Bruce Harrell Won't Remain As Acting Seattle Mayor

SEATTLE, WA - Bruce Harrell became Seattle's 54th mayor on Wednesday after Ed Murray's resignation. On Friday he became perhaps the shortest serving mayor in city history. Harrell has announced that he won't remain acting mayor, a move that would have cost him his City Council seat right in the middle of his third term.

He said that he's committed to representing District 2, and that he was elected to represent that area, specifically.

Before the announcement, Harrell signed four executive orders. The first directed the economic development office to submit a proposal to put Seattle in competition for Amazon's "HQ2." The second orders that the size and location of the new youth jail, saying that he wants the city to "lease or build a facility ... it could be close to the existing one or outside of Seattle." The third would identify 10 "hot spots" for dumping around the city to clean. The final order would look at the security of the city's data to protect against hacks.

The City Council will now have to pick another member to serve until the election results are certified at the end of November, when either Jenny Durkan or Cary Moon will take the helm. The top two contenders for the interim mayor job, according to local politics watchers, are Lorena Gonzalez and Tim Burgess. Councilwoman Sally Bagshaw said Friday that she'll nominate Burgess for the job.

Whomever the Council elects to become acting mayor, the City Charter deems that the person cannot return to their Council seat afterward. Burgess is leaving Council at the end of 2017, so the issue is moot for him. Gonzalez is running for reelection this year, which means she could serve as acting mayor and simultaneously be reelected to Council. Unless Gonzalez loses the election (unlikely since she beat challenger Pat Murakami by some 70,000 votes in the primary) she should be safe.

Gonzalez becoming mayor would be symbolic. Earlier this summer, she called on Murray to resign after the Seattle Times reported that a child protective services investigator in Oregon in the early 1980s found that Murray likely molested his foster son. Harrell, at the time Council President, disagreed and said that it would be better for Seattle for Murray to remain mayor. Burgess didn't call on Murray to step down until Tuesday, when the Seattle Times broke news that a sixth man - Murray's cousin - stepped forward to accuse Murray of sex abuse.

Either way, Council will pick the next mayor - the third so far this year - likely at its meeting Monday. However, Harrell said that the City Charter is silent about how long the Council has to pick.

Harrell punctuated the announcement with a message to "survivors," likely a reference to survivors of sexual abuse. When Harrell took the oath of office on Wednesday, he mentioned having a personal connection to an abuse survivor. On Friday, he appeared to speak directly to that person.

"I hope if I see my sister or any survivor, you would receive a hug from me because I'm a hugger," he said.

Image via Neal McNamara/Patch.com