SEATTLE — Change is coming to the Seattle City Council, as the results of last week’s general election are becoming clearer.
Six of the nine seats on the Seattle City Council will be filled with new members, like Joy Hollingsworth in District 3.
“Now the honeymoon is over, and we get to the work,” said Hollingsworth.
This change in leadership comes as four current councilmembers decided to not run again and only two incumbents kept their seats in the district elections, which were Tammy Morales in District 2 and Dan Strauss in District 6. Citywide Councilmember Sara Nelson was not up for reelection and other citywide Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda won her race for King County Council, so now her seat will need to be filled.
Hollingsworth replaces socialist Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who didn't run again. Hollingsworth is more moderate and was endorsed by Mayor Bruce Harrell. She said public safety is her top priority.
“We want to see a relationship with our Seattle Police Department, in a positive form, creating that trust,” said Hollingsworth. “We're going to be looking forward to standing up to the CARE Team and seeing what resources they need to be that alternative response.”
Hollingsworth said a mix of supporting gun violence prevention community groups, expanding mental health care resources, and policing will be key to increasing public safety. She said she's happy with how the new council is shaping up and said her focus on public safety is shared by some of her fellow new elects.
One of those is Bob Kettle in District 7. He beat out incumbent Andrew Lewis and says a mix of public health resources and an increase in police staffing will help keep people safe.
“I characterize the challenge that we have with public safety related to the permissive environment that we created, and so we need to tackle the permissive environment,” said Kettle.
Kettle believes this new council is the start of a new chapter for the city, with more moderate leaning councilmembers elected. He also said he has spoken with more progressive members, like Councilmember Tammy Morales, who reached out to him. He said he feels that the new council will be able to work together on important issues.
“Each of us bring strong perspectives and backgrounds, that's going to add to the mix on the city council,” said Kettle.
King County will not certify the election results until Tuesday, Nov. 28.
You can view full election results and the winners of the other Seattle City Council seats here.