Mayor Bruce Harrell Delivers 2025 State of the City Address

Bruce Harrell addresses the city at Benaroya Hall on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of Sean Blackwell)

By Mead Gill

Mayor Bruce Harrell delivered The State of the City Address at Benaroya Hall on Tuesday accompanied by the Garfield High School Band and Drumline and a traditional lion dance. The speech recapped Seattle’s recent evolution while recognizing the immense amount of work still required to solve pressing issues facing the city.

Highlighting progress in public safety, affordable housing, and the struggles of small businesses, Harrell reiterated his confidence that Seattle will continue its journey onward and upward.

“I think there’s a different mood in this city – a renewed spark, belief, and optimism that we are on the right trajectory,” Harrell said. “To put that feeling into words, Seattle is on the rise.”

Harrell named public safety as his highest priority as mayor, mentioning the CARE Department he implemented two years ago, having deployed responders to over 1,400 calls, focused on addressing behavioral health crises on the streets. He vowed to finish expanding CARE to the South End and West Seattle in the next two months. 

Citing a new report from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the mayor noted that gun violence was trending downward for the first time since 2018. Continuing to strengthen programs to reduce youth gun violence and advocate for deadly weapon reform remains a top priority, he said.

“We’re going to make Seattle the safest, most supportive city in America for kids and families,” Harrell said. 

Traditional lion dancers from the Mak Fai Kung Fu Dragon & Lion Dance Association join Harrell to conclude The State of the City Address on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of Sean Blackwell)

This same sentiment was echoed in Harrell’s plan to renew Seattle’s Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy that further invests in youth violence prevention, mental health support, and pre-school and after-school summer programming. 

“This levy has changed and adapted over the years, which it should. The name is now a lot of words to describe a simple vision: to make this a city that embraces and supports young people – from cradle to career,” he said.

The mayor declared an Executive Order which will help create the Permitting And Customer service Team (PACT), a plan aimed to solve housing bottlenecks and add “accountability, transparency, and consistency” to the permitting process. Additionally he planned to send legislation to City Council in the coming weeks that streamlines the building of new housing complexes, reducing timelines up to 50 percent.

PACT is also set to reform permitting for small businesses, in line with a suite of actions Harrell planned to share with the goal of improving the ease and affordability of operating a small business. 

“Seattle wouldn’t be Seattle without small businesses,” Harrell said. “But right now, far too many small businesses are struggling.” He plans to reopen the Storefront Repair Fund and kickstart a new marketing campaign, focusing on cost relief, public safety efforts, and state and county advocacy.

Differentiating between public health and public safety, Harrell disclosed his plan to triple public health spending in light of the fentanyl crisis ravaging the city. This action is meant to continue to decrease fatal overdoses, which fell by 25.1 percent in 2024 in Seattle. 

The mayor planned to ride similar momentum in the Seattle Police Department (SPD), whose employment applications, retention, and recruits are increasing despite the long-term law enforcement staffing shortage. For the first time in half a decade, more officers were hired than lost, with 19 new officers hired last month compared to 6 in January 2024.

Emphasizing community partnerships with SPD, Chief of Police Shon Barnes will lead a stratified policing initiative this year, Harrell said. The initiative will take an evidence-based approach to policing with the intent to study patterns in Seattle crime and to react “swiftly, effectively, and collaboratively."

The Garfield High School Band and Drumline performed before Harrell took stage on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of Sean Blackwell)

Addressing the elephant in the room, Harrell condemned the current federal administration and their recent string of executive orders he deemed as “unconstitutional” and a danger to Seattle.

“The actions and rhetoric from the White House take aim at parts of our community that we value as central to who we are,” Harrell said, identifying actions from the Washington D.C. as direct threats to Seattle’s LGBTQ community, immigrants and refugees, women, and working families.

Last week, Harrell joined likeminded local governments nationwide in suing the Trump administration for withholding federal funds to sanctuary cities, including Seattle, that limit their acceptance of national immigration law. 

“Let me be clear: When Seattle’s local values, policies, and priorities are challenged by unlawful federal actions, we will not hesitate to do everything in our power to defend our people and our rights,” he said.

Despite major obstacles to overcome on both the federal and local level, Harrell credited his administration’s policy, programs, and investments to the city’s ascent, aiming to continue serving the next generation of Seattleites. 

“Take it not just from the mayor, but from a former Garfield High School student: The State of our City is on the rise,” he said.