CEOs, Retirees, And Real Estate Moguls Try To Buy Mayor Bruce Harrell's Re-Election For $300K

At a recent campaign event, Mayor Bruce Harrell allegedly told a small group of supporters that he embraces the wealthy.Judging by the flood of cash coming his way, the feeling is mutual. CEOs, real estate moguls, and well-connected retirees—clearly alarmed by the grassroots momentum behind left lane challenger Katie Wilson—have pumped over $300,000 into the race through independent expenditures.

When it comes to fundraising from individual donors, Harrell and Wilson are virtually tied. As of August 3, Harrell has pulled in $454,000 and Wilson $466,000 through their official campaigns. While those donations are capped at $650 per person, Independent Expenditure (IE) Committees can raise and spend unlimited amounts. And in Harrell’s case, they are.

Just 71 donors have poured more than $300,000 into an IE campaign, Bruce Harrell For Seattle's Future, aimed at reelecting Harrell by flooding mailboxes with attack ads that paint Wilson as a police abolitionist, the antichrist, or the reincarnation of former Council Member Kshama Sawant.

The biggest spender so far is HomeStreet Bank, a real estate lender, which dropped $25,000. Jeffrey Gow, a Bellevue developer, and Holland Development LLC of Vancouver, WA each gave $15,000. Thirteen others, many tied to real estate—like Greg Smith of Urban Visions and Skip Slavin of Seattle Mortgage—each contributed $10,000.

Roughly 60% of the IE’s donors are linked to the real estate industry, an industry that survives only if the City continues to treat housing as a commodity rather than a human right. Even among the 15 donors listed as "retired," real estate ties run deep—like Judith Runstad of Wright Runstad and Company, Frank Bosl of CBRE, and David Victor, co-founder of the Seneca Group.

And the rest? Many are straight from the C-suite or the kind of "unemployed" that comes with board seats and vacation homes.

Wilson, by contrast, hasn’t benefited from a single dollar in outside spending. Organized labor—which often backs left-leaning candidates through IEs—lined up behind Harrell before he even had a challenger. Progressive People Power (P3) PAC was launched to offer an alternative to labor and business money, but it’s largely funded by unions too, tying its hands when it comes to supporting Wilson.

Still, Wilson is polling surprisingly well for a first-time challenger to a deeply entrenched incumbent. If she shows real strength in Tuesday’s primary, some of Harrell’s so-called progressive allies might start hedging their bets—and finally mount a counter to real estate’s money machine.