Wilson's victory signals a progressive shift in the city's former moderate leadership.
Harrell's concession came during a City Hall speech, where he acknowledged Wilson as mayor-elect, signaling a progressive shift in the city's former moderate leadership.
The race, held on November 4, resulted in Wilson winning by a razor-thin margin over a week later, with 50.08 percent to Harrell's 49.59 percent, as of Wednesday's ballot counts.
"I just spoke to mayor-elect Katie Wilson to congratulate her on a hard-fought victory," Harrell told reporters during a press conference. "I let her know that our team is standing by to begin the transition work without hesitation, and I look forward to welcoming her to City Hall in the near future."
Harrell, 67, has been a fixture in Seattle's civic landscape for over two decades, serving as a City Council member before ascending to mayor in 2021. In his address, Harrell noted a massive increase in apparent new registered voters, stating, "We realize that when I had won in 2021 to this current election, there were 12,000 more ballots of people who voted. New people with new ideas. There were over 15,000 new registered voters."
The mayor went on to laud his "One Seattle" agenda, which was aimed at addressing the city's chronic homeless and public safety crisis. Critics of Harrell have claimed he was unsuccessful in addressing such matters during his tenure.
Wilson, 43, a progressive community organizer and co-founder of the Transit Riders Union, has never held elected office. Her campaign, similar to that of newly elected NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, focused on "Trump-proofing Seattle," increasing taxes on big businesses and the wealthy, rent control, and doubling down on the homeless industrial complex.
Her campaign announced its intention to address the public in an upcoming victory speech, which has not yet been scheduled.
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Comments
2025-11-13T15:48-0500 | Comment by: Keith
Harrell is terrible but I think this is another case of the devil you know vs. the devil you don't know. Look for big business to exit Seattle in the coming years.