No job for the faint of heart
Mon, 12/21/2020
By Jean Godden
As we sit down to smaller than usual holiday celebrations, Seattleites are confronting an interesting dilemma. Who's going to be leading our city in future years?
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, after a tumultuous three years at the helm, decided not to run for a second term. In announcing her Dec. 7 decision, the mayor said she wanted to serve her final year restoring the city economy after months of being buffeted by riots, violence, hate crimes and ravages of the covid-19 crisis.
That makes Durkan the city's fourth mayor out of the last five to serve only one term. King County Executive Dow Constantine acknowledged that Durkan "was handed a mess that no one could have foreseen." It has been chaotic: a pandemic, homelessness, nightly demonstrations and unrest. Dow's conclusion: "The job chews people up."