Flashback | Harrell believes lessons from athletics will help him win in politics

Athlete: Bruce Harrell, Garfield, Class of 1976

Sports: Football, wrestling, basketball and baseball

High-school rewind: All-State linebacker, Metro League Defensive Player of the Year, Garfield's MVP in baseball, football and wrestling, class valedictorian.

After high school: Four-year letterman, three-year starter for Washington Huskies at inside linebacker. First-team All-Pac-10, All-Coast and Academic All-American in 1979. Graduated with UW Law degree in 1984. Started law firm in 1997.

Personal: Harrell, who turns 49 Wednesday, lives in Seattle's Mount Baker neighborhood with his wife, Joanne, a Microsoft executive; two sons and a daughter.

Fast forward: Bruce Harrell's once-luxurious Afro is neatly trimmed and his uniform replaced by a tie and three-piece suit. And just as football gave way to a distinguished law career, the former Garfield and UW linebacker is ready to step into his next career challenge — politics.

Harrell, who once chose law school over the NFL, is running for a Seattle City Council seat against Venus Velazquez, a public-affairs consultant. The Nov. 6 election is Harrell's first try at public office.

The guy Don James trusted to call defensive signals has never been afraid to defy the odds, often defending the little guys in civil-rights and small-business court cases.

Harrell is convinced that what he learned on the field translates to politics.

"Both take discipline and organization," says Harrell, whose cousin Keith was a Garfield and Seattle U. basketball standout.

"You have to stay on schedule and remain organized. The second thing is focus. It's easy to get sidetracked. Finally, there's teamwork. The core of being in politics is the ability to develop a team and listen to different sides of an issue and not polarize people."

Don Shelton