Mayor Bruce Harrell delivered his 2023 State of the City speech on Tuesday afternoon, which outlined his vision for the city and priorities for his second year in office. The mayor discussed economic recovery, the housing crisis, public safety and police reform -- all issues he campaigned on two years ago. Harrell said in an exclusive interview with KING 5's Jake Whittenberg and Mimi Jung last month that he is optimistic about the direction the city is headed. Entering his second year in office, Harrell insisted he's making headway in the effort to hire more police officers and tamp down on crime in the city where he was raised. Harrell's goal is for the Seattle Police Department (SPD) to reach 1,400 officers. According to data from the city, Seattle had 1,315 officers in 2017, the highest total it has had in the last seven years. As it stands, Harrell said in July 2022 that the department's staffing was at "crisis levels." READ THE FULL STORY HERE: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/seattle-mayor-bruce-harrell-state-of-city-address/281-5bcf9697-0764-41f8-9b9a-93d7481da92f