MAYOR TIM BURGESS: City Council colleagues choose retiring councilmember to serve until November election is finalized

(Archived Seattle Channel video from 5 pm swearing-in ceremony)

3:45 PM: 10-year City Councilmember Tim Burgess is about to become Mayor Tim Burgess. He was the only councilmember nominated this afternoon by colleagues eligible to vote on who would succeed Bruce Harrell, who took over last Wednesday after Ed Murray’s resignation, but said he didn’t want to keep the job through November. After several councilmembers spoke glowingly of Burgess, one councilmember did not – Kshama Sawant voted no, after citing reasons including Burgess’s support for encampment sweeps and a new North Precinct police station. He wasn’t running for re-election, so he was going to be leaving the council anyway. Burgess ran (briefly) for mayor in 2013. He promises now to help the city “heal” and “move forward. … Public service is a high calling.” After he’s sworn in, Harrell returns to the council presidency and councilmembers will have to choose a temporary councilmember for District 8, which Burgess has been representing. Updates to come.

4:02 PM: News release from the city says that Burgess will be sworn in by City Clerk Monica Martinez Simmons at 5 pm, and reiterates that he will serve until November 28th, when King County certifies election results (finalizing either Cary Moon or Jenny Durkan as the next mayor).

4:59 PM UPDATE: We’ve embedded the Seattle Channel live stream above for the swearing-in ceremony – click “play.”

5:04 PM UPDATE: Joining Burgess for the swearing-in ceremony are other elected officials including King County Executive Dow Constantine and state Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “We are united” in promising that the governments will collaborate, Burgess says. He notes, “We want our region to be a place where businesses are successful.” He repeats the “We are united” theme for a variety of other issues, including education. And with that, he becomes Mayor Tim Burgess, for two and a half months.

5:08 PM: The new mayor just answered a few media Q&A, first about the budget process, which he would have been heading up as a Councilmember, and now will be involved as submitting the mayoral budget proposal, one week from today (September 25th). Asked what he meant by saying this is a time to heal, he says the recent “crisis” was “painful for all of us.” Asked about what he hopes to accomplish, he said, “I’m going to be mayor for 71 days,” and the budget will be a major part of that time, as well as getting the city ready for its next permanent elected mayor. West Seattle/South Park City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, by the way, as vice chair of the committee that leads the budget process, now will be leading it. And there’s a council vacancy that will have to be filled – the city clerk’s website spells out the process.

19 Replies to "MAYOR TIM BURGESS: City Council colleagues choose retiring councilmember to serve until November election is finalized"

  • flimflam September 18, 2017 (4:44 pm)

    too bad he can’t stick around longer – easily the most even-keeled and reasonable councilmember and seems to not be pulled into to the wild “progressive” extremism of the others.

    • M September 19, 2017 (8:57 am)

      I agree!

  • coffeedude September 18, 2017 (5:04 pm)

    Can we please vote Kshama out of office soon…

  • JB September 18, 2017 (5:16 pm)

    No surprise Sawant voted NO.  Perhaps upset she wasn’t asked to serve, too bad she wasn’t, then she would be off the council .

  • Mark September 18, 2017 (5:51 pm)

    Hoping Tim can right the ship that has veared to far left.  A move back to the pragmatic center left is sorely needed.

    Tim can do what’s right without being too PC.

    BTW 2nd half property taxes are due in October, a quick reminder of the increased burden felt by taxpayers in the City!

  • Mr K September 18, 2017 (6:42 pm)

    Wow, such contempt for an unapologetic woman who represents part of Seattle that was voted her in twice. If you disagree engage the council and be part of the solution instead of arm chair pundits.

    As a white privileged man can I ask that the other white privileged men stop tearing down women they don’t agree with? Let’s start with a day and see how that goes and work our way up to a week, a month, a year?!?

    • wscommuter September 18, 2017 (9:28 pm)

      The contempt for Ms. Sawant is well-earned.   It has nothing whatsoever to do with her being either female or a person of color (if that is what you are suggesting).   In fact, it is insulting to other politicians who happen to be either female or persons of color who don’t engage in the demagoguery that Ms. Sawant does all too often to suggest otherwise.  

      She routinely says – publicly – things that aren’t true, or worse, that represent profound ignorance (her Boeing comments a few years ago being Exhibit A to my point).  Putting it politely, she is a fool.   If you don’t know this about her, you aren’t paying attention.  

      Ms. Sawant’s failings aren’t even about her professed socialism.  I’ve got no problem with socialists, as much as I disagree with that political and economic world view.   She just indulges in saying things that she either knows aren’t true, or she doesn’t care if  they aren’t true.  Which reminds me of another elected official occupying our highest office.   Like Ms. Sawant, he too  was also “elected” fair and square (well, maybe he was).   And like our president, the fact that her district elected her doesn’t make her any less a fool..  

  • Sna September 18, 2017 (7:06 pm)

    1) Women are strong enough to take the heat so no “special rules” needed.  

    2) When you are in a high profile position and put forward rather extreme positions in a provocative manner, you’re gonna get a reaction — regardless of gender.  

    3) None of the previous comments came even close to “tearing down”. 

  • ACG September 18, 2017 (7:22 pm)

    And Herbold wasn’t present to vote on the selection of the new Mayor. Kinda important thing to participate in, in my opinion- too bad she didn’t show up. 

    • beef September 18, 2017 (8:20 pm)

      Yes and no. They had the 5 votes to elect the new mayor. That is all.

  • Gene September 18, 2017 (9:54 pm)

    Still kind of an important item on councils agenda- no?  Not like a note like this is commonplace – would have expected every council member to be there. 

    • WSB September 18, 2017 (10:33 pm)

      I believe this was some kind of planned absence for CM Herbold – SCC Insight says she’s back Friday – I should have sent her staff a note sooner to inquire. That aside, Harrell was still Mayor, so unable to vote on his successor; Burgess couldn’t vote on himself (SCC Insight explains); and that’s why there were six voting.

      • WSB September 19, 2017 (10:07 am)

        The inquiry I sent to CM Herbold/staff last night was answered today by legislative assistant Alex Clardy: “CM Herbold worked through the Council recess in the last 2 weeks of August because she had previously scheduled a one-week break to occur before the September budget deliberations were set to begin in order to celebrate her anniversary out of town. She’s available remotely through this time and will be back in her office on Friday, September 22.” – TR

  • qc September 18, 2017 (11:20 pm)

    It’s pretty crazy that there will be four mayors in barely over a two month period.

    Best of luck to our new mayor!

  • Darryll September 19, 2017 (1:10 am)

    Woah! A pragmatic grown-up in charge. I’ll take it!

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