Here’s what you need to know about who’s running for Seattle City Council
Here's what you need to know about the more than 40 candidates running for the seven Seattle City Council districts this year.
More than 40 people are running for Seattle City Council in a race that could reshape city politics as only three council members are running for reelection.
This year’s election is only for the seven district seats and does not include the two citywide seats held by Councilmember Sara Nelson and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda.
The council members trying to keep their seats this year are Tammy Morales (District 2), Dan Strauss (District 6) and Andrew Lewis (District 7).
Councilmembers Kshama Sawant (District 3), Alex Pedersen (District 4), Debora Juarez (District 5), and Lisa Herbold (District 1) are all not seeking reelection.
This will also be the first city council election since the recent redistricting.
The primary election will take place in August and the general election will be held in November.
Here’s a look at who’s running:
District 1 West Seattle, White Center, South Park, Georgetown, Industrial District, SODO, Pioneer Square
Stephen Brown, president and founder of Eltana Bagels, said he is running to "create a more vibrant, livable, and inclusive city for all." Brown was also the lead entrepreneur of the Seattle Monorail Project from 2003 to 2007.
Brown's priorities include violent crime and policing, homeless and housing, and downtown revitalization and small business support.
Maren Costa, former design leader for Adobe, Amazon and Microsoft, is a climate activist and advisor for startups Power Bloom Solar, Carbon Zero, and Impact Karma. Costa said she was illegally fired from Amazon in April 2020 for "standing up for climate justice and for warehouse workers’ safety."
Costa's priorities include public safety, housing and green economic policies.
Jean Iannelli Craciun is the founder and board president of the Diversity Center of Seattle. According to her campaign website, the organization's mission is to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in workplaces and communities.
Craciun's priorities include revitalizing Pioneer Square, homelessness and housing, furthering women's rights, improved transportation and environmental issues.
Rob Saka is an attorney, justice reform advocate and Air Force Veteran. Saka has served on the King County Charter Review Commission and Mayor Bruce Harrell's Seattle Police Chief Search Committee.
Saka's priorities include public safety and homelessness and housing.
Phillip Tavel is an attorney and administrative law judge with 15 years of experience with Seattle and King County's criminal justice system. Tavel lost against current Council Member Lisa Herbold in 2019.
Tavel's priorities include public safety, homelessness and fiscal responsibility.
Preston Anderson, Lucy Barefoot and Mia Jacobson have also filed to run but do not yet have campaign websites.
District 2 Rainier Beach, Othello, Columbia City, Beacon Hill, Mount Baker, Chinatown International District, Yesler Terrace, Mount Baker
Margaret Elisabeth is the current chair of the Green Party of Washington and a member of the Green Party of Seattle.
Elizabeth's priorities include universal healthcare, worker's rights, housing and education.
Tammy Morales is one of the three current city council members seeking reelection. Her priorities for another term include community safety, affordable housing, environmental issues and healthcare.
Morales was elected to the Seattle City Council in 2019.
Tanya Woo, who grew up in Beacon Hill and lives in Rainier Beach, said she wants to change "bad city policies." Woo's family owns the Louisa Hotel in the Chinatown International District and leads the Chinatown International District Community Watch.
Woo's priorities include homelessness and housing, public safety and transportation.
District 3 Central District, First Hill, Capitol Hill, Madison Park, Montlake, Eastlake
Shobhit Agarwal is a first-generation gay immigrant from India.
Agarwal's priorities include advanced green infrastructure, expanding opportunities for businesses owned by women and minorities, public safety and affordable housing.
Ry Armstrong is a gender non-conforming actor and activist from the Pacific Northwest.
Armstrong's priorities include making Seattle a "right to shelter" city and the first major city in the country to be carbon-neutral and public safety.
Andrew Ashiofu is an LGBTQ+ immigrant from Nigeria who is formerly unhoused. Ashiofu is the chair of the Washington State Stonewall Democrats, co-chair of the Seattle LGBTQ Commission, and board member for People Of Color Against AIDS Network and Gay City.
Ashiofu's priorities include housing, transportation, public safety and the environment.
Alexander Cooley is a founder and former owner of cannabis companies in western Washington and a cannabis policy advocate.
Cooley's priorities include free public transit, ending single-family zoning, housing, drug legalization and public safety.
Robert Goodwin is a Pierce County public defender of over a decade.
Goodwin's priorities include criminal justice reform, mental health services, public safety, housing and tax reform.
Joy Hollingsworth was born and raised in the Central District and is the co-owner of her family's cannabis farm. Hollingsworth is a part of the Food Access Network team at Northwest Harvest. Her grandmother is Seattle civil rights leader Dorothy Hollingsworth.
Hollingsworth's priorities include reducing property and violent crimes, expanding mental health services, housing, small business support, youth enrichment and environmental issues.
Efrain Hudnell is the deputy prosecutor for King County’s Mental Health Court and an Army veteran.
Hudnell's priorities include housing, public safety and transit.
Alex Hudson is the executive director of the Transportation Choices Coalition, a transit and transportation advocacy nonprofit, and prior to that led the First Hill Improvement Association.
Hudson's priorities include housing and homelessness, transportation, small business support and a municipal capital gains tax.
District 4 University District, Wallingford, Roosevelt, Sandpoint, Wedgwood, Fremont
George Artem is a technology professional and entrepreneur and is a member of AmeriCorps, Vet Corps with the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs on the Antioch University, Seattle campus.
Artem's priorities include public safety, homelessness, mental health and drug abuse.
Ron Davis is a tech entrepreneur, transit advocate and environmental activist who serves on the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association board.
Davis' priorities include public safety, housing and homelessness, transportation, education and worker's rights.
Maritza Rivera is the city's deputy director of the Department of Arts & Culture and former senior operations manager. Rivera has also served in the White House as President Clinton’s Hispanic liaison and later as a vice president of the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Rivera's top priority is public safety.
Kenneth Wilson is a small business owner and civil engineer. He previously ran for one of the city's at-large seats in 2021.
Wilson's priorities include public safety, homelessness, housing and urban planning, infrastructure and environmental protection.
District 5 Greenwood, Northgate, Lake City, Bitter Lake, Carkeek Park, Blue Ridge, Crown Hill
Lucca Howard graduated from Ingraham High School in 2022 and attends North Seattle College. Howard is currently a board member of the Aurora Reimagined Coalition, a group advocating for improvements to Aurora Avenue.
Howard's priorities include transit, housing and aligning North Seattle with the 15-minute city vision.
Nilu Jenks is a board member of Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity and highlights that she co-wrote a racial equity curriculum for the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.
Jenks' priorities include public safety, affordable housing, sidewalk and pedestrian safety, transit and climate justice.
Shane Macomber is a realtor and works at Compass Health, a behavioral health nonprofit.
Macomber's priorities include transit, infrastructure, housing, community safety, education and employment.
Cathy Moore is a former King County Superior Court judge, former Seattle public defender, and former Chair of the Seattle Human Rights Commission.
ChrisTiana Obeysumner is a social justice advocate and CEO of Epiphanies of Equity, a social equity consulting firm, and is a former co-chair of the Seattle Disabilities Commission, former co-chair of the Seattle Renters' Commission and has served on more than three other boards.
Obeysumner's priorities include community safety and homelessness and housing.
Justin Simmons is the former president of the Metropolitan Democratic Club of Seattle and the Church Council of Greater Seattle and is the former administrator for the Seattle Metropolitan Chapter of the United Nations Association.
Simmons' priorities include housing and homelessness, behavioral health and substance abuse and public safety.
Bobby Tucker, Rebecca Leigh Williamson, Tyesha Reed and Boegart Boardman Bibby have also filed to run as a candidate but do not yet have campaign websites.
District 6 Fremont, Green Lake, Phinney Ridge, Loyal Heights, Ballard, West Magnolia
Pete Hanning is the former owner of Fremont's Red Door and has served on the Fremont Neighborhood Council, the North Precinct Advisory Council, the Washington Restaurant/Hospitality Association and more. Hanning is currently the executive director of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce.
Hanning's priorities include homelessness and housing, public safety, infrastructure and small business support.
Jon Lisbin is the former owner of digital advertising agency Point It, Inc. and is the president of Seattle Fair Growth, a community organization to influence city policy.
Lisbin's priorities include public safety, housing and homelessness, transportation and education.
Victoria Palmer is a personal organizer and has led demonstrations as part of the March for Freedom to protest government measures during the COVID-19 pandemic such as business restrictions and masking and vaccination rules.
Palmer said she opposes the "defund the police" movement and wants to "remove the graffiti and clean up the litter on our streets."
Dan Strauss currently represents District 6 and is running for reelection.
Strauss highlights his support of the Seattle Police Department, like an amendment to fund a recruitment media plan, and creating a public safety coordinator position in Ballard, connecting unhoused people at Ballard Commons and Woodland Park with shelter and his efforts on passing housing legislation as his first-term accomplishments.
Strauss' priorities include public safety and homeless and housing.
Shea Wilson is a solo practitioner lawyer and Ballard resident.
Wilson's priorities include public safety, homelessness, social justice and infrastructure and transit.
Dale Kutzera has also filed to run as a candidate but does not yet have a campaign website.
District 7 Downtown core, Belltown, South Lake Union, Queen Anne, Interbay, Southeast Magnolia
Isabelle Kerner started her own private investigator business and is an artist
Kerner's priorities include public safety, the city budget and establishing a training center for displayed or unemployed people.
Robert Kettle is a former Naval officer and serves on the Queen Anne Community Council board.
Kettle's priorities include public safety, homelessness, universal pre-k and expanding community colleges.
Andrew Lewis currently represents District 7 and is running for reelection. Lewis lists cutting the red tape to build supportive housing, homelessness outreach, turning community centers into climate-resilient hubs, Vision Zero funding and small business relief during the COVID-19 pandemic as his first-term accomplishments.
Lewis' priorities include housing and homelessness, public safety and climate change.
Olga Sagan, the owner of Piroshky Piroshky Bakery, became outspoken after a series of crimes outside her downtown bakery led to a temporary closure of the business.
Sagan's priorities include public safety, housing and homelessness and small business support.
Wade Sowders is a software engineer at Amazon.
Sowders' priorities include housing, tax reform, addiction treatment, homelessness and policing.
Aaron Marshall has also filed to run as a candidate but does not yet have a campaign website.
There is one more council seat that could open up in the fall. Citywide Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda is not up for reelection this year, but she is running for King County Council. If she wins that race, her city council seat will need to be filled.