION: It’s Possible to Both Stand Up for Survivors and Against Racism

The 2021 Seattle Mayor’s Race by the Numbers

by Erica C. Barnett


With just over a month to go before the 2021 Seattle mayoral election, both Lorena González and Bruce Harrell have amassed financial support worth well over a million dollars, including both direct contributions (which are capped at $550) and independent expenditures (which are unlimited). But a closer look at campaign contributions and expenditures reveals key differences between the candidates’ supporters and how they’re spending their campaign funds.

Continue reading The 2021 Seattle Mayor’s Race by the Numbers

OPINION: Political Intermission

by Lola E. Peters


Act One was the campaign. We met the players, learned their public backstories, got hints about their character, and were introduced to the context of their stories. Act Two was the primary: a much shorter period where we learned about ourselves. Through social media, on Zoom calls, and over outdoor happy hour snacks we asked, “Who are you voting for?” or “Can you believe so-and-so is voting for so-and-so?” The end of Act Two revealed who were the players representing minor, though no less important, voices but no longer primary participants in the current play. We also learned whose dramatic arcs would move forward to the next act. 

Here I sit, in the lobby, looking around at my fellow voters, wondering what they were thinking. 

Continue reading OPINION: Political Intermission

The Morning Update Show — 6/24/21

The Morning Update Show — hosted by Trae Holiday and The Big O (Omari Salisbury) — is the only weekday news and information livestream that delivers culturally relevant content to the Pacific Northwest’s urban audience. Omari and Trae analyze the day’s local and national headlines as well as melanin magic in our community. Watch live every weekday at 11 a.m. on any of the following channels, hosted by Converge Media: YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Periscope, and whereweconverge.com.

We also post the Morning Update Show here on the Emerald each day after it airs, so you can catch up any time of day while you peruse our latest posts.

Morning Update Show — Thursday, June 24

LIVE — Gusti Clark | Seattle Mayoral Candidates & Reparations | Taking B(l)ack Pride Update | Critical Race Theory

Continue reading The Morning Update Show — 6/24/21

The Morning Update Show — 6/8/21

The Morning Update Show — hosted by Trae Holiday and The Big O (Omari Salisbury) — is the only weekday news and information livestream that delivers culturally relevant content to the Pacific Northwest’s urban audience. Omari and Trae analyze the day’s local and national headlines as well as melanin magic in our community. Watch live every weekday at 11 a.m. on any of the following channels, hosted by Converge Media: YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Periscope, and whereweconverge.com.

We also post the Morning Update Show here on the Emerald each day after it airs, so you can catch up any time of day while you peruse our latest posts.

Morning Update Show — Tuesday, June 8

LIVE — Colleen Echohawk | East Precinct: Who Gave the Order? | Bitter Times at Bitter Lake | Homelessness Key Issue in Mayors Race | Shameful Legacy of Native American Boarding Schools

Continue reading The Morning Update Show — 6/8/21

Deputy Mayor Casey Sixkiller Announces Run for Mayor

by Erica C. Barnett

(This article originally appeared on PubliCola and has been reprinted under an agreement.)


Deputy Mayor Casey Sixkiller joined the crowded race for mayor Tuesday, May 4, after months of hinting that he would make an announcement soon. He told PubliCola that, if elected, he would propose a bond measure, backed by a property tax increase, to build 3,000 new permanent homes for people experiencing homelessness; back a local version of universal basic income; and work to find “common ground” between people on all sides of the homelessness issue.

“If there’s one issue that we can all agree on, it’s that the conditions of our parks and our streets is unacceptable, and despite spending a record amount of money, homelessness has gotten worse,” Sixkiller said. “One part of the strategy for homelessness going forward is, number one, continuing to move more folks inside and creating safe spaces for people to move into shelter, but second, we’ve got to build or require more permanent places for folks to [live].”

Continue reading Deputy Mayor Casey Sixkiller Announces Run for Mayor

Q&A: Bruce Harrell, Councilmember Who Grew Up in Central District, Runs for Mayor

by M. Anthony Davis


Bruce Harrell, who served as Seattle City Councilmember for 12 years, has announced he’s running for mayor. Harrell’s time on the City Council included serving as Council President, and for five days in 2017, he was acting mayor after former Mayor Ed Murray resigned. Ultimately, Harrell decided to return to his seat on the Council instead of finishing out Murray’s term. In 2019, Harrell stepped down from his role on the Council and decided not to run for reelection.

Now, Harrell, who was raised in the Central District, attended the University of Washington, and is a longtime community leader, is back and ready to run for mayor. The Emerald had a chance to catch up with Harrell and discuss his plans for the future of Seattle. Our conversation covers why Harrell decided to come back to local politics, his views on homelessness and policing, his plans to rejuvenate local businesses, and what it means to be a Seattle native with the opportunity to lead the city in these tumultuous times.  

Continue reading Q&A: Bruce Harrell, Councilmember Who Grew Up in Central District, Runs for Mayor

Mayoral Candidate Jessyn Farrell Wants Post-COVID Seattle To Be Better For All

by Mark Van Streefkerk


Jessyn Farrell is a former state legislator and activist who officially announced her candidacy for Mayor on March 18. Farrell served in the Washington House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017, and ran for mayor in 2017, finishing fourth behind Jenny Durkan, Cary Moon, and Nikkita Oliver.

Continue reading Mayoral Candidate Jessyn Farrell Wants Post-COVID Seattle To Be Better For All

Former Legislator Jessyn Farrell Announces Candidacy for Mayor

by Andrew Engelson


Jessyn Farrell, who previously represented north Seattle as the 46th legislative district legislator in the Washington State House of Representatives; ran for mayor in 2017; and served as executive director of the Transportation Choices Coalition (TCC), announced her candidacy for mayor of Seattle on Thursday, March 18.

“This is a really hard time,” Farrell told the Emerald in a brief interview. “People are facing really significant challenges, whether it’s economic hardship, racial injustice, isolation, or remote schooling. And things are made all the harder by a lack of real leadership.”

Continue reading Former Legislator Jessyn Farrell Announces Candidacy for Mayor