JOHN CURLEY

Seattle council president wants residents to feel protected after Harrell’s safety comment

Oct 9, 2025, 5:59 PM

Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson responded to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s remarks that he’s more interested in understanding repeat offenders than jailing them.

Nelson wants residents to feel confident that leaders in city hall are working to protect them.

“My voters, the constituents of Seattle, small business owners and residents need to have the confidence that there are people in city hall that are also trying to protect them, trying to keep our streets safe, and so I think that that’s the balance we’re talking about,” she said on “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

Unlike Harrell’s threshold for six or seven crimes, Nelson believes action should be taken sooner.

“I think maybe you find out why they’re committing that crime after maybe the first or the second crime, and then we have millions of dollars allocated to diversion programs, which is supposed to get low-level criminals out of the criminal justice system and into treatment,” she said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to John Curley weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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