by Assunta Ng
Northwest Asia Weekly
Shortly after the president signed the executive order, Bruce Harrell asked Joe Biden for a pen. (Courtesy of the Mayor’s Office/Kendee Yamaguchi)
When President Joe Biden visited Seattle last Friday, photos of Mayor Bruce Harrell were all over the media, more than any other politician.
Never mind that Harrell is just a mayor, not the governor of Washington state.
Never mind that he’s not wearing the Democratic Party’s color blue. Never mind that he is a lower rank compared to U.S. senators and congressmen, who were also in Seward Park when Biden signed the executive order to celebrate Earth Day.
Officials like Bruce Harrell walk to Biden (Mayor’s Office/Courtesy of Kendee Yamaguchi)
Harrell appeared on the front page of The Seattle Times, showing him picking up the president’s pen after he just signed an order to count old trees in Seward Park. Of the blue coats worn by other Democratic politicians, including the president, Harrell was the only one wearing a beige coat.
Was it a planned move or a fluke? It was Biden’s men who chose Seward Park, Harrell’s domain, to sign the order because the park is full of old trees.
Harrell knew how to seize the moment and asked the president for a pen, as did New York Times photographer Daniel King, who captured the photo on camera. Frankly, he’s well-versed in the media and works his charisma. He learned this after 12 years on the city council. Now as mayor, he knows exactly what he’s doing and is comfortable at both large and small public events.
Bruce Harrell is standing off-center in this photo, but still visible in the camera’s viewfinder (Courtesy of the Mayor’s Office/Kendee Yamaguchi)
As Biden arrived at the airport on Air Force One, Harrell and his wife, Joanne, were also seen in a Seattle Times photo with the president. That was two days in a row. If you saw this photo, you might think that only the Harrells were there to host Biden. There are actually three couples, Governor Jay Inslee and wife Trudy, and SeaTac Mayor Jack Simpson and wife Jessica.
“President Biden’s visit to Seattle and Seward Park is an honor — a recognition of our efforts to ensure a healthy environment, combat climate change and create good jobs,” Harrell said. “President Biden and I share a commitment to strong economies and safe, thriving communities. Meetings and visits like this put us on a path to progress together — and need support from the federal government. I look forward to continuing to work with President Biden to advance this agenda and support Seattle residents.”
This is not the first time Harrell has met with the president. He was one of nine mayors invited to the White House after winning the election last December, along with two other Asian mayors, Michelle Wu of Boston and Aftab Pureval of Cincinnati. At the White House, Harrell asked Biden if he could visit his office, according to Harrell’s wife, Joanne. Biden said “yes” without hesitation.
So far, Harrell is the only mayor who has made a conscious effort to get into the Chinatown International District (CID) as much as possible. According to his press office, the mayor has visited CID 12 times since taking office. He served as mayor for just over four months.
At a recent news conference in Little Saigon, Asia Weekly asked what the community should do when several homeless camps return to South 8th Avenue and South Jackson after the city cleaned up the area. Harrell responded that the issue of CID homeless camps “has been brewing for decades” and that the city would continue to “lead a housing strategy with compassion.”
A few days later, the staff of “Asia Weekly” accidentally passed by the scene, and the two camps for homeless people disappeared. Harrell listened. After the press conference, the city did follow up.
When the Chinese American Federation in Washington organized a rally in February to honor Chinese deportees on Seattle’s waterfront more than a century ago, the committee asked for the deputy mayor, not the mayor.
“Don’t exclude me,” Harrell replied after learning of the incident. And he showed up that day, not just for the rally, he was one of the newly elected officials, walking all the way to the water with the whole team.
He attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Gee How Oak Tin Family Association last Sunday. You call and he will come. It’s that simple. You tell him a problem and he’ll fix it. Maybe not right away, but he won’t forget.
Harrell is the kind of mayor we’ve been waiting for — he’s not just showing up, he’s getting things done.
Assunta can reach assunta@nwasianweekly.com.
