Seattle mayoral candidate Bruce Harrell says homeless who refuse shelter should face consequences

Harrell’s challenger Lorena González, Seattle City Council president, called his proposal “cruel” and accused it of using the homeless as “political props”.

SEATTLE – Seattle mayoral candidate Bruce Harrell says he believes there must be consequences for people living in unapproved homeless camps and denying services.

It was the next time a mayoral candidate called for the removal of camps that have only grown in size due to the pandemic.

Harrell made the comments at what he called a press conference but turned into an open air public forum on the banks of Greenlake on Thursday.

The former Council President who became a candidate outlined his strategy for reducing homelessness if elected.

Homelessness is a hot topic in the Greenlake community, where part of the Lower Woodland Park adjacent to the lake has been taken over by dozens of tents.

“This is a public safety issue right now, we are sick and tired! We scold each other on NextDoor because there is no leadership in this town,” said Niamh Coleman, who asked Harrell about his plan of action.

Harrell told the crowd he will spend at least 12% of the city’s budget on housing and at least 50% of the American Rescue Plan’s 2022 dollars on housing and services. He also said he would locate 1,000 shelters in the first six months of his term and an additional 1,000 by the end of the year.

But one important point sparked applause from the group of frustrated residents.

Harrell said he will “ensure that city parks, playgrounds, athletic fields, public spaces, as well as sidewalks and streets, remain open and free of storage,” and that he will fund the restoration of parks and public spaces.

Harrell also said he would vacate the park camp in his first few weeks in office. “If it’s not ready by the time I take office in January, it will be one of my top priorities. You will see, I don’t want to say January, February, but I’ll say January, February because I work with a sense of urgency. “

Harrell was asked by another resident where people would go, to which Harrell replied, “We offer this person accommodation, they refuse to go, what do we do with this person? That is the question I can only be, this is a difficult situation. I think such actions must have consequences. ”Several people applauded the reaction.

Harrell will face current Seattle City Council President Lorena González in the November general election. González spokesman Alex Koren released a statement late Thursday afternoon that read in part:

“We all agree that Seattle, like many cities on the west coast, is experiencing a dire housing and homeless emergency. We also agree that our vulnerable neighbors need more shelter, more access to housing and more services.

Bruce Harrell didn’t outline a serious plan today to pay for the accommodations and services needed. He refuses to ask the wealthy and large corporations to pay their fair share of solving this problem because it is they who are funding his campaign. Without funding, his promises of more accommodation and more services are just the same empty promises we’ve heard for years.

Harrell also cruelly suggested that we punish people for not going to a shelter when our accommodations are full. Punishing people who are homeless for failing to build adequate and available housing and housing is wrong, but not surprising to a candidate who routinely uses our vulnerable neighbors as political props. “

Harrell was the top voter in the primary with 34%. González was just in second place with 32.1%.