Seattle response to homelessness divides progressives in upcoming mayoral race

Seattle’s homelessness crisis has opened a divide between two progressive candidates ahead of the November mayoral race.

Democratic Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has emphasized his record of clearing encampments even as the city’s homeless population has grown.

“Our parks and sidewalks are not the same as they were when we took office,” Harrell told The Seattle Times in a report published Tuesday.

By contrast, his opponent, progressive activist Katie Wilson, took what The Seattle Times described as the “more compassionate” approach, advocating for more shelters funded through “new progressive revenue sources” or new taxes.

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However, Wilson also acknowledged the need to move encampments out of public areas like parks.

“The administration is essentially moving people around from place to place, without actually getting them inside with the support that they need,” Wilson told Fox News Digital. “So that’s definitely not a compassionate approach. And it’s also not a good use of our public money because we’re spending all this money moving people out. We’re spending all this money trying to provide services and drug treatment, but if people don’t have a stable place to go, that’s not gonna work.” 

She added, “There are going to be situations where we do need to move encampments or move people, even though we’re not able to place them inside at that moment. And I think that’s going to have to be taken on a case-by-case basis. But in general, the more we can actually be moving people inside, the better.”

This marked a shift from Harrell’s progressive 2021 opponent, M. Lorena González, who opposed clearing encampments entirely. Harrell, who ran a pro-police campaign at the time, defeated González by nearly 30 points. 

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Wilson has repeatedly criticized Harrell over what she calls an insufficient number of temporary shelter units to address the homelessness crisis. She has promised to add 4,000 units of emergency housing if elected and campaigned for a vacancy tax on empty homes.

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Harrell campaign for comment.

Last month, Harrell and Wilson advanced out of the city’s nonpartisan mayoral primary as the two leading candidates. In a surprise result, Wilson edged out the incumbent mayor with 46% of the vote to Harrell’s 45%.

Wilson has been likened to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in her push for progressive policies such as minimum wage increases and more affordable housing. Among her other campaign promises included plans to “Trump-proof” the city if she wins.

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Democratic Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s own efforts to address homelessness in his city have received national attention, as he warned earlier this month that it could make the city a target for President Donald Trump.

“Recent events in Washington, D.C., show us what will happen to Portland if we don’t move with speed, purpose and compassion to address the humanitarian crisis on our streets,” Wilson wrote, according to OregonLive. “The federal administration deploys bulldozers and mass arrests by masked agents; the opposite of our outreach worker and emergency shelter strategy.”