Filing period ends for Seattle City Council candidacy, 4 empty seats will be filled
More than 40 candidates have applied to run for seven Seattle City Council seats. Only three current council members are seeking re-election.
SEATTLE — The time has passed for those who wish to apply to run for the Seattle City Council.
The application deadline is at 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 19. Regardless of the election results, this race will end with at least four new faces on the city council.
As of now, there are more than 40 contestants registered to run for seven district seats. This year’s election is open to only seven county seats and does not include the two citywide seats held by Councilmember Sara Nelson and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda.
Of the seven seats elected, only three council members are seeking re-election. The three people trying to hold their spot this year are Tammy Morales (District 2), Dan Strauss (District 6) and Andrew Lewis (District 7).
“We are seeing four empty seats, which is still the largest number of vacant seats we have,” said Patrick Schoettner, a political science professor at Seattle University who studies city politics, elections and specifically. has since 2015 when the council reorganized. Seattle politics.
Schoettner said the revenue would be substantial due to the departures of several key players.
“We are seeing a lot of long-term incumbents, especially Kshama Sawant of District 3, leave the council, which means we could really see the council,” Schoettner said. take a different tactic or a different direction,” Schoettner said.
Councilmembers Kshama Sawant (District 3), Alex Pedersen (District 4), Debora Juarez (District 5) and Lisa Herbold (District 1) are not running for re-election. Schoettner said this election will change the political landscape of the city given the agendas and working relationships of each council member.
“If you’re changing, you know, just under half of the council and the characters on that council, it’s going to lead to a different city politics,” Schoettner said.
This will be the first city council election since recent regional redistrictingwhich Schoettner does not believe will have a major impact on the results.
“I don’t think there will be a significant change in the way voting ends for each of those important counties,” Shoetner said.
He said that there is one particular theme that he thinks will be the focus of this campaign season.
“Homelessness is definitely going to be an issue. And when we talk about homelessness, we’re also talking about two closely related issues, security on the one hand and housing on the other,” Schoettner said.
Whatever matters most to you, he says county elections matter, because you choose who represents you and your neighbors.
“Seattle is a city of many neighborhoods,” says Schoettner. “And this is an opportunity for neighborhoods to have their special voices heard.
The primary election will take place in August and the general election will be held in November.
There is an additional council seat that could open in the fall. Citywide Councilor Teresa Mosqueda is not running for re-election this year, but she is running for King County Council. If she wins that race, her city council seat will need to be filled.
