Polls repeatedly prove it to be true: The biggest challenge come November for Seattle's mayoral candidates will be to convince voters that their leadership will make a dent in the city's enduring homelessness crisis. A Wednesday mayoral debate on homelessness between candidates Bruce Harrell and M. Lorena González revealed sharp differences in the way the two politicians are making this pitch to voters, with Harrell leaning on his longtime community bona fides and González focused on new policy to transform the city's housing stock. Throughout the debate, hosted by The Seattle Times and regional funders coalition We Are In, Harrell emphasized his roots growing up in the Central District as well as the experience of recognizing people he grew up with currently facing homelessness. He offered hazy details on responding to encampments, but stressed the need for outreach tailored to the needs of people living outside and a plan to study the way the city spends its resources on homelessness. Watch Seattle, King County candidates go head-to-head in virtual debates about one of the region's most pressing issues, Sept. 29-30. Register now. "Seattle should not look at this as though we have a scarcity of resources," Harrell said. "At the same time, we will pursue every type of progressive tax revenue that the state has given us, every single dime we can get. We will also tap into these corporations who are doing quite well through their corporate social responsibility efforts, but I believe this is going to be a team approach in our city." González, meanwhile, aimed to showcase the contrast among herself, her opponent and the current mayoral administration by expressing support for ending single-family zoning and forced encampment removals, both positions endorsed by a more left-leaning wing of Seattle politics. "I'm the only candidate in this race who has unequivocally stated that I do not support forcibly removing people from public spaces when there is insufficient shelter or homes to offer people who desperately need it," González said. "As mayor, my goal is to end homelessness, not hide it." The candidates share overlap in their political careers: They're both lawyers who held the same job as City Council president, presiding over a legislative body often at odds with the mayor's office over homelessness policy and dealing with encampments. But on the campaign trail, they've appealed to different sympathies around the homelessness crisis.