Harger: Examining Mayor Bruce Harrell’s record as Seattle seeks answers

Over the next two days, I’m examining Seattle’s two mayoral candidates. Bruce Harrell today, Katie Wilson tomorrow.

As I’ve mentioned, I don’t do endorsements. Even if I did, I don’t live in Seattle, so I don’t get a vote. But I work here, and like hundreds of thousands of others who commute into this city every day, I have to deal with the consequences of its leadership.

Bruce Harrell ran as the moderate choice. The pragmatist who would restore some common sense after years of battles at City Hall. Nearly four years in, let’s look at what he’s actually delivered.

Seattle’s crime improvements fall short of expectations

Crime is down. That’s real. Homicides fell 41%. Shootings dropped 29%. The city finally hired more than a hundred officers after years of hemorrhaging police.

But context matters too. Crime fell from crisis levels. It’s better, but “better than terrible” isn’t exactly a campaign slogan. Property crime is still near record highs. Businesses are still dealing with break-ins. Progress? Yes. Problem solved? Not even close.

Harrell championed a billion dollars for affordable housing. Sounds impressive until you realize Seattle’s been throwing money at housing for decades. What’s different now? The median home price is $885,000. Rents that were supposed to stabilize are climbing again. A billion dollars bought us… more of the same.

The homelessness response has been particularly frustrating. The city conducted hundreds of encampment sweeps. The camps come back within weeks. It feels as though we’re not solving homelessness; we’re just moving it around, and spending $125 million a year to do it.

The political numbers tell their own story. Harrell’s approval ratings are underwater. His primary showing was weak for an incumbent. Seattle hasn’t reelected a mayor in twenty years. The iPhone didn’t even exist yet. This is a city that keeps hoping the next mayor will finally fix things, then realizes they can’t or won’t.

Keep in mind, Harrell has enjoyed advantages that previous mayors didn’t. The economy recovered. Federal money poured in. The most extreme voices on the council lost their seats. If there was ever a moment for a moderate mayor to show that pragmatic governance works, this was it.

Instead, we got incremental improvements that don’t match the scale of the problems. Yes, crime is down from pandemic peaks. Yes, some housing is being built. Yes, the city is functioning. But “functioning” isn’t enough when people are looking for tangible change.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at Katie Wilson and her very different vision for Seattle. To be clear, different doesn’t mean better. But when the current approach isn’t connecting, voters often decide that different is worth the risk. And that’s Harrell’s real problem.

Seattle hasn’t reelected a mayor in twenty years. At some point, you have to wonder if the problem isn’t the mayors. It’s that voters keep asking for miracles from mortals. I wonder if Bruce Harrell will be the latest to learn that lesson.

That’s the commentary for October 27, 2025. Text us at (888) 973-5476 or leave a comment at MyNorthwest.

Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here. 

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