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Reposted by Aidan Trees

David Watkins @djw172.bsky.social · 1d

Harrell's campaign is leaning hard on the "experience managing large, complex organizations" argument. And yet here's a story where SDOT ultimately follows its own policies and does the right thing, but *in spite of* Harrell's leadership, thanks to pressure from his opponent's activist organization.

Rian Watt @rianwatt.bsky.social · 1d

First, it was eliminating a bus lane advocates fought for for years after developers wanted space for their right turns from the East side. Advocates fought back and the city immediately reversed.

www.theurbanist.org/2025/10/02/s...

SDOT Backpedals on Plans for Capitol Hill Bus Lane Removal » The Urbanist

# Work will continue on upgrades to E Union Street that will allow Route 2 buses to return to the corridor, but the idea of reopening the street to all westbound traffic has been taken off the table -...

www.theurbanist.org

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John Muller @johnspacemuller.com · 1d

I don’t need much in life, just food, shelter, $30 million and three years to prove I’m a great manager of Manchester United

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Aidan Trees @proftrees.bsky.social · 1d

Watching Harrell at debates is painful. This time a diff between the candidates I noticed is who they talk to. Harrell usually turns to the audience while Wilson usually speaks to the moderators.

Harrell grand stands to a crowd while Wilson talks to people in front of a crowd.

Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 2d

I'm sitting in the auditorium at Seattle University, watching the KOMO-sponsored debate with moderators Joni Balter and Chris Daniels. Loving that the audience seems to be largely students!

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 2d

Balter asks the crowd, which clapped and snapped when Wilson noted that his campaign is being funded by big corporations, to be quiet—for the second time. Lots of side-eye at that.

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David Seater 🚶‍♂️🚴🏻‍♂️🏳️‍🌈 @davidseater.com · 1d

Bruce Harrell continues to make the case for voting himself out. He's been in elected office in Seattle for nearly 20 years!

Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 2d

Why are you the underdog in this race, Balter asks. "We have a maniac as president," Harrell says, and "we should rightly want change."

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Aidan Trees @proftrees.bsky.social · 1d

I watched the debate today and this moment was awkward. The student wasn't the best at enunciating, but Harrell wasn't listening that well. "Brother" felt like an example of him being weird and out of touch.

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Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 1d

I love Capitol Hill.

A garbage can has art plastered on it, a prehistoric scene with featuring a wooly mammoth. It reads: "Meanwhile 12,600 years ago...in the Pleistocene epoch!"

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Aidan Trees @proftrees.bsky.social · 1d

It's accepted in the street art/muralist community that graffiti happens and street art is inherently temporary. So (for non hate crimes) I think that we still need to have a level of discretion applied i.e. a 5+ year old mural that gets some tags at street level isn't a big deal.

Aidan Trees @proftrees.bsky.social · 1d

at the same time the damage estimates for graffiti already seem to be inflated to create propaganda and justify harsher punishments. I think in my ideal world, how we treat graffiti now would be the level applied to mural vandals, and most graffiti on gray walls is then decriminalized.

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Aidan Trees @proftrees.bsky.social · 1d

I stopped myself from making the argument that this is different from some other graffiti cases because it's not just some paint on a gray wall, this is damaging a mural which means it's potentially $1000's in damage. I do think a distinction needs to be considered in our laws, but ...

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Aidan Trees @proftrees.bsky.social · 1d

What are the odds that SPD or the attorney general actually go after the vandals? This is graffiti by our city's definition and it's a racially motivated hate crime.

jseattle @jseattle.bsky.social · 1d

E Pine Black Lives Matter mural vandalized

A year after the neighborhood’s rainbow crosswalks were sloppily vandalized, paint and markings have marred the Black Lives Matter street mural stretching across E Pine south of Cal Anderson Park. The Seattle Department of Transportation tells CHS it is looking … Continue reading →

dlvr.it

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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 1d

Good thread showing how Harrell's experience is one of the biggest arguments *against* his reelection. He's done a genuinely bad job of running the city, and rewarding that with four more years is an insane thing to do.

Rian Watt @rianwatt.bsky.social · 1d

If Bruce Harrell's case for re-election is his management experience, what should we make of two separate instances in the last week of city decisions made under his watch being immediately reversed after huge community blowback?

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Aidan Trees @proftrees.bsky.social · 5d

"I try to argue with data"....proceeds to quote incorrect data

Aidan Trees @proftrees.bsky.social · 5d

I'm not going to give money to them, if I want to read an article then I get it for free the next day through the library website.

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Tyler @tylsim.bsky.social · 6d

Bruce Harrell has gotten very good at talking about progressive things that happened in the city despite his administration and touting them as if he had anything to do with them

when really his prerogative is treating graffiti as the highest priority municipal issue

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Aidan Trees @proftrees.bsky.social · 7d

So much of Seattle politics revolves around who we allow to be street vendors and who can do street art...

At what point do we stop teaching kids to have lemonade stands and making sidewalk chalk art?

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Aidan Trees @proftrees.bsky.social · 7d

I find it hilarious that Harrell's SDOT acts so expeditiously to remove transit improvements for the sake of cars, but Saka still had to base his entire campaign and first year in office on doing that for a single case which he still failed at. Long live Curby.

Seattle Bike Blog @seattlebikeblog.com · 8d

Under Mayor Harrell's leadership, bike, walk and bus improvements that required years of outreach can be removed without any notice

#SEAbikes #Seattle

Under Mayor Harrell’s leadership, bike, walk and bus improvements that required years of outreach can be removed without any notice

When neighbors asked the city to make Lake Washington Boulevard safer for people walking and biking, the city kicked off a half-decade public outreach process that stalled out once Bruce Harrell became mayor before concluding with a lackluster plan to add some speed humps and a couple stop signs. Then without any outreach at all, Seattle Parks this summer announced they were cancelling the rest…

www.seattlebikeblog.com

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Kyle Jacobson @ks-jacobson.bsky.social · 7d

This is nuts. Imagine all the things we could spend this money on.

jseattle @jseattle.bsky.social · 7d

That helicopter manhunt over Capitol Hill? It was part of Seattle’s war on graffiti

Seattle Police have made it clear they are familiar with the suspect the King County Sheriff’s Guardian One chopper, a police K9 unit, and multiple officers chased across Capitol Hill Tuesday night before making a gunpoint arrest. But SPD hasn’t … Continue reading →

dlvr.it

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 10d

I like murals too but I was struck recently by some genuinely beautiful (and illegal) art along I-5, which the city would classify a "tags" for which the creator should be fined $1,000 apiece

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 10d

I wouldn't mind a graffiti wall like the Mauerpark, however (but Berlin is absolutely covered in graffiti, the Seattle City Council would hate it)

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 10d

It's funny to hear the council talk about how excited they are to have "bodegas," given that they also voted to require all such stores to close their doors by 10pm.

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Aidan Trees @proftrees.bsky.social · 11d

One of my issues with Seattle parks is that they seem to ignore the fact that it's rainy, wet, and dark for a majority of the year. I'd love to play futsal/street soccer year round, I play Friday nights at Judkins park, but there is no cover and no lights, so if it's wet or dark...you can't play.

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Aidan Trees @proftrees.bsky.social · 11d

Let's talk about the city/district balance that Saka brings to the job...he's the chair of the city wide transportation committee but his top priority as a CM was a trans project to remove a safety barrier (against the rec of SDOT) that impacted him personally.

Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 11d

During the two hour session on Friday where the Seattle council questioned Interim SDOT Director Adiam Emery, this was to me the most notable moment, where Rob Saka praises Emery's "very unique, savvy understanding" of Seattle's "district-based representation model."

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Share The Cities @sharethecities.bsky.social · 13d

The city ruled chalk is graffiti and at the Graham Street event the city are encouraging sidewalk chalk art. Which is it?

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