Who is Jenny Durkan? What to know about the Seattle mayor
Durkan leads one of the most left-leaning cities in the U.S.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, a Democrat, received major criticism over her handling of the so-called Capitol Hill Occupied Protest that sprang up in her city in the wake of George Floyd's death but devolved into violence.
Durkan leads one of the most left-leaning cities in the United States.
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In June, Durkan said CHOP could become a "summer of love," but the zone was cleared out in early July after separate shootings killed two people in the area, including 19-year-old Horace Lorenzo Anderson Jr.
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK OCTOBER 10: Jenny Durkan, Mayor of Seattle, speaks during the American Cities Climate Challenge conference at the C40 World Mayors Summit on October 10, 2019 in Copenhagen, Denmark. More than 70 mayors of some of the worlds larges
"I will continue to refocus our energy on the hard but critical work to answer the voices demanding change, to reimagine what policing looks like, and to invest in true health and safety of our communities — especially our [Black and indigenous people of color] communities," Durkan wrote on Twitter as CHOP came to an end.
Durkan, 62, became mayor of Seattle in 2017 after serving as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington from 2009 to 2014. She was the first openly gay U.S. attorney, according to her official biography.
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"I don't think I can fully appreciate how important it is to many people to have someone in a role like this who is gay," Durkan told The Associated Press in 2009. "The more people are able to see people in situations where pretty soon that's an invisible characteristic, the better it is for the entire community."
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Durkan is the daughter of the late Martin Durkan, an influential Washington state lawmaker who unsuccessfully ran for governor in the 1970s. She attended the University of Washington School of Law and worked in both the public and private sectors before President Barack Obama nominated her for U.S. attorney.