Charles "Charley" Royer (1939-2024) was mayor of Seattle from 1978 to 1990, and is the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. Born in Medford, Oregon, Royer worked in TV news in Oregon in the 1960s and became known for his political coverage. He moved to Seattle in 1970 to work for KING-TV, then ran for mayor in 1977 and defeated Paul Schell in the run-off election by about 25,000 votes. Early on, Royer had an often fractious relationship with the City Council (several of whom had run against him for mayor) and some of his hiring choices were, by Royer's own admission, "clinkers." Royer successes as mayor include low-income housing initiatives, the Metro bus tunnel, and a recycling program that became a national model. Royer easily won reelection in 1981 and 1985 but decided not to seek a fourth term . After leaving City Hall, he led Harvard’s Institute of Politics for five years before returning to Seattle in 1995. He worked on community health projects and at UW's School of Public Affairs and continued speaking out on issues facing Seattle.

This image shows Royer (front) riding a tandem bike with City Councilman George Benson at Matthews Beach Park during the dedication ceremony for the Burke-Gilman Trail.

Caption information source: "Royer, Charles (1939-2024)," by Frank Chesley, HistoryLink, retrieved from https://www.historylink.org/File/8265