Mayor Harrell exits with a Gracious Concession Speech

Last month, Seattle witnessed the closest mayoral race in its history. First-time candidate Katie Wilson beat incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell by fewer than 2,000 votes — a margin of just 0.7%.

In his concession speech, Harrell showed that sometimes we learn more about a leader not in how they win, but in how they lose. As expected, he highlighted his administration’s accomplishments and thanked his staff. He also pointed out significant changes to the voting stats since he ran four years ago: 12,000 more ballots cast and 15,000 new registered voters.

Harrell, now 67, spoke with respect about Wilson, 43. “The Wilson administration will have new ideas. They will have a new vision,” he said. “By winning the election, they have earned that right. We must listen to the young voters.”

Harrell’s speech demonstrated the humility required to recognize that as the world changes around us, our own role shifts too. “Young people believe their voices are not being heard,” he said. “They’re seeing due process violated… a throwback into racism and unfairness. We have to listen to these young voices.”

There will always be tensions between the young and older politicians. Harrell’s words reminded me of the musical SUFFS, recently at the 5th Ave. Theatre, which highlights generational tensions within the early 20th-century suffragist movement. In the song “The Young Are at the Gate,” young women picketed the White House for 2.5 years demanding the right to vote.

Regardless of their generational differences, Harrell acknowledged that he and Wilson share core values, though they differ on tactics. He made his support for Wilson clear: “While it is very seductive to stay in campaign mode and look at the Wilson administration from a competitive lens, I will not do that… I believe in our hearts that they [the new administration] want the same thing: fairness, justice, peace, equity, equality.”

Most of us will never give a concession speech, yet we all know what it feels like to come in second. Perhaps you lost a promotion to a colleague, or your idea wasn’t chosen in a meeting. Ask yourself how you can lean into that loss with curiosity. If so, it’s important to ask these questions: What do you do when you’ve lost? How does your own role change as the world changes around you? How willing are you to support the winning vision?