‘This will follow him’: Gee Scott says Seattle Mayor Harrell must address claims of sexist, cruel office
Mar 17, 2025, 3:00 PM
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell speaks during his second 'State of the City' address on Feb. 21, 2023. (Photo courtesy of the Office of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell)
(Photo courtesy of the Office of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell)
Former Seattle Deputy Mayor Monisha Harrell accused Mayor Bruce Harrell, her uncle, of sexism and running a toxic office environment in an interview with KUOW. Now, “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio is weighing in.
According to Monisha, Mayor Harrell and his male advisors referred to her as “SDM Nazi,” where “SDM” (an acronym for Senior Deputy Mayor) was an inside joke meaning “So Damn Mad” or “So Damn Mean.” Monisha Harrell also claimed that her uncle was more interested in the title of mayor versus actually working on the day-to-day duties.
“She describes a cutthroat, bro-heavy environment where the white male advisors competed for influence,” Ursula Reutin, co-host of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, said. “She says they often marginalized women and overrode female staffers’ decisions.”
“This is not one of those that is just going to go away. There’s going to have to be questions answered by this,” Gee Scott, co-host of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, said. “This isn’t something that’s going to get swept under the rug in this. There were some powerful quotes in there. The most powerful, I thought, and this is the reason why the mayor is going to have to comment on this, because it says, ‘It’s a hard thing to serve when you are surrounded by people who are more attracted to power than they are the work.’ And this is his niece.”
RELATED STORIES
Was the conflict over spending?
Monisha said she believes she was mistreated partially because she demanded that the city needed to watch its spending.
“I’m not an expert. I don’t know if what’s alleged is true or not, but I know that after I read this, to me, I said, ‘There might have to be a press conference. He might have to go and talk. You’re going to have to address this,'” Gee added.
The Mayor’s Office offered a statement to KUOW, saying Mayor Harrell is focused on running the city, “versus a story about a former employee.”
“I’m wondering if he thinks, in this statement, he’s addressed it,” Ursula said. “Well, we have invited him to our show.”
“Maybe he doesn’t address it,” Gee said, “but this will follow him.”
Listen to the full conversation below.
Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.
