Angela Poe Russell gives inside look after moderating latest Seattle mayoral debate

As Seattle’s mayoral race continues ahead of the Nov. 4 election, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell underperformed in the August primary, getting slightly more than 41% of the vote. The challenger, Katie Wilson, led the primary with nearly 51% of the vote.

KIRO Newsradio fill-in host Angela Poe Russell moderated the latest Seattle mayoral debate, viewing the discussion as a great way for people to learn about the views of each candidate they will soon vote for.

“At the end of the day, what was most important is that people were able to learn who these candidates are,” Angela said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “I think that if you watch the full [debate], it’s very clear where each of them stands politically.”

Angela reflected on her experience as a moderator amid a continuously intensifying race and compared it to that of an athlete studying film, looking for room to grow.

“As a moderator, you’re trying to figure out, when do I jump in? When do I not? When do I let them go at it?” Angela questioned. “Debates are like a big game, you go back and look at the tape and think, OK, that was a good play, or I need to do this, and you always look at how you can get better.”

KIRO host Ursula Reutin considered the recent debate a chance for the public to “start paying attention” and gain a developed understanding of what each candidate’s primary focus is.

“I think it’s important for people to start paying attention, because in my opinion, I think a lot of the vote for Katie came from this idea of people don’t like what’s going on in Seattle, we’re just going to vote the incumbent out,” Ursula said. “You have to understand who the opponent is. If you read about the opponent and you still love those options, great.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.