‘Who is he saying that to?’ Curley questions Harrell’s ‘extremely left’ response to public safety
Oct 7, 2025, 4:02 PM
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell made a comment that caught national attention in the latest mayoral debate against Katie Wilson.
Harrell was asked his stance on repeat offenders.
“If somebody has offended six, seven, eight times, even if it’s a minor offense, but they continue to fail to turn their life around—at what point do you balance public safety, to giving this person some accountability?” the moderator asked.
KIRO host John Curley thought Harrell would take the opportunity to shift more to the middle, but instead took a far-left position.
“I was one that sponsored the Ban the Box legislation because the criminal system has had a disparate impact on black and brown communities, let me lead with that,” Harrell answered. “So when this person is committing six or seven crimes, I don’t know his or her story. Maybe they were abused as a child. Maybe they’re hungry. So my remedy is to find their life story to see how we could help first. I have no desire to put them in jail, but I need to protect you, and that’s the calibration.”
Curley questioned Harrell’s response.
“I can’t imagine that the mayor of a city, he’s coming around for another term, would really believe that?” he remarked on “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “Like, who is he saying that to? I want to know if they’re hungry, what? Feed them in prison.”
Curley noted both options for Seattle voters are now “extremely to the left.”
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.
Follow @https://twitter.com/jcurleyshow
-
Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 3pm for The John Curley Show.
