Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell blames staff member for Sonics joke that bombed
Feb 19, 2025, 1:41 PM | Updated: 2:17 pm
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell says the city is on the right path, but more work is needed. (Photo: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest)
(Photo: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest)
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell acknowledged on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio that while there have been considerable safety improvements to the downtown core, “it doesn’t refute the fact that there’s so much work to do.”
“When you are an optimist, you don’t realize that you got to keep pushing. You got to keep cleaning up the streets and making sure people are housed and treated and the debris has to be off the ground,” said Harrell. “And so, yes, things are on the rise, I think people do see the changes we’ve made in this city, but we have to keep moving.”
Harrell gave his 2025 State of the City address at Benaroya Hall on Tuesday afternoon. He said Seattle is “on the rise.” His speech was peppered with successes under his administration over the past year.
“A new report from the King County Prosecutor’s Office shows gun violence levels are trending downward for the first time since 2018,” Harrell said.
But it was a Harrell joke about bringing the Sonics back to Seattle that got the most attention after the speech. He apologized, but said he was just “taking a chance” with a joke that a staffer wrote.
A Sonics joke that doesn’t land
Harrell downplayed the Sonics joke, explaining that “it was not my idea.”
“It was brought to me literally the night before [when] we were practicing,” Harrell explained.
“Right now, at this moment, I have an announcement to make,” Harrell said at the state of the city speech, while reaching down behind his lectern. He pulled out a basketball and began spinning it in his hands as the crowd started gasping in shock and cheers. After several beats, Harrell leaned into the microphone and declared, “Naw, I’m just kidding… I got you!”
The crowd jeered in response, but Harrell says they reacted “in jest.” But he said he opted to “take a chance” with the joke because “people appreciate a mayor that will take a chance again.”
“The boos were in jest. I mean, these are friends and supporters and enthusiasts about this city. And I even got a call from my daughter who works for the Washington Football team. And so she was like, ‘Dad, come on!’ So, you know, again, you take a chance, and I think people appreciate a mayor that will take a chance again.”
Listen to the interview below.
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