Meet the 7 people challenging Bruce Harrell for mayor
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Seven people are competing to unseat Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, including a progressive activist, a former T-Mobile executive and a resident who has recently experienced homelessness.
Why it matters: This year's election will decide whether Harrell — a lawyer who previously served three terms on the city council — will be the latest in Seattle's string of one-term mayors or if he will break that political cycle, which dates back to 2010.
- During Harrell's first term as mayor, he has focused on efforts to boost police hiring and improve the business climate downtown, among other issues.
Flashback: Seattle's last mayor to win two terms was Greg Nickels, who lost his reelection bid in the 2009 primary.
Here's a look at the candidates who filed to run against Harrell ahead of last week's deadline to get on the 2025 ballot.
Katie Wilson: Wilson is the co-founder and general secretary of the Transit Riders Union, a progressive advocacy organization that pushes for better public transit.
- She has argued that Harrell has been too focused on removing encampments around the city while failing to provide adequate services and shelter beds, among other criticisms.
- As of Tuesday, Wilson had raised more than $190,000, the most of any of Harrell's challengers so far, according to campaign finance records.
Ry Armstrong: Armstrong, who previously ran for the city council in 2023, is an actor, union representative and leader of Sustainable Seattle.
- In recent months, Armstrong supported the successful campaign for Proposition 1A, which will enact a new tax to pay for social housing in Seattle. (Harrell supported a no-new-taxes alternative, Proposition 1B).
Joe Molloy: Molloy's website says he lives the "daily reality" of homelessness in Seattle, having lost his housing last year.
- His platform calls for more shelter units and a basic income pilot program.
Joe Mallahan: Mallahan ran for mayor in 2009, losing to Mike McGinn.
- In an endorsement interview this week, the former T-Mobile executive criticized the mayor's management of the police department, saying the agency "needs huge reform."
- Mallahan also touted his support for social housing as an area of contrast with Harrell.
Isaiah Willoughby: Willoughby previously announced a city council campaign in 2023, but withdrew and didn't appear on that year's ballot.
- He pleaded guilty to arson for setting a fire outside the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct during the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) in 2020.
Thaddeus Whelan: Whelan is an Army veteran who rents in North Seattle, a campaign website says.
- Whelan's platform suggests implementing congestion pricing in Seattle and enacting a tax on unused land, among other changes.
Clinton Bliss: Bliss is a medical doctor whose platform focuses on campaign finance reform and rejecting donations from all organizations.
Follow the money: Besides Wilson, Harrell and Armstrong, none of the candidates had raised over $10,000 as of Tuesday, per city records.
What's next: The two candidates who get the most votes in the Aug. 5 primary will advance to the November general election.