Jenny Durkan becomes the first female mayor of Seattle in nearly a century

On Tuesday, Jenny Durkan officially became Seattle's 56th mayor and the first woman to hold the office in almost a hundred years. 

The Emerald City welcomed Durkan, who is also its first openly lesbian mayor, with inauguration ceremonies held in five locations spread across Seattle. Durkan made her first stop at Seattle's Ethiopian Community Center where she was officially sworn in to office by Judge Richard Jones.


Bertha Knight Landes, the last female to hold the mayoral seat in Seattle more than 90 years ago, served on Seattle's City Council and was then elected as mayor in 1926.