Bruce Allen Harrell was born on October 10,1958 and is an American politician and attorney serving as the 57th and current mayor of Seattle, Washington.
46 Facts About Bruce Harrell
2.
Bruce Harrell served as a member of the Seattle City Council from District 2 from 2016 to 2020.
3.
Bruce Harrell served as acting mayor of Seattle from September 13 to 18,2017.
4.
Bruce Harrell was elected mayor in his own right in the 2021 Seattle mayoral election, winning with 59 percent of the vote, becoming the second Black mayor since Norm Rice, and the first African-Asian American mayor of the city.
5.
Bruce Harrell attended Garfield High School and played football there as a linebacker, becoming named to the all-Metro team.
6.
Bruce Harrell played for the Washington Huskies football team from 1976 to 1979 and was named to the 1979 All-Pacific-10 Conference football team.
7.
Bruce Harrell received the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award, made the national Academic All-American First Team in football, and was named the Husky defensive player of the year.
8.
Bruce Harrell graduated from the University of Washington in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.
9.
In 1994, Bruce Harrell earned a master's degree in organizational design and improvement from City University of Seattle.
10.
In 2007, Bruce Harrell received the University of Washington Distinguished Alumni Award.
11.
Bruce Harrell was elected to the Seattle City Council in 2007.
12.
In 2011, Bruce Harrell sponsored a program to establish partnerships with technology companies and financial institutions to provide need-based Internet access to students in the Seattle Public Schools.
13.
In 2013, Bruce Harrell introduced legislation to regulate the Seattle Police Department's use of drones and other surveillance measures in an effort to protect the public's civil liberties.
14.
Bruce Harrell authored "ban the box" legislation that passed on June 10,2013.
15.
Bruce Harrell won the November 2021 election and was sworn in as the 57th mayor of Seattle on January 1,2022.
16.
Bruce Harrell appointed Adrian Diaz to be chief of Seattle police in September 2022.
17.
Bruce Harrell's appointment made his role permanent after a search for the position included 15 candidates with three finalists: Diaz, Seattle Police Department Assistant Chief Eric Greening, and Tucson, Arizona, Police Assistant Chief Kevin Hall.
18.
Bruce Harrell openly campaigned for Diaz to apply for the role.
19.
Bruce Harrell informed the press that Yamaguchi had resigned to "pursue other opportunities".
20.
Bruce Harrell appointed Wong Deputy Mayor of External Relations in August 2022.
21.
In February 2022 Bruce Harrell announced the appointment of Markham McIntyre as director of the Office of Economic Development.
22.
Bruce Harrell said that McIntyre was appointed because he can "make the most of COVID recovery investments and work with Seattle businesses to drive real economic development that will benefit the whole community".
23.
Bruce Harrell appointed Gino Bettis as director of the Office of Police Accountability on August 1,2022.
24.
Bruce Harrell said he appointed Bettis because of his "commitment to fairness and justice, belief in continuous learning and improvement, and proven experience".
25.
In July 2022, Bruce Harrell nominated Gregg Spotts as director of the Department of Transportation after a search process that included a search committee.
26.
Bruce Harrell said he nominated Spotts because he "understands local priorities and recognizes how community voices can enhance and improve our transportation system".
27.
Bruce Harrell began his work as interim director on September 7,2022; on September 13, the City Council unanimously approved him, and he officially became director.
28.
In February 2022, Bruce Harrell announced the appointment of State Representative Jessyn Farrell as Director of Sustainability and Environment, taking over for Interim Director Michelle Caulfield, who returned to the Deputy Director role.
29.
Bruce Harrell said that Farrell would bring "ambitious policy ideas and experience, needed collaborative approach, and vision grounded in a true commitment to environmental justice".
30.
In September 2022, Bruce Harrell named Executive Officer and Assistant General Manager for the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks Anthony-Paul Diaz as Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent.
31.
In May 2022, Bruce Harrell announced his "One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan" to reduce the number of homeless and displaced people in Seattle.
32.
Bruce Harrell rebutted the objections, but numerous homeless persons reported to local news outlets that the city offered no plans to relocate them to safe housing after their encampments were removed.
33.
The Bruce Harrell administration's move was opposed by numerous city council members and by the Regional Homelessness Authority.
34.
Bruce Harrell's administration has emphasized the importance of increasing Seattle's public transit reliability, safety, and ease of use.
35.
Bruce Harrell is expected to announce further transportation plans in the near future.
36.
Seattle has faced a rise in pedestrian accidents and deaths, leading Bruce Harrell to assemble a team committed to addressing Seattle's top transportation concerns.
37.
In July 2022, Bruce Harrell's administration reversed a decision made by former mayor Jenny Durkan to make the Department of Transportation responsible for issuing parking violation tickets instead of the Seattle Police Department.
38.
Bruce Harrell says he believes Seattle should be a leading force for environmental change in the nation and plans to reduce home energy consumption by phasing out natural gas usage and reverting to green electricity by installing more heat pumps.
39.
In September 2022, Bruce Harrell signed Green New Deal legislation in Seattle allocating $6.5 million for climate projects in the city, including funding towards efforts to get city-owned buildings off fossil fuels by 2035.
40.
Bruce Harrell is working with Police Chief Adrian Diaz to address high-crime neighborhoods using hot-spot policing.
41.
Bruce Harrell has proposed several prevention efforts to reduce gun violence, including improving education and outreach, fighting for stronger gun laws, and investing in technology to track gunshots.
42.
The council did limit some of Bruce Harrell's proposed increases in funding for public safety and law enforcement, including lowering the increased funding towards the Seattle Police Department, eliminating some unfunded Seattle Police Department positions, and rejecting a proposed gunshot detection software.
43.
Bruce Harrell credited his budget being passed, in part, due to the joint work between his office and Budget Committee Chair Teresa Mosqueda.
44.
Mosqueda, in partnership with Bruce Harrell, formed the Revenue Stabilization Work Group in an effort to find future stable revenue streams.
45.
Bruce Harrell did not name what areas she wanted the city to cut.
46.
Lisa Daugaard, the director of the Public Defender Association and overseer of the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, a program to provide care for those who break the law due to extreme poverty, said that its relationship with Bruce Harrell was still "in good shape".