By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
On Tuesday, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell delivered his first State of the City address. Accompanied by his executive team, Harrell delivered his message directly to City Council marking the first time since 2016 that a mayor of Seattle had done so.
During his address, Harrell laid out the challenges facing Seattle and his vision for a collaborative approach to solving them.
“Our priorities do not have to contradict – instead of looking at differing opinions as mutually exclusive, we can look to the politics of and: A-N-D,” said Harrell. “The right number of officers and the right kind of officers. More housing and vibrant, unique neighborhoods. Climate justice and new jobs. Diversity and commonality.”
Refusing divisiveness, Harrell says that he looks to engage in a “Back to Basics” approach, with a commitment to working with the City Council to drive real progress, noticeable improvement and substantive change.
Faced with a noticeable increase in violence and gun crimes, Harrell says that he is committed to a comprehensive approach to addressing the problems, and taking immediate action to concentrate on high crime areas. In addition, Harrell plans to roll out a new recruiting plan to bring more officers into the depleted ranks of the Seattle Police Department (SPD), including 36 new officers through a special Seattle-only class at the training academy.
“In the face of a report showing significant increases in violent crime and an over 40% increase in shots fired last year. I shared results of immediate action to address crime and look at the data to recognize which neighborhoods and communities are most impacted by public safety issues,” said Harrell.
“Part of that plan requires more officers,” he continued. “We have funding to hire 125 new officers this year. So, in addition to this special training class, we are rolling out a new campaign to recruit the next generation of Seattle Police, consistent with the values I expect to see in our officers – the culture of the department, the engagement with community, the understanding that justice requires serving the people.”
“You recently heard from Chief Diaz about requiring new recruits, as part of their training, to dive into and know the communities they will be working in before they take office. As I said earlier, the right number of police officers andthe right kind of police officers. We can have safety andwe can have reform,” added Harrell.
Harrell also shared information about efforts to create a third public safety department — the Community Safety and Communication Center (CSCC), joining SPD and Seattle Fire, the department would be staffed by community members who have the training to be culturally competent masters of de-escalation.
“I am intrigued by the creation of the Community Safety and Communication Center (CSCC) as we explore options to move away from a police-centered approach to public safety and to focus more on harm reduction,” continued Harrell. “We know that every problem cannot be solved with a gun and a badge response.”
Harrell is also looking to make headway in addressing the homelessness crisis in the city byhelping people living unsheltered, restoring parks and making sidewalks accessible. He also plans to announcement a new regional initiative – the Regional Homelessness Authority (RHA) — in the coming days that is designed to provide a regional solution to homelessness.
“The homelessness crisis must be treated like the crisis it is,” says Harrell. “Later this week, I will share a major announcement about the future of our efforts to bring people inside with Executive Dow Constantine, RHA CEO Marc Dones, and philanthropic, business, and civic leaders. Consistent with the approach the City Council has supported, we will strongly pursue a regional solution to homelessness.”
“The Regional Homelessness Authority is now operational and estimates there are more than 40,000 people experiencing homelessness across the region,” added Harrell. “It’s time to finally implement real and overdue regional coordination and the urgency of true crisis response to this challenge. As part of the Governing Committee, I am working with CEO Marc Dones to ensure the right strategies are in place that will lead to real, sustainable change.”
Harrell also wants to implement a progressive and aggressive agenda to solve the problems Seattle faces. Other issues the community continues to face that the new Mayor is addressing include.
• Return AND Recovery: As COVID cases decline, Mayor Harrell announced that all City employees will begin returning to office in mid-March, joining the 65% of City employees who have worked in the field and in-person during the pandemic, and that the city will ramp up recovery efforts through distribution of federal and state resources.
• A Budget That Is Financially Sound AND Supports Our Values: With the potential for a $150 million gap between 2023 expected revenue and expenditures, Mayor Harrell called for a number of strategies to address the foreseeable shortfall, praising incoming Budget Director Julie Dingley and pledging to work with City Council to solve the problem.
• Small Business Support AND Worker Protections: Mayor Harrell shared his focus on supporting small businesses, improving worker protections, and creating a Seattle Jobs Center, so the city can support better alignment between employers and employees through increasing access to jobs, workforce development, and apprenticeships.
• More Housing AND Vibrant, Unique Neighborhoods: Mayor Harrell shared information on the early stages of the Comprehensive Plan Update, including giving all communities, especially communities of color, a voice in shaping the future of our city, as we work to build walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods with a housing supply that meets the needs of the future.
During his first few months in office, Harrell wants to unite the people of Seattle and the region to take on the challenges the region has undergone. By building a collaborative approach Harrell feels optimistic about the plans he has set forth.
“Truthfully, it’s the lived experience we have that informs how we see the world and how we approach the challenges we face,” says Harrell. “That’s why I’m really proud of the executive team I’ve built – why I sought to build a diverse, competent, and engaged group of civic leaders. They are showing early on what we can accomplish when we build a representative government.”
“Clearly, the challenges facing Seattle are bigger than me alone,” he continued. “The path forward requires empowering each other – the executive team, our department directors, and you the City Council. It means engaging our greatest resource – the people of our city – in the solutions we want to see.”
