Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s chief of staff resigns amid tight race with Wilson

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s chief of staff resigned this week, The Seattle Times reported.

After more than a decade with Harrell, Jeremy Racca decided to leave the mayor’s office and take a job in New York, where his wife lives.

His exit comes as Harrell faces a tight mayoral race with Katie Wilson, trailing behind her with less than 42% of the vote in the primary.

However, Racca told The Seattle Times his departure had nothing to do with the election, but was due to health issues. Racca went through two “cardiac events” in the last 18 months and wanted to distance himself from the stress of City Hall.

“If anything, it made it even harder to make this decision,” he shared with the media outlet. “I mean, it’s quite soul-wrenching.”

Racca went on unpaid leave to make sure, without a doubt, his choice to leave was due to his health.

“If I were 100% healthy, I’d still be in the job,” he told The Seattle Times.

Racca’s transition comes as Harrell pursues another term as Seattle mayor. Political consultant Crystal Fincher told Axios it’s “so rare” for a candidate to lose an election after capturing more than 50% of the primary vote, something his challenger, Katie Wilson, accomplished.

Racca believes Harrell’s lower numbers were due to people wanting to take their frustrations out on President Donald Trump.

Harrell and his team remain confident he will get reelected despite the primary results. In 2021, Harrell received just 3,862 more votes than Lorena Gonzalez in the primary before winning by more than 46,000 votes in the general election.

Harrell defends candidacy on KIRO Newsradio

Harrell recently joined “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio to address the key issues of struggling businesses, homelessness, and crime.

When asked about the economic challenges facing Seattle’s small business community, especially rising commercial rents and the ongoing post-pandemic recovery, Harrell highlighted his personal background and connection to the issue.

“You’re talking to a person who owned a small business for many years in downtown Seattle,” Harrell said. “Also, an attorney who represented literally close to 100 small businesses in my career.”

In response to concerns over a visible rise in homelessness and a reported decline in available shelter beds, Harrell offered a firm defense of his administration’s approach.

“I have removed under our leadership, 80% of the encampments in areas where people cannot get past sidewalks, and some of the areas where we don’t think encampments are appropriate, always complying with the rule, always offering shelter first,” Harrell said.

When asked about criticism that his administration is long on promises but short on action, Harrell called on voters to consider the broader context of the challenges he inherited.

“I remind people, they have to look at what we had four years ago. Just remember the condition of the city. Remember, I lost over 300 police officers, almost one-fifth of the police staff,” Harrell said.

Seattle City Council proposes over 100 amendments to Harrell’s ‘One Seattle’ plan

Seattle City Council members proposed more than 100 amendments to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s One Seattle plan, according to The Seattle Times.

The One Seattle plan offers denser housing additions, like six-story apartment buildings, and includes 30 new neighborhood centers.

Those in favor of the plan mentioned that the neighborhood centers would help residents meet basic needs by walking or biking to nearby stores. Proponents also said the centers would establish a broad range of housing options in high-priced areas.

Other residents have expressed disagreements with the proposed plan, citing concerns over noise during development impacting blocks of detached houses. The plan for the neighborhood centers includes apartments from three to six stories.

The approval of the amendments is currently under discussion, and a public hearing is scheduled for September 12. The council will vote after the hearing.

Contributing: Julia Dallas, Jonah Oaklief, Frank Sumrall, and Jason Sutich, MyNorthwest

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