Last year, the council need to fill the empty chair for Position 8 (Image: City of Seattle)
The process to find a new representative for South Seattle on the city council will begin in January.
The Seattle City Council released details of the effort this week to replace Tammy Morales after the veteran District 2 rep unexpectedly announced her resignation over accusations of toxic work culture and politics under Council President Sara Nelson.
“We look forward to hearing from and considering the leaders from District 2 who are willing to put themselves forward during this critical time for Seattle,” Nelson said in the announcement. “This is especially true as we turn to the Comprehensive Plan and continue our work to enhance public safety and increase accountability.”
The council’s appointment will replace its most progressive member. Morales has represented South Seattle’s District 2 on the council since 2020 and wasn’t slated to face a reelection battle for years.
The process to replace her now begins. Under the city charter, the council has 20 calendar days to fill a vacant position. This 20-day period begins January 7th, the first day following Morales’ official resignation.
Meanwhile, the District 2 chair will be put on the ballot for voters to select a candidate next November to finish the term.
The newly appointed councilmember will serve until the 2025 General Election results are certified by King County Elections and the newly elected councilmember representing District 2 takes the oath of office.
The council is familiar with the process. 2024 began with a similar debate as the council looked to fill one of its two citywide seats. It selected Tanya Woo who had previously unsuccessfully ran against Morales for the District 2 seat. Woo’s bid to retain the seat fell short this fall as Alexis Rinck claimed victory and will stand as the most progressive member of the council with Morales’ exit.
The International District’s Woo, already handed multiple ballot box defeats in her attempts to join the council, could once again join the fray in the D2 appointment process. The application period will close January 9th:
Application period
Opens: Thursday, January 2, 2025, at 8:00 a.m.
Closes: Thursday, January 9, 2025, at 5:00 p.m.
Completed applications must be received by the City Clerk by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9 in order to be accepted. An application is considered complete if it includes all the required attachments:
- Resume
- Cover letter
- Completed financial interest statement form
State law and the Seattle City Charter require applicants to be:
- A citizen of the United States
- A qualified elector of the State of Washington
- Able to read and write the English language
- An active registered voter of the City of Seattle at least 120 days prior to and including the date of the filing the declaration of candidacy, which is determined by verifying an active voter registration status with King County Elections at the address provided by the applicant on the financial interest statement.
Any additional qualifications may be determined by the Council.
A public forum on the appointment process will be held sometime around January 21st.
A Special City Council meeting will be scheduled for Monday, Jan. 27 to vote on applicants. A successful candidate will be appointed once they receive a simple majority of at least five votes.
Learn more on the Council Vacancy webpage.
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“Nelson said in the announcement. “This is especially true as we turn to the Comprehensive Plan and continue our work to enhance public safety and increase accountability.”
That is a lie. They stole 350 million from clean energy and affordable housing for cops and pet projects. While saying “More investment in housing than ever!”. The bar was LOW kids, and they KNOW THAT! That was the political calculation before they took office. ALL of it.
Whatever bone they claim to toss us? Look into it. They are lying to change laws the voters demanded. Arbitrary power grabs. Like Trump does. Screw the rules and critics. Money is what we want most. So taking $3 an hour is on the table for example. Just to frighten and test the water. Then sneak in something while the voters are distracted.
Nothing but politics for their benifit.
You sound perfectly reasonable.
lol..no i don’t…i am having a breakdown…lol
bring back Woo. that will drive the Stranger nuts!
I honestly think another Asian council member would piss off the Stranger.
Why? As much as I dislike what The Stranger has become, I don’t remember any anti Asian stuff. Tonya Woo, Asian yes but more issues around her than her ethnicity. ‘Splain me please.
No. That would drive me nuts too. Let’s just bring in someone entirely new to drive The Stranger and, especially, Rich Smith, nuts. I love it when Rich Smith gets all crazy cuz it shows his stupid.
Didn’t they fire Rich and hire a real journalist as editor this summer?
Dont think so. If they did I would sure love to hear about it. Life in Seattle has gotten tough but Rich Smith’s constant yammering about his personal peeves makes me want to put a fork in my head. (Looking at you KUOW Week in Review. Could we possibly never hear from Rich Smith on your show again?) We could use a lot less of Rich Smith. Brady Walkinshaw new owner and seems balanced so wondering if he’d make some changes. Or, rather, lots of changes. Heidi and Nerbovig maybe. As much as I now detest The Stranger, I am deeply sad remembering how really great they once were.
You mean Hannah? Krieg and Nerbovig are the strongest writers they got. If they go, the whole paper goes. They get the most likes on all their content on IG and Twitter and have the strongest writing,
LMFAO. Are you serious?
And I guess that’s really the problem. Krieg and Nerbovig are the strongest writers they’ve got. And that’s not much. Check out some of the best of the best they had in the past and they don’t measure up. At all. Nor the continual presence of Charles Mudede and the constant yammering of Rich Smith.
I do hope they go and that the whole paper goes. They died a very long time ago.
Rich has tremendous journalistic credentials. This hate is unwarranted and reeks of weird personal biases.
“Tremendous”? How so? And you certainly have your own “weird personal biases.”
Rich Smith rules. Why the hate? He organized the union of my coffee shop…
That’s really it right? Stick it to the libs?
I agree. No Woo. Woo no more. It’s like effin Groundhog Day if you know what I mean…
Hell no
I learned about this in the newer CHS article about Hollingsworth’s zoning aspirations so commented more about it there. Ousting Morales by way of the pettiest behavior does not bode well for Seattle. Shame on city leaders and their infantile sabotage. It’s embarrassing; worse, it’s quite the f u to the citizens who put Morales in office.
But isn’t her resigning only a year into her term kind of an f u to those who voted for her? Her replacement will be the opposite of her. Not my district but if I had voted for her I would be effin pissed.No one “ousted” Morales. She “ousted” herself.
Morales is the one who flipped the f u at those who so recently elected her when she resigned eleven months post-election. Sorry things didn’t turn out as she wanted. You know, it’s tough being in the minority when you’re part of a governing body. When Sarah Nelson was in the minority Council pretty much ignored all of her priorities. Did she quit? Nope, she bided her time and worked to secure a majority of likeminded Councilmembers. Morales should have done the same, but didn’t have the stamina.