Lin

While Seattle voters wait for the dust to settle in the race for the mayor’s office, the political battles to shape the Seattle City Council have been wrapped up including a new leader in District 2 representing South Seattle.

Eddie Lin rode a campaign that billed the candidate as “an affordable housing champion” to victory to represent the city’s southern neighborhoods claiming a whopping near-70% of the vote.

Lin, an assistant attorney in the Seattle City Attorney’s office, said his victory boiled down to making Seattle less expensive for D2 residents.

“Throughout this campaign I talked to thousands of our neighbors in District 2. Whether it was a senior on fixed income trying to stay near their grandkids or a young family looking to build a life in the South End, the number one issue I heard was housing affordability.” Lin told his Election Night address to supporters at Baja Bistro in Beacon Hill according to the victory announcement from his campaign. “People’s rents are skyrocketing and they are being forced out of our community. This campaign has been successful because voters know we will tackle housing affordability head on with concrete plans, experience, and urgency.”

The D2 seat opened up after Tammy Morales unexpectedly announced her resignation to begin 2025 over accusations of toxic work culture and politics under Council President Sara Nelson.

Any such problems with Nelson will be a thing of the past. Nonprofit executive and former community organizer and policy advisor Dionne Foster has scored a surprisingly comfortable victory for Nelson’s citywide seat on the council with nearly 58% of the vote. Foster said her efforts for the city working with low income populations and her time at nonprofits lobbying for stronger social services have prepared her for taking on issues around homelessness and for office at Seattle City Hall.

Lin and Foster will be joined in the 2025 council victory circle by incumbent Alexis Mercedes Rinck. Rinck crushed her opponent Rachel Savage, a Republican and owner of Broadway crystal shop The Vajra, with nearly 80% of the vote. Savage has built a small political following in the neighborhood with stances around crackdowns on public homelessness and pushback against supportive housing projects.

The 2026 Seattle City Council mix will be an interesting one to watch settle in. District 3’s Joy Hollingsworth in the middle of the term she won in 2023 has been a centrist voice on the council and a constant ally of Mayor Bruce Harrell. The rest of the council will remain Rob Saka representing West Seattle’s District 1, Maritza Rivera representing the city’s northeast in District 4, Debora Juarez representing the city’s north in District 5, Ballard, Fremont, and Magnolia lover Dan Strauss in District 6, and public safety-focused Bob Kettle representing downtown and Queen Anne in District 7.

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