Mr. Harrell and Mr. Microphone
  • Mr. Harrell and Mr. Microphone
It was a big room and it was crowded. More than 200 people jockeyed for space around tables while others stood in the back of the historic First African Methodist Episcopal Church last night. We watched a charismatic man. He had a record, too: Lowering utility rates, proposing police body cameras to increase accountability, working on a proposal to bring internet to low-income students. Speakers gave him a ribbing—apparently this charismatic man can’t carry a tune—and he gave them a ribbing right back.

“He was really good up there,” said a fellow Seattle City Council member (one of six on hand) after Bruce Harrell delivered his Big Reelection Campaign Kickoff Speech.

So where is this Bruce Harrell—this affable chap that his friends call "Brucie"—on the Seattle City Council dais? I had simply never seen this relaxed, smiling man. And although he didn’t say much worth quoting—but here’s a token: “I am running because I want Seattle, Washington to be known as a place of hope, compassion”—he was an engaging candidate.

Lots of elected officials were there to back him up. And the big crowd, about 80 percent nonwhite, was enough to strike jealousy. “As an elected official, there is envy in my heart because it is difficult to get such a diverse group… together for one politician,” said County Council Member Larry Gossett. Speaking to Harrell’s work to support minority-owned businesses, Gossett said that "we should do everything we can to help Bruce get his second term in office.”

According to the latest filings with the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, Harrell had raised $135,356 (and this was before last night's fundraisers/kickoff), compared to $18,580 raised by his challenger, Brad Meacham.