Mayor Harrell, new Councilmembers tout alliance on public safety

Mayor Bruce Harrell held a press conference Friday morning to welcome the five City Councilmembers-elect to City Hall in advance of the Jan. 2 swearing-in ceremony.

Councilmembers-elect Rob Saka, District 1; Joy Hollingsworth, District 3; Maritza Rivera, District 4; Cathy Moore, District 5; and Bob Kettle, District 7 stood with Harrell on the seventh floor of City Hall to emphasize their commitment to collaboration and transparency.

“We have some excitement and some energy on the kinds of things we want to do together,” said Harrell. “And I trust that they will lead with integrity, with passion, with intelligence.”

In his remarks, Harrell said that he expects to work with the new Councilmembers on public safety, homelessness, affordable housing and basics like constituent services and fixing potholes.

All five incoming Councilmembers ran on platforms that largely aligned with Harrell’s priorities, especially when it comes to public safety, where they promised to hire more police, expand the newly launched dual dispatch pilot program, address the drug crisis and more. Harrell endorsed Saka, Hollingsworth, Rivera and Moore in the general election.

The Councilmembers-elect also benefited from the backing of business and real estate in the greater Seattle area, which spent more than $1 million on their campaigns through independent political committees.

Each Councilmember-elect gave brief remarks Friday morning.

Saka re-emphasized his public safety goals and noted the historic moment they’re a part of with such high turnover on the Council. According to the City Archivist, the last turnover of five Councilmembers in a single election in the body’s modern history happened in 1970. There were larger turnovers between 1886 and 1910, but the Council’s size and term lengths were different, making it an apples-to-oranges comparison.

Hollingsworth said she’s been meeting with community and public safety groups in her district, City Hall staff and others to get up to speed before she’s sworn in. “We know that this process will take time. We know that everyone wants a sense of urgency. But we also understand that it’s a process.”

Rivera said she was humbled by her election and that she is “looking forward to getting this city back to the vibrant state so our kids are really thriving here, as well as all of us.”

Moore said she’s been working on assembling her team, recognizing the role that Council staffers play in Councilmembers’ success. She said one of her top goals is to get sidewalks in every neighborhood, a particularly pressing issue for her North Seattle district.

Kettle reiterated the message of collaboration and his goals to foster it within the Council body and with the mayor. “Ultimately, it’s about leading with compassion, but then also wisdom and having balance. Balance is, like, my new favorite word, and I’m looking forward to leading with that balance.”

The five electees join District 2 Councilmember Tammy Morales and District 6 Councilmember Dan Strauss, who were reelected to second terms in November along with at-large Councilmember Sara Nelson, whose first term ends in 2025.

One of their first tasks in January will be to appoint a replacement for at-large Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, who was elected to the King County Council in November and begins that new role at the start of January.