'Seattle News Weekly': Seattle's mayoral race candidates

‘Seattle News Weekly S1E12’: Previewing the 2025 November elections

Election day is right around the corner. On this episode of Seattle News Weekly, FOX 13's Erin Mayovsky and John Hopperstad break down the race for Seattle Mayor and more.

SEATTLE - Election day is right around the corner, which means the city of Seattle could either reelect Mayoral incumbent Bruce Harrell or bring a new face to office — challenger Katie Wilson. 

On the 12th episode of Seattle News Weekly, FOX 13's Erin Mayovsky and John Hopperstad break down the race for Seattle Mayor along with additional key positions, like King County Executive and council races. 

They open the discussion with the similarities between the candidates, specifically in the issues they are prioritizing in their campaigns and plan to carry into their potential mayoral terms. 

The hosts explain the similarities between candidates is due to Seattle's election system, where the top two primary vote-getters often come from similar leanings when it comes to the issues they prioritize in their campaigns, making the differences difficult to find. This same dynamic is noted in the King County Executive race.

Along with these similarities comes the difficulty for candidates to distinguish themselves, which the hosts emphasize on the podcast. The leading differentiation at this point is based on experience. 

Bruce Harrell was a member of the Seattle City Council from 2008 to 2017 and roots elements of his credibility for mayoral reelection in his experience running a multi-billion dollar budget. While Wilson and her supporters call for new ideas and a fresh face. 

Mayovsky plays clips from each candidate speaking on their policies. First, surrounding public safety, then homelessness in the city. Wilson criticizes Harrell's current approach. 

Mayovsky and Hopperstad discuss the backlash from citizens about the homeless crisis in the area, and how both Seattleites and visitors seem frustrated with the lack of a plan surrounding Seattle's homeless population. 

Mayovsky mentions the number of reputable businesses that have disappeared in the city in her lifetime and the overall cultural shifts in the area. 

They transition into a discussion about how Katie Wilson plans to manage homelessness downtown ahead of the FIFA World Cup. They talk about how public safety changes in the area have led to more weariness among community members when it comes to spending time in the city.  

They discuss the poll numbers surrounding the mayoral race, with Hopperstad describing the mayoral candidate votes as "neck and neck." Based on the Seattle Chamber of Commerce poll, Hopperstad says the poll shows 86% of residents feel the nation is on the wrong track, but 49% locally say the city is moving in the right direction. 

A pair of polls released by The Seattle Times give Katie Wilson the edge over Bruce Harrell leading up to next week's election — one released by the Northwest Progressive Institute, the other by the Stranger Newspaper. The hosts concluded the results could be down to the wire. 

Transitioning into the King County Executive position, they dive into the candidates, Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay. Mayovsky says she sees light in both of them. Hopperstad agrees and mentions that he interviewed both of them, as well as moderated their debate. He says as far as candidates go, they are both accomplished. 

They discuss the backgrounds of the candidates and where they stand on policies in the area. 

They conclude the podcast with a brief discussion about the Seattle sports scene, specifically Hopperstad talking about moderating the debate for the King County Executive candidates, where he asked their stance on bringing back the Seattle Supersonics. 

Join us every Thursday to stay up to date on weekly news around the area.

Seattle News Weekly is a podcast that goes in depth and gives context to the stories that matter to the western Washington community. Check back every Thursday for a new episode on your favorite podcast platform, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Stitcher, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Audible, or YouTube.

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