There was nothing lowkey about Mayor Bruce Harrell’s State of the City speech Tuesday. He hired Benaroya Hall, brought along much of the city top brass, the Garfield High School Band and Drumline, the Central Area’s Dragon and Lion Dancers — and his own optimistic view of Seattle’s recent progress.
The mayor contrasted where Seattle stood when he took office three years ago with the city’s condition today. His backwards look recalled Seattle parks and sidewalks crowded with tents, crime hitting an all-time high and the city’s downtown in disarray. Today, by Harrell’s estimate, Seattle is back on track. The police department is hiring more than it is losing, violent crime is down, more unhoused people are accepting shelter, and the city is working on a “Downtown Activation Plan.”
Harrell spoke of defending against Trump administration threats aimed at sanctuary cities. He pledged that Seattle will stand up for the peoples’ rights and values, serving all residents regardless of immigration status. He assured the audience that Seattle police would not cooperate in any way with immigration enforcement.
Halfway through his presentation, Harrell teased the audience, saying, “I have an announcement to make.” At that point, he pulled a basketball out from under his lectern, leading to an anticipatory hush. Would he reveal that the city’s much-lamented SuperSonics basketball team would be returning? But, no, it was a cruel jest, resolved by his words: “I was only joking.”
The moment was a stunt gone awry, not soon forgotten.
Getting back to his rosy assessment of the city’s trajectory, Harrell outlined ambitious plans for the year ahead. These included one year’s faster delivery of light rail to Ballard and West Seattle, breaking ground on a new “world class” memorial stadium at Seattle Center, providing help to small businesses, and expanding CARE, the city’s third public safety department.
There was more. The mayor foresees at last implementing the Fort Lawton housing plan and redefining Aurora Avenue. He’s anticipating renewal of the levy that funds the city’s much admired free pre-K and community college programs. Harrell spoke of a new office of the waterfront, talking about something he’s calling an “Emerald City Coast.” He endorsed downtown “walkability,” advocating plans for (someday) a traffic-free Pike Place in the Public Market. (Never mind that this is a controversial issue, with pros and cons long debated by the Market constituencies.)
Harrell announced the city will revisit his One Seattle Day of Service on Saturday, July 12, exactly one year ahead of the city’s hosting the World Cup in 2026. The mayor went on to promise he would work to streamline the time needed to secure building permits. At the same time, he acknowledged Seattle is “a city of neighborhoods” — neighborhoods that he said deserve to be preserved while, at the same time, the city approves an updated comprehensive plan siting four and six-unit dwellings throughout.
That Harrell will be on the ballot for reelection this fall likely wasn’t forgotten during the upbeat Benaroya gala. But, although the State of the City may have seemed much like a mayoral report card, the fall election went unmentioned, while the mayor worked hard delivering an abundance of good news.
What also went unmentioned were such contentious issues as the city’s struggles over a $250-million budgetary shortfall last fall, the city’s affordability crisis, the downtown exodus, and the fact that residents of the nearby Belltown neighborhood have been complaining about unsafe streets.
