Paul Schell Paul Schell , born Paul Schlachtenhaufen on October 8 , 1937 , in Fort Dodge , Iowa , was the 50th mayor of Seattle , Washington . His four-year term as mayor began on January 1 , 1998 . Schell first ran for mayor in 1977 , but lost to Charles Royer . He then turned to real estate development , and finally won public office as a Port of Seattle commissioner in 1989 , becoming commission president in 1995 . He was also acting dean of the University of Washington School of Architecture and Urban Planning from 1992 to 1995 . Schell was mayor during the infamous WTO Meeting of 1999 . The conclusion by many in Seattle was that the WTO convention was not worth hosting due to the economic damage and lasting image problems it caused . Controversy over the city 's lack of preparation and response to the protests resulted in the resignation of Seattle police chief Norm Stamper . In addition , Schell was mayor during a particularly violent Mardi Gras celebration in 2001 , which left 20 year old Kristopher Kime fatally injured . Arguably , both the WTO meeting and the Mardi Gras violence played a role in Schell 's stunning loss to Greg Nickels and Mark Sidran in the 2001 mayoral primary election -- the first time in over 60 years a Seattle mayor had failed to survive a primary election . During the campaign , he was assaulted and seriously injured by fringe mayoral candidate James Garrett ( a.k . a . Omari Tahir-Garrett ) . Garrett was later convicted of second-degree assault and sentenced to 21 months in prison . Preceded by : Norm Rice Mayor of Seattle 1998–2001 Succeeded by : Greg Nickels  This article about a Washington politician is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . Categories : 1937 births | Living people | Mayors of Seattle | Washington politician stubs Norm Rice Mayor of Seattle 1998–2001 Greg Nickels 