Bruce Allen Harrell is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the Seattle City Council from District 2. He was first elected to the city council in 2007 and was re-elected in 2011 and 2015, and did not run again in 2019. In 2016, he was chosen as president of the city council. He also briefly served as acting Mayor of Seattle from September 13 to September 18, 2017.
After attending law school, Harrell joined US West, now CenturyLink, in 1987. Harrell was chief legal advisor to the Rainier ValleyCommunity Development Fund, chief legal advisor to the First A.M.E. Church and First A.M.E. Housing Corporation, Chief Counsel to US West, and general counsel to the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Zeta Pi Lambda chapter. In addition to his legislative responsibilities, Harrell serves as Chair of the Puget Sound Regional Council's Performance First Committee: a business development strategy of PSRC's Prosperity Partnership; Advisory Board Chair for CASASTART; a focused strategy for youth with behavioral challenges at Seattle Public Schools; and, member of the Social Action Committee for First A.M.E. Church.
Politics
Harrell was elected to the Seattle City Council in 2007. Between 2008 and 2011, he served as chair of the Energy, Technology, and Civil Rights Committee and was responsible for oversight of Seattle City Light, the city's public power utility and the city's Department of Information and Technology. In 2010, he created a Rate Stabilization Account for Seattle City Light. The account provides protection for Seattle City Light customers from the volatility of the wholesale power market. In 2011, Harrell sponsored a program to establish partnerships with technology companies and financial institutions to provide need-based Internet access to students in the Seattle Public Schools. In 2011, Harrell wrote a letter to now former US AttorneyJenny Durkan asking for the Federal Government to mandate body cameras in Seattle. In 2013, Harrell introduced legislation to regulate the Seattle Police Department's use of drones and other surveillance measures in an effort to protect the public's civil liberties. He also authored "ban the box" legislation that passed on June 10, 2013. Following years of at-large city council elections, Bruce was re-elected into the newly created District 2 position following a change to district-based city council elections. On January 4, 2016 Harrell was sworn into the District 2 office and elected council president by fellow councilmembers. In 2016, Harrell supported a measure to attempt to bring back the Seattle SuperSonics, but the measure was defeated in a 5–4 vote.
Mayor of Seattle
Harrell was sworn in as acting Mayor of Seattle on September 13, 2017, following the resignation of Mayor Ed Murray. Harrell served as acting mayor for a five-day period, after which the city council elected Tim Burgess to fill the position until after the November election. Harrell declined to continue as acting mayor until November, which would have required him to lose his city council seat.
