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 responsibility of approving the city's budget,and 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.)
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.
Sally G. Bagshaw is an American politician. She was a member of the Seattle City Council from 2016 to 2019. Before being elected to city council,she had been the chief civil deputy prosecutor in the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for eight years under Norm Maleng.
Kshama Sawant is an Indian-American politician and economist who served on the Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2024. She was a member of Socialist Alternative,the first and only member of the party to date to be elected to public office.
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.
The Seattle head tax,officially the employee hours tax (EHT),was a proposed head tax to be levied on large employers in Seattle,Washington,United States. The head tax was proposed in 2017 to fund homeless services and outreach and was set at a rate of $275 annually per employee,with hopes of raising up to $50 million annually.
Tammy Janine Morales is an American politician from Seattle,Washington. She was elected to represent District 2 on the Seattle City Council in November 2019.
Girmay Hadish Zahilay is an American politician and lawyer who is a member of the King County Council from District 2 in Seattle,Washington. He was elected in 2019,defeating longtime incumbent Larry Gossett.
Daniel Aaron Strauss is an American politician who serves on the Seattle City Council from District 6. A native of Seattle's Ballard neighborhood,he previously worked as an aide to local politicians,including Seattle councilmember Sally Bagshaw.
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 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.
Sara E. Nelson is an American businesswoman and politician serving as a Seattle City Council member from Position 9. A member of the Democratic Party,she defeated Nikkita Oliver in the 2021 election. On January 2,2024,the city council voted unanimously to appoint her City Council President upon the retirement of Debora Juarez.
Tanya Woo (胡清雅) is an American politician from Seattle,Washington. She ran for Seattle City Council in 2023 in District 2 against incumbent Tammy Morales but lost by a narrow margin of 403 votes. Woo was then appointed to the city-wide District 8 seat in January 2024 but lost that seat in the November 2024 special election to Alexis Mercedes Rinck.
Maritza Rivera is a Seattle City Council member since January 2024 representing District 4.
Cathy Moore is an American lawyer and politician elected to represent District 5 of the Seattle City Council. She was a King County Superior Court judge from 2017 to 2022.
