Durkan, Jenny, 1958-

Jenny Anne Durkan (born May 19, 1958) is an American attorney, former federal prosecutor, and politician serving as the 56th mayor of Seattle, Washington. She is the city's first female mayor since the 1920s and its second openly LGBT elected mayor.

Born in Seattle, Durkan was raised on Mercer Island, Washington and in Bellevue, Washington. After graduating from Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, she earned her B.A. degree from the University of Notre Dame. After graduating, Durkan spent two years in Alaska, teaching high-school English and coaching a girls' basketball team in the Yup’ik Eskimo community through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. After a summer working as a baggage handler for Wien Air Alaska in St. Mary’s, Alaska as a dues-paying Teamster, Durkan enrolled in the University of Washington School of Law, earning her J.D. degree in 1985. While in law school, Durkan participated in a pilot criminal defense clinic, working with the public defender's office to represent individuals charged in Seattle municipal court. She continued the work on a pro bono basis, until she moved to Washington, D.C. to practice law with the firm of Williams & Connolly. Durkan returned to Seattle in 1991, and established a successful practice focusing on criminal defense and work on behalf of plaintiffs.

In 1994 Durkan became executive council and political director to Governor Mike Lowry, making her Lowry's chief lawyer; Durkan resigned in February 1995 after deputy press secretary Susanne Albright accused Lowry of sexual harassment, returning to private practice. In May 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Durkan to be the U.S Attorney for the Western District of Washington. As U.S. Attorney, Durkan used the federal law against felons possessing firearms to crack down on career criminals in Western Washington. Durkan announced her candidacy for Seattle mayor on May 11, 2017. Placing first in the August primary and November general election, she entered office on November 28, 2017. As Mayor, Durkan is focused on the housing affordability crisis, helping those experiencing homelessness, providing free college tuition to Seattle’s high school graduates, and pushing reforms and restoring trust in the police department – while also delivering on basic city services. She also is committed to ensuring Seattle continues to lead the innovative economy and create new models for ensuring more security for workers.

Durkan received criticism for her response to the George Floyd protests in Seattle, and her handling of law enforcement in the so-called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. In December 2020, Durkan announced that she will not seek reelection after her term as mayor ends.