13-05-2025
Meet the 7 people challenging Bruce Harrell for mayor
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.
