Helping the city reinvent itself after the Boeing bust, Royer pushed for a Westlake Park makeover, the Convention Center and low-income housing.
by Knute Berger in Crosscut
Charles “Charley” Royer during his first year as Seattle Mayor in 1978. Royer died last week at age 84. (Courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives)
Sad news came this week with the death of former Seattle Mayor Charles “Charley” Royer, the city’s only mayor to serve three consecutive four-year terms (1978-1990). He died Friday at age 84.
For those unfamiliar with Seattle’s politics, Royer’s staying power is extraordinary and a testament to his performance. In recent years our mayors seem to come into office with a “one-term-or-less” expiration date stamped on their foreheads. Our most recent two-term mayor was Greg Nickels, who was voted out in 2010.
Royer was a well-known face in Seattle as a KING-TV commentator and journalist. He was elected to office in the late 1970s, on the heels of the Boeing recession. This was a period when the city’s cultural dynamic was in its fertile grassroots: neighborhood activism, P-Patches, Bumbershoot, Gay Pride, the launch of alternative media sources like The Seattle Sun, The Rocket, and Seattle Weekly. Pioneer Square was starting to blossom with galleries and bistros, and the city was inching its way toward being more urban with the very beginnings of the high-rise condo boom in places like First Hill and Belltown. (continued)