Rantz: The truth behind Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell ‘endorsement’ of anti-cop socialist

It looks like Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has quietly thrown his support behind anti-cop socialist House candidate Shaun Scott, proving once again that Harrell’s so-called commitment to public safety is all for show. This guy is all about boosting his own image and maintaining power, never about the well-being of Seattle.

During a recent campaign event, Scott proudly rattled off endorsements from far-left lawmakers and groups, including State Rep. Nicole Macri (D-Seattle) and Planned Parenthood. But the most eyebrow-raising endorsement was Harrell, the same mayor who ran on a platform of supporting law enforcement and tackling the city’s rampant crime problem.

Curiously, Harrell has yet to confirm or deny the endorsement, ignoring multiple requests from conservative and independent media outlets, including “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH — a suspicious silence for something that should be easy to refute if it weren’t true. Maybe it’s a political ploy, some long-game strategy he thinks will help him stay in power. Meanwhile, the Seattle Police Department is bleeding officers, and recruitment efforts have failed miserably, thanks to Harrell’s baffling decision to take control of police hiring away from the department.

For someone who supposedly cares about public safety, cozying up to a cop-hating abolitionist like Scott is a reckless move. But then again, for Harrell, it’s always been about Harrell.

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Shaun Scott is an anti-cop extremist. So, why would Bruce Harrell endorse him?

Shaun Scott, a notorious anti-cop activist, is a textbook example of why Seattle’s public safety is in shambles. And if elected, he would become the newest Socialist House member to bring Seattle extremism to Olympia. He didn’t just spend years championing the defund-the-police movement, making it his mission to dismantle law enforcement while crime skyrockets. He actually said defunding doesn’t go far enough. 

“Racism and discrimination are embedded in the police department here, and I don’t think going and tinkering around the edges is going to get us very far,” Scott said, advocating the department be rebuilt from scratch.

In 2020, amid the so-called “Summer of Love,” Scott was all-in on the Defund the Police campaign, even calling for the abolition of the SPD.

“Should Seattle’s political leadership not make use of the mandate to defund and dismantle racist policing once and for all, the results could be catastrophic for the populations most likely to be subject to racist policing in the first place,” Scott wrote at the time.

Of course, had the city followed through with his extremist demands, there would be even more blood on his hands. Our crime crisis skyrocketed precisely because the city adopted some of his ideas, though they didn’t go nearly as far as he’d have liked.

Is Bruce Harrell focused on his political career over Seattle safety?

Shaun Scott’s anti-cop obsession poses a direct and immediate threat to public safety, and the consequences of his policies have already ravaged Seattle. So why on earth is Mayor Bruce Harrell backing him?

When Harrell campaigned for mayor, he sold himself as a moderate Democrat — liberal, but avoided the radical ideas that were turning voters off. That was his ticket to the mayor’s office. But ever since his election, Harrell has done little to prove he’s serious about cleaning up the city, offering up half-baked solutions only when absolutely forced. Though you couldn’t tell that if you listened to him speak, something he excels at: speaking endlessly about doing something, without actually doing anything.

Take downtown Seattle as a perfect example. Harrell gave it a temporary facelift to impress Major League Baseball executives during the All-Star Week, but the moment they left, so did the effort. Downtown quickly reverted to the usual nightmare of homeless addicts, slowly dying on our streets. When business leaders sounded the alarm again, what was Harrell’s big solution? Lightbulbs. Yes, it took him years to install some extra lighting downtown, and — surprise — it hasn’t done a thing to fix the deeper problems.

Behind closed doors, Harrell tells police officers he’s got their backs. But as soon as those private conversations leak, he scrambles to walk back his words, desperate to appease Seattle’s Radical Left. And when pressed on the police recruitment crisis, Harrell claims he’s got a plan — but it turns out to be just a “plan for a plan.” Instead of letting the police handle recruitment, his office is clumsily leading the effort, and the results have been predictably disastrous.

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Harrell is about Harrell

A Shaun Scott endorsement starts making sense when you accept Bruce Harrell is all about Bruce Harrell. The fact that it could alienate cops? That’s just collateral damage he’s willing to accept if it helps his political future.

Like so many politicians, Harrell said whatever he thinks will keep him in office. He’s notorious for being disconnected from the actual work of his office, preferring the title, the cocktail parties, and the meet-and-greets that come with being mayor. When it comes time to actually govern, Harrell delegates to his deputy mayors, Tiffany Washington and Tim Burgess. Washington is passionate and dedicated — though her politics are another story. Burgess? He’s power-hungry and territorial, using Harrell’s trust to slowly amass control over the city. And why would Harrell care? He’s still getting his invites to fancy galas and lunches with Seattle’s elite, and he’s front and center for photo ops when presidential candidates breeze through town.

Harrell likely sees a political advantage in backing an extremist like Scott. He’s probably betting that supporting someone who represents Seattle’s loud radical base will win him a pass from activists when it’s time for re-election. After all, his opponent, liberal Democrat Andrea Suarez, faces an uphill battle in a district as far left as this one. She may be too reasonable for Seattle, advocating moderate and pragmatic stances on homelessness, drug use and crime. Meanwhile, Harrell is banking on aligning with the fringe to secure his political future, even if it means putting public safety in jeopardy.

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It’s all a strategy

Harrell’s quiet support (or at least the appearance of it) for an extremist like Shaun Scott is nothing more than a political strategy.

By neither confirming nor denying, Harrell avoids scrutiny from Seattle’s liberal media, which isn’t exactly known for holding local Democrats accountable. They did little more than rewrite press releases for party leaders. And if the endorsement ever becomes a problem, Harrell can simply claim he never supported Scott at all. Whether that’s true or not doesn’t matter — he’s staying silent because, for now, the perception that he’s backing Scott works to his advantage. The moment it doesn’t, he’ll finally speak up. That moment can come if the local media actually, you know, ask him in front of a camera. But many will shy away from that out of fear that Harrell’s flack, Jamie Housen, will ice them the way he tries to ice anyone who doesn’t stick to their preferred talking points.

Ironically, Scott shouldn’t even want Harrell’s endorsement. After all, Harrell’s the quintessential “establishment Democrat,” which goes against everything Scott supposedly stands for. But just like Harrell, Scott is laser-focused on gaining power. The difference? Scott is driven by ideology, while Harrell is fueled by ego. In the end, which one is more dangerous? Honestly, it’s a toss-up, because the results for the city and state will be disastrous either way.

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