The Metropolitan King County Council,the legislative body of King County,Washington,consists of nine members elected by district. The Council adopts laws,sets policy,and holds final approval over the budget. Its current name and structure is the result of a merger of King County and the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle,better known as Metro,which was a federated county-city structure responsible for water quality and public transportation.
The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle,Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms,seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-large positions;all elections are non-partisan. It has the sole responsibility of approving the city's budget,and develops laws and policies intended to promote the health and safety of Seattle's residents. The Council passes all legislation related to the city's police,firefighting,parks,libraries,and electricity,water supply,solid waste,and drainage utilities. (The mayor of Seattle is not considered part of council.)
Jenny Anne Durkan is an American attorney,former federal prosecutor,and politician who served as the 56th mayor of Seattle,Washington. She is the daughter of Martin Durkan. Durkan is a member of the Democratic Party. After earning her Juris Doctor from University of Washington School of Law in 1985,Durkan began practicing law as a criminal defense lawyer and civil litigator. In October 2009,President Barack Obama appointed her United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington. She held that position until September 2014.
Timothy L. Burgess is an American journalist and politician from Seattle,Washington. He was a member of the Seattle City Council from 2007 to 2017,and served as Mayor of Seattle for 71 days in late 2017. Prior to his political career,Burgess was a radio journalist and Seattle Police Department (SPD) officer.
Michael J. O'Brien is an American politician and former member of the Seattle City Council who represented District 6 in northwest Seattle. He was first elected in 2009 to a different,city-wide council seat. He was the leading proponent of the opt-out list for the Yellow Pages. He was the only opponent of the proposed deep bore tunnel under downtown Seattle on the city council. He was chair of the local chapter of the Sierra Club before running for office. In this capacity,he was one of the leading opponents of the 2007 Roads and Transit ballot measure.
Kshama Sawant is an Indian-American politician and economist who served on the Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2024. Until May 2024 she was a member of Socialist Alternative,the first and only member of the party to date to be elected to public office.
Teresa Carmen Mosqueda is an American politician and labor activist from Seattle,Washington. She is a member of the King County Council and has represented District 8 since 2024. Mosqueda was previously a member of the Seattle City Council from 2017 to 2023,in at-large position 8.
Debora Juarez is an American lawyer and politician who served as the president of the Seattle City Council. She was first elected in 2015 to represent the 5th district. A member of the Blackfeet Nation,she was the first Native American person elected to the council.
Maria Lorena González is an American lawyer and former politician who was a member of the Seattle City Council from position 9. She was the first Latino elected to the council. She was a candidate for mayor of Seattle in 2021 but was defeated by Bruce Harrell 59 percent to 41 percent.
The 2017 Seattle mayoral election was held on November 7,2017. It was won by former U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan,who beat civic activist Cary Moon in the general election by 15 percentage points. The two candidates had advanced from an earlier primary election held in August,which ensured that Seattle would have its first female mayor since Bertha Knight Landes was elected in 1926. Municipal elections are officially nonpartisan though most candidates have declared party affiliations.
Nikkita R. Oliver is an American lawyer,non-profit administrator,educator,poet,and politician. They were a candidate for Mayor of Seattle in the 2017 mayoral election,but finished third in the primary with 17% of the vote. Oliver was defeated again in an at-large Seattle city council race in 2021.
Mitzi G. Johanknecht is an American police officer who served as the sheriff of King County,Washington from 2018 to 2022. Prior to her election in 2017,she served for 32 years at the King County Sheriff's Office,holding the rank of major.
Andrew Joseph Lewis is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the Seattle City Council from District 7. He was an assistant city attorney before his election to city council and worked on political campaigns.
The 2021 Seattle mayoral election was held on November 2,2021,to elect the Mayor of Seattle. It was won by former Seattle City Council President Bruce Harrell,who defeated then-current President Lorena González;both candidates had advanced from a nonpartisan primary election on August 3.
Kirsten Harris-Talley is an American politician who served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 37th legislative district.
The 2019 Seattle City Council election was held on November 5,2019. Seven seats of the nine-member Seattle City Council were up for election. Four incumbent members of the city council did not run for reelection,while the remaining three incumbents all won reelection.
The 2021 Seattle City Council election were held on November 2,2021. Two seats of the nine-member Seattle City Council were up for election.
The 2021 Seattle City Attorney election was held on November 2,2021. Incumbent City Attorney Pete Holmes sought reelection to a fourth term in office,but came third place in the officially nonpartisan August 3 primary election and failed to advance to the general election,with both Nicole Thomas-Kennedy and Ann Davison finishing ahead of Holmes in the primary. Davison defeated Thomas-Kennedy in the general election.
The 2023 Seattle City Council election was held on November 7,2023,following a primary election on August 1. The seven district-based seats of the nine-member Seattle City Council are up for election;the districts were modified based on the results of the 2020 census. Four incumbent members of the city council did not seek reelection.
The 2024 Washington Democratic presidential primary was held on March 12,2024,as part of the Democratic Party primaries for the 2024 presidential election. 111 delegates to the Democratic National Convention were allocated to presidential candidates.
