‘Strange but not illegal.’ Questions raised about lines between politics and governance at Seattle City Hall

Kim Malcolm

John O'Brien

September 09, 2025 / 7:46 pm

Questions about who gets to work at Seattle City Hall came into focus recently when Seattle Times reporters Jim Brunner and David Kroman looked at why Mayor Bruce Harrell's campaign strategist ended up on the City Hall payroll. David Kroman told KUOW’s Kim Malcolm about what they found.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Kim Malcolm: Your piece with Jim Brunner clearly took a lot of reporting. To understand it, let's start with who is Christian Sinderman?

David Kroman : Christian is among the most powerful Democratic operatives in the state that you probably haven't heard of. He is a campaign manager first an

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