It has been a rough week for Mayor Bruce Harrell as he launches his reelection campaign, with multiple news stories casting his administration in a negative light.
First, the Mayor’s niece, Monisha Harrell, who served as Senior Deputy Mayor during her uncle’s first 18 months office, spoke to KUOW about what she described as a toxic work environment in the Mayor’s office.
Ms. Harrell stated that male staff often bypassed her to gain the Mayor’s approval. “I wasn’t being trusted to do my job, and that is a really difficult thing to do,” she explained. “You can’t be successful in your role without having the support of those around you.”
She also suggested that the Mayor was more focused on being a figurehead than on actively engaging with policy.
The KUOW reporter spoke with six other women connected to the Mayor’s office, all of whom corroborated Monisha Harrell’s account of a “boys’ club” culture where women were condescended to and excluded from key meetings despite their roles.
Monisha Harrell now serves as the director of King County’s Office of Equity, Racial and Social Justice.
In a second wave of bad press, Publicola published an article about multiple women alleging that the Mayor’s former Director of External Affairs, Pedro Gomez, sexually assaulted them. This news first broke in September 2024, when Gomez was put on paid administrative leave after a co-worker alleged that he raped her in June 2024. He resigned from the Mayor’s office in January 2025, when the King County Prosecutor’s Office Special Assault Unit began a review of the case.
Several women came forward after reading about the initial allegation, describing similar experiences with Gomez. They recounted unsettlingly familiar details, being taken to the same Capitol Hill restaurant, plied with drinks, and subjected to his claims of part-ownership in the business.
