鈥業 love this city to my bones鈥�: How Mayor Jenny Durkan leads Seattle
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Ann Scott Tyson Staff writer
| Seattle
It was Monday, March 2, when Mayor Jenny Durkan took the call at her Seattle home. On the line was Harvard-trained epidemiologist Trevor Bedford, who had caught the mayor鈥檚 attention with an ominous tweet two days earlier about his Seattle lab鈥檚 tracking of the new coronavirus.
Dr. Bedford had connected the genetic dots between the first U.S. coronavirus case 鈥撀燼 man who tested positive Jan. 20 after returning from Wuhan, China, to Snohomish County north of Seattle 鈥� and a teenager who tested positive in the same county on Feb. 28. 鈥淭his strongly suggests that there has been cryptic transmission in Washington state for the past 6 weeks,鈥� tweeted Dr. Bedford.
Ms. Durkan urgently tracked down Dr. Bedford,聽who studies infectious diseases at Seattle鈥檚 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,聽to dig into his predictions. Why did they depart so starkly from what government health officials were reporting?
Why We Wrote This
Washington was the first state hit with the new coronavirus, meaning its leaders had no U.S. peers to look to for guidance. At the epicenter, near Seattle, Mayor Jenny Durkan has relied on science, teamwork 鈥� and speed.
鈥淗is modeling, frankly, was very different from what public health was telling me,鈥� Ms. Durkan recalls.
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,聽all our coronavirus coverage聽is free. There is no paywall.
As the former U.S. attorney listened carefully to the evidence, the shocking revelations sank in.
鈥淎fter talking with him, there was little doubt in my mind that the modeling was accurate,鈥� she recounts, a belief other top experts would confirm. 鈥淲e aren鈥檛 dealing with five cases. We are dealing with hundreds of cases, and our time to act was yesterday.鈥�
She sketched out the math in a chart on a piece of paper, one she has carried ever since. 鈥淥ver 70,000 cases,鈥� she thought, 鈥�in six weeks.鈥�
She pauses. 鈥淚t was one of the most sobering moments of my entire life.鈥�
The next day, at 1:33 pm, Ms. Durkan signed a proclamation of civil emergency for Seattle聽鈥� the blue-collar town where she鈥檇 grown up as one of eight children, where she鈥檇 sold linens at JCPenney and later graduated from law school. The city she loves.聽
[Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,聽all our coronavirus coverage聽is free. No paywall.]
Career鈥檚 toughest challenge
Two weeks later, on St. Patrick鈥檚 Day, Ms. Durkan, the granddaughter of an Irish Catholic immigrant, sits virtually alone in her 7迟丑听 floor office suite, wearing a shamrock pin. Sunshine glints off the nearby skyscrapers, the deserted streets, and, a few blocks away, the waters of Elliott Bay.
The lobby of City Hall, adorned with a huge, gold seal of Chief Seattle, is eerily empty. Her lone assistant apologetically requests that all the mayor鈥檚 visitors first wash their hands, and remain several feet apart from her.
But even at a distance, Ms. Durkan鈥檚 gregarious warmth, quick wit, and no-nonsense demeanor comes through.
鈥淭hanks for coming in,鈥� she greets this reporter, raising one hand and making a 鈥淰鈥� with four fingers in a Vulcan salute, popularized by Spock in 鈥淪tar Trek.鈥� I bungle the return salute, which, perhaps aptly, means: Live long and prosper. 鈥淚t takes practice!鈥� she says, flashing a smile.
The heaviness of the moment, though, is unmistakable, as Ms. Durkan presides over a city that has gone from boom to virus-inflicted bust virtually overnight. For the past decade, Seattle has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. But the double whammy of the pandemic on public health and the economy is akin to an earthquake, shaking the Emerald City鈥檚 foundations.
Asked whether this is the biggest challenge of her career, Ms. Durkan doesn鈥檛 hesitate. 鈥淣o question about it, by a magnitude of several factors,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that our country has dealt with a more impactful and complicated and widespread crisis in many generations.鈥�
In response, Ms. Durkan is relying not only on top scientists but also her own, well-honed political instincts to guide Seattle through today鈥檚 uncharted waters. The daughter of a legendary Washington state senator and lobbyist, she learned to stand her ground by tussling with her siblings. When she graduated from the University of Washington Law School in 1985, she recalls her mother commenting: 鈥淔inally, someone is going to pay you to argue.鈥� But she also learned the art of compromise and teamwork.
On the Sunday after Dr. Bedford briefed her, she huddled for two hours with Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and other senior officials to ensure they were on the same page.
鈥淥nce we heard the science, I don鈥檛 think there was anyone in the room that didn鈥檛 feel the government had to make some significant steps to reduce public gatherings,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not either-or. It鈥檚 really more of a dial,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou try the first step, and if that seems not to be working, you have to accelerate through the dial pretty quickly.鈥�
On March 11, Ms. Durkan stepped before the cameras flanked by Governor Inslee, Mr. Constantine, and other officials to unveil that first step 鈥� a ban on gatherings of more than 250 people. But first, she set the stage. 鈥淥ne of the most important things we can do, according to the World Health Organization, is to speak in one voice as one government,鈥� she said. After a crisp few words, she elbow-bumped with the governor, made the Vulcan salute, and stepped aside.
鈥淭his is something Mayor Jenny Durkan was born to do,鈥� says a longtime Seattle journalist who spoke on condition of anonymity. 鈥淪he鈥檚 good at centrist, Democratic government.鈥�
The Washington state team was determined, as Ms. Durkan said later, to rise above the pull of blame-game politics and 鈥渇ight the virus instead of each other.鈥� In contrast, a few days earlier, as Vice President Mike Pence visited the state to bring vital emergency aid, President Donald Trump referred to Governor Inslee as 鈥渁 snake鈥� for alleging the administration had not 鈥渟tuck to the science.鈥�
Robust local leadership has emerged in part amid a weak federal government response, analysts say. There was 鈥渁 lack of strong leadership from the feds,鈥� says Ann Marie Kimball, professor emeritus of epidemiology at the University of Washington. Moreover, she says, 鈥渁ll epidemics and pandemics are really local, so local officials are in the best position to tailor [the response] 鈥� and they speak with a voice we recognize.鈥�
Americans expressed more confidence in their state governments than in President Trump or the federal government in handling the coronavirus, released this week.
A city unbowed聽
Carrying her hand-sketched chart of future cases, Ms. Durkan has no time to waste on infighting. She knows Seattle and Washington are only about 11 days behind Italy 鈥� one of the world鈥檚 hardest-hit countries聽鈥� on the steeply rising COVID-19 curve.
鈥淓very time Italy takes a step because they have reached a crisis point, it sends a signal to us,鈥� Ms. Durkan says. 鈥淲e should take that step now.鈥�
Yet state and local resources only go so far. What is keeping her awake at night is the lack of protective equipment such as gloves, masks, and gowns for Washington鈥檚 first responders and medical personnel. Last Friday, she visited Seattle鈥檚 Harborview Medical Center, only to see medical workers reaching into almost empty bins of masks.
鈥淚f our workers get sick, our health care system fails,鈥� warns Ms. Durkan, who says she spent dozens of hours last weekend trying to help secure more protective equipment. Washington has already received some supplies from national reserves, but is awaiting approval to get another 180,000 masks and face shields and 65,000 respirators. Hospital surge capacity is also inadequate without federal help, she says.
More shelters for Seattle鈥檚 most vulnerable population, particularly some 11,000 people experiencing homelessness, are another critical need. And given the expectation hundreds of thousands of people will lose their jobs, 鈥渨e need something bigger than the New Deal to put money in the pockets of workers鈥� and supplement private, local, and state relief efforts, Ms. Durkan says. For example, Amazon executives pledged $5 million for small firms such as restaurants and food trucks in the vicinity of the company鈥檚 downtown Seattle headquarters.
Seattle鈥檚 vibrant patchwork quilt of neighborhoods is suffering, she says, and she takes such losses personally.聽She remembers growing up during the 鈥淏oeing bust鈥� of the 1970s, when the airplane maker cut more than 40,000 workers.聽In her friends鈥� neighborhoods, 鈥渢here was empty house after empty house, and dandelions pushing up,鈥� she recalls.聽
鈥淚 love this city to my bones. This is so hard,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou know it鈥檚 going to have such deep, long-term consequences.鈥�
But Ms. Durkan also has a tough streak that Seattle needs right now. After college, she moved to an Alaskan fishing village and taught English for two years. Then she worked as a baggage handler and dues-paying Teamster to help her pay for law school. The first openly gay U.S. attorney, and the first female Seattle mayor for nearly a century, she speaks her mind and tells it like it is.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a gritty city. We come back from adversity,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut this one is going to test everyone鈥檚 will, and everybody鈥檚 mettle.鈥�
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,聽all our coronavirus coverage聽is free. There is no paywall.
