Bruce Harrell to decide if he’ll remain Seattle mayor
Sep 15, 2017, 6:46 AM | Updated: 6:53 am
Former Seattle Council president Bruce Harrell. (File, Associated Press)
(File, Associated Press)
Seattle’s new mayor, Bruce Harrell, will announce whether he’ll choose to stay in the position until the November election, or let another city council member take the job.
RELATED: Irish police asked to investigate Ed Murray’s time overseas
Harrell says he will make the decision by 5 p.m. Friday.
If he decides to stay in office, he will have to give up his seat as city council president.
Harrell said he’s weighing the decision with help from his wife and advisors.
Before he announces his decision, Harrell plans to meet with the two mayoral candidates –Jenny Durkan and Cary Moon — Friday to discuss the situation and the transition when one of them is elected in November.
Harrell took the oath of office Wednesday after former Mayor Ed Murray resigned after a fifth man, Murray’s cousin, accused him of sexually abusing him when he was a teenager.
Murray has denied all of the accusations. He has been out of sight since his resignation.
A new report from the Belfast Telegraph in Northern Ireland is reporting that Amnesty International, a human rights organization, has asked police to investigate whether there were any reports of sexual abuse against Murray when he worked there in 1974.
Meanwhile, according to the Seattle City Charter, there can’t be a gap in leadership, and the council president had to be sworn in a few minutes before Murray officially stepped down from office.
There are two succession plans in place: one for if the council president accepts the position, and one for if he doesn’t.
Harrell would have to vacate his council seat and his two year term to accept the mayor position. And in the event Harrell declines, the council would appoint someone else, possibly Councilman Tim Burgess or M. Lorena González.
Burgess ran for mayor previously and also served as council president last term. He is retiring this year, and thus does not risk losing his seat for the position.
González, the first council member to publicly ask Murray to step down, serves one of the two citywide representatives. She would have to vacate her seat, but she would likely be re-elected back to her council position in November.
Whoever serves as interim, will only do so for a short time. Depending on results from the upcoming November election, either candidate Jenny Durkan or Cary Moon will take mayor’s office next.
