ELECTION 2023: Majority of district-elected councilmembers won’t run for reelection

West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold started a trend with her announcement last month that she’s not running for a third term. Since then, three more of the council’s seven district-elected members have announced they’re not running for reelection either: Debora Juarez (the council’s current president), Alex Pedersen, and today, Kshama Sawant (the council’s longest-serving member). In our district (1), so far two people have registered campaign intentions with the city and state, Preston Anderson and AnnaLisa LaFayette; neither has listed a website nor made an official announcement so far. Formal filing week with King County Elections is still four months away – May 15-19. The primary is on August 1.

57 Replies to "ELECTION 2023: Majority of district-elected councilmembers won't run for reelection"

  • S - In West Seattle January 19, 2023 (1:30 pm)

    Yippy!!!! This is great news. I can’t wait to get some better candidates into office to help bring back Seattle. We need to build Seattle back better then it currently is. 

  • Rhonda January 19, 2023 (1:34 pm)

    Wonderful news!!!!! Perhaps we can save Seattle after all?

  • BB January 19, 2023 (1:45 pm)

    I’m glad that they got the message that most of Seattle is fed up with the current City Council. 

    • Yeah January 19, 2023 (6:02 pm)

      They recently elected a 12-year member of the Council as Mayor, so I wouldn’t make that assumption about Seattle voters.

      • Feisty Brain January 19, 2023 (9:28 pm)

        Yes, Bruce Harrell was a 3-term City Councilmember, and longtime Chair of the Public Safety Committee. Did you forget that he was the most moderate candidate running for Mayor in 2021? And that he utterly crushed then-Council President, the far Left Lorena Gonzalez? 

  • liberale January 19, 2023 (1:52 pm)

    Good riddance!

  • Pete January 19, 2023 (2:02 pm)

    Let the hunger games begin………

    • onion January 19, 2023 (2:52 pm)

      This is a great opportunity for Mayor Harrell to identify leaders in each district who share common goals and can deliver on the restoration, health, and growth of Seattle in the years to come.

  • Jeepney January 19, 2023 (2:10 pm)

    Before we lose our minds celebrating this great news, please keep in mind what the alternatives could be.  When voting for future candidates, please due your due diligence.  If a candidate lists “activist” in their bio, they probably don’t deserve a vote.

    • WS Guy January 20, 2023 (11:43 am)

      This can’t be emphasized enough. We have seen what idealistic activists do to the city and it’s a disaster.  Vote for the most boring and level headed candidate.

  • Seattlite January 19, 2023 (2:13 pm)

    I pray that level-headed, common sense, logical thinking candidates will throw their hats in the ring to run for city council seats.  Seattle has not been served well by current and past city councils.  

    • KWest Seattle January 19, 2023 (2:54 pm)

      I am in your boat but not sure I have enough faith that individuals with common sense will be willing to get involved.

  • Al King January 19, 2023 (2:17 pm)

    GOOD RIDDANCE to Sawant. HOWEVER, PEOPLE it’s OUR responsibility to PAY ATTENTION to whom we elect. PAY ATTENTION to what the candidates are and ARE NOT saying. If garbage goes in only garbage will come out. 

  • GOP in WS January 19, 2023 (2:23 pm)

    Sawant is the worst council member ever elected. Seattle is suffering because of city council governance.

  • Happy Res January 19, 2023 (2:24 pm)

    When is the celebration parade?

  • WSVoter January 19, 2023 (2:25 pm)

    Debora Juarez and Alex Pedersen seemed relatively sane, and I’m disappointed they’re leaving. The others… buh-bye!

  • WestSeattleBadTakes January 19, 2023 (2:46 pm)

    If the above comments are representative of the voters, get used to things staying the same and likely get worse.

  • my two cents January 19, 2023 (2:47 pm)

    Look like the opportunists have been reading the tea leaves and see a future where they no longer can grandstand at the expense of the community that they were elected to represent. They had their time, yes things could be worse but overall Seattle is worse off than it was 5, 10 years ago and the Council never seemed to be able to develop a true approach to solve issues.

  • reed January 19, 2023 (2:56 pm)

    Alright folks, here is your chance to change the political landscape in Seattle. Lets see all those closet conservatives come out to vote! If it doesn’t go your way and Seattle remains very progressive, can we get a commitment that you all will pack up and leave?

    • Greg January 20, 2023 (4:11 am)

      Not only does this sound like something a right winger would say for only very vaguely different reasons, but it is also such a complete Seattle thing to say.  How dreadful. 

    • T Rex January 20, 2023 (7:33 am)

      Agree with you Reed, fingers crossed but I am not getting my hopes up.

    • wscommuter January 20, 2023 (10:02 am)

      The fallacy of your claim is that we are a binary city – that folks are either far left “very progressive” or “conservative.”  Which is not surprising – zealots tend to think of anyone who doesn’t agree with them as the enemy.  Seattle is a left-leaning city (myself among those), but (thankfully in my view), the far left extremists, with whom you apparently identify, is smaller and more impotent (unless you live around Cap. Hill) than the rest of the city.  Hence middle/left Bruce Harrell winning the city-wide election against a far left opponent.  My guess is that whomever runs for all these open city council seats will have more success if adopting Harrell’s approach specifically on the homeless problem – which is to say, getting tougher on the encampments + finding the money for housing and services to assist these folks.  The far left “solution” of criticizing anyone who finds the encampments and RVs intolerable has/will continue to fall on increasing deaf ears.  And no, we’re not leaving.  

      • Scarlett January 20, 2023 (10:32 am)

        Your differentiation of political camps into conservative, progressive, or far left or far right, is meaningless.   Regardless of ideology, Seattle always runs to the political center when  pocketbooks are threatened, or personal possessions, or personal safety,  is deemed to be at risk.  The idea that is Seattle is radical is vastly overstated,  a function of a few highly publicized events like WTO.  Otherwise, the city is a Jeff Bezo’s dream. 

      • reed January 20, 2023 (11:54 am)

        Has Harrell”s “tough” on encampments approach worked? Listening to those who constantly complain on here about encampments, all things point to it being worse under Harrell’s watch. The far left solution is not criticism, its a facts-based argument of not locking people in jail indefinitely and before being proven guilty and putting money into real solutions (housing and healthcare) to get people out of homelessness. Unfortunately this is widely characterized as “socialism” or “communism” by dingbats who don’t know the definition of either, and used as ammunition to  kill these programs before they start. 

        • wscommuter January 20, 2023 (5:31 pm)

          Please do provide “facts” about who is being locked “in jail indefinitely and before being proven guilty …”  A fantasy to fit your narrative.   More impotence.   No one is in jail for more than 72 hours without being charged with a crime.  No one is held indefinitely – trials happen for incarcerated persons by law within 60 days of arrest unless the accused person chooses to waive the right to a speedy trial.  And yes, some people have to be held in jail awaiting trial precisely because of either the severity of the crime charged or the defendant’s history of failing to appear for court dates.  If you actually dealt in truth, you’d know that the vast majority of accused persons – especially for property crimes and low level drug offenses – remain free pending trial.  Oh, but that doesn’t fit your narrative.   Bummer.  

          • Reed January 20, 2023 (9:43 pm)

            People on this blog constantly call for people to be thrown in jail forever, that is a fact. It is also a fact that long prison sentences and harsher punishments do not restore criminals or reduce crime; restorative justice does. Keep to your pearl-clutching seattle is dying narrative and I will stick to mine. 

  • bill January 19, 2023 (3:03 pm)

    I always found Herbold responsive to my concerns, but I wasn’t flogging her every week for not personally lugging bags of cement to repair the high bridge or not doing whatever harebrained thing people here seem to think will fix a situation by waving a councilor’s magic wand. Are any of you critics going to run for the council? Hmm?

    • My two cents January 19, 2023 (8:09 pm)

      Fallacy in your assertion of Herbold isn’t bad because commentators don’t run for the seat.

  • Boinsted January 19, 2023 (3:13 pm)

    Have you been downtown recently? I have. It is horrendous. And most of the stores I used to frequent are gone. We need to help the addicts and homeless, yes, and at the same time clean up the streets and entice businesses to come back. The council has destroyed our city. 

    • Jort January 20, 2023 (11:47 am)

      DESTROYED?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Oh my gosh, hold on, let me look out the window and see! I had not heard that Seattle was DESTROYED! And by the council, no less! It must have just happened! Hold on, let me check, I’ve got to see this for myself…. oh …. ….. wait …. hmm …. hmmmm…. things look the same ….. hmmm …. wait …. did you say “destroyed?” I’m not sure how this extremely histrionic word really fits with the rather desirable city we’re living and enjoying life in. Fun fact: you can combine thousands of examples of these types of comment sections and do a word cloud and you’ll probably see “DESTROYED” rise right up to the top. Do words mean anything anymore? Just because you don’t like the way things are going doesn’t mean the city is “destroyed.” It’s such a bizarre word choice to repeat so frequently. 

    • Bus January 21, 2023 (8:40 am)

      As someone who works downtown and has for decades, many of those businesses closing are due to planned (and many in-progress) developments and renovations of their buildings.  Many, MANY of the restaurants and shops I loved were moving out in 2018 and 2019 — before talking about displacement became politically convenient–and many more were talking about their leases not being renewed in early 2020 because of development.  The pandemic took a HUGE toll on downtown restaurants especially, and also retail when most of their customers started working from home.  If today is the first time you’ve been downtown since, say 2018, yes, there is a noticeable drop in the number of shops in some areas, but compared to March/April 2020 it is much, MUCH improved.  Blaming a handful of people for issues stemming from national and global trends is shortsighted, and is really counterproductive if you want to resolve the underlying issues and see long term change.

  • Sillygoose January 19, 2023 (3:26 pm)

    YES! YES! YES!  This is FANTASTIC NEWS!!!

  • Scubafrog January 19, 2023 (3:39 pm)

    It will be fascinating to see if mosqueda’s district continues to support her.  The anti-police rhetoric is still strong on the extreme left, and has cost Seattle a strong police force by 50%.  Mayor Harrell turned out to be a dud on crime, with weak proposals on adding to SPD’s depleted ranks.  Moderates spoke in 2022, and won.  Harrell ran as a moderate “We will not tolerate crime in Seattle”, and immediately resorted to progressive actions and rhetoric on crime, when he won. One misses Greg Nickels’ mayoral tenure, and laments Seattle’s treatment of him over snow days.   

    • WSB January 19, 2023 (3:44 pm)

      Please note that Teresa Mosqueda and Sara Nelson are the citywide reps, not elected by district, and those positions are not up for election again until 2025.

  • Rob January 19, 2023 (4:06 pm)

    Be still my beating heart…we may actually get a solid chance at a reset. 

  • Question Authority January 19, 2023 (4:32 pm)

    Any potential candidates for any upcoming City Council seats should shy away from the “Progressive” mantra as it’s primarily responsible for the current condition of the City and we won’t forget at the ballot box. 

  • Marcus January 19, 2023 (4:54 pm)

    You know it really is not her fault, KS was just doing was she does.  It was the Seattle voters who could foresee the havoc that would come. I blame the Seattle voters who just forgot what this town could and should be.  However, now only after the the truth is finally open for all to see can we all come together and rebuild this city to its potential.

  • snowskier January 19, 2023 (5:06 pm)

    Seeing Sawant not running again is the best news regarding her since Juarez put a muzzle on her during the first week of her council presidency.

  • Raven January 19, 2023 (5:32 pm)

    PRAISE BE! 

  • Common Sense January 19, 2023 (6:01 pm)

      They are cutting their losses and running.  I wish at least one of them had the guts to stand up and be honest for once.  ‘My ideas were a failure.  I pushed policy based upon political grandstanding.  I want to stick around and be part of the solution but my ego cant handle the truth.’  I predict they will find a place in some safe government job and possibly run for political office again as if nothing ever happened. 

  • Peter January 19, 2023 (6:26 pm)

    Here’s the facts: the “vote them all out” crowd (see most of the above comments) are always going to hate anyone who’s elected. No matter who runs and who wins, we’ll see all the same comments from all the same people complaining about all the same things.

    • Marcus January 19, 2023 (7:44 pm)

      Not true sir.  I have lived here all my life and the last ten years have seen a notable difference in safety, crime and general hostility from the city council to the long term residents of Seattle.  And, their ideas did nothing to improve Seattle, their ideas only hurt and this is what they leave us with. 

    • Jon Wright January 19, 2023 (7:47 pm)

      They get all excited because of the affirmation they get online in comment sections but are gobsmacked when those loathed incumbents easily win reelection.  Note to gloating posters: Seattle’s demographics haven’t suddenly lurched to the right so the next batch of councilmembers is probably going to be pretty much the same as who we have now.

      • Jort January 20, 2023 (11:41 am)

        Indeed, it is as reliable as the changing of the seasons. Seattle will pick the same kinds of people because this is what Seattle wants: status-quo perpetuating politicians that focus on increasing residential property values and the absolute primacy of personal automobiles as the primary method of transportation in the city. Kshama Sawant, for all her alleged “socialism,” did not support transit and cycling and discouraged the construction of new housing. Seattle’s political “leaders” are terrified of doing things differently. Terrified. Expect continued virtue-signaling to progressive social stances and very little desire to make courageous proposals to address systemic issues, i.e., “We want safer streets but we will also send out postcards to every citizen in the city asking for feedback about a 0.2 mile section of a bike lane, and as soon as somebody complains, we will cancel it. But we care about safer streets! We said we do, see!”

    • Rhonda January 19, 2023 (9:32 pm)

      Not true, Peter. Thousands of us are satisfied with Nelson, Harold, and City Attorney Davison.

      • Reed January 21, 2023 (8:26 am)

        Yet you all come on sites like this and complain that crime is getting worse, despite it being under their watch. 

  • Eldorado January 19, 2023 (9:31 pm)

    HALLELUJAH!!!

  • anonyme January 20, 2023 (5:30 am)

    Much as I’d like to see most of the current council go away, I’m not so excited about who or what might replace them.

  • Anne January 20, 2023 (7:19 am)

    So, the city council is changing.  The bigger question is have those who voted these people into office changed?  I’m not so sure about that.

    • WS Guy January 20, 2023 (11:51 am)

      There has to be a point where even the most idealistic progressive sees how much damage their policies are doing. Seattle is easily at this point.  The results of electing activists are on every dirty street and every smashed business window.  The citywide electorate did put Sara Nelson in office so if that is a trend then maybe there is hope.

    • Scubafrog January 20, 2023 (3:05 pm)

      I voted for Lisa Herbold in 2015, and 2019.  My politics were further left, but have significantly changed.  I’ve become much more moderate after the riots, chop, and watching durkan and council destroy the SPD via their rabid anti-police rhetoric whilst promoting bedlam.  I had no idea that mosqueda was a citywide rep until WSB informed me.  It’s horrifying that she won reelection not long ago, with what she stands for (and doesn’t).   I wonder if any of them feel responsible, by proxy, for all of the victims of the awful crimes that may have been prevented with a fully-staffed police force.  Or, if they’re bereft of empathy and compassion like some politicians (clinically).

    • Cool Person January 20, 2023 (5:09 pm)

      Electing moderates like Peterson and Nelson has definitely pushed me more to the left. When Harrell was elected I became a communist.

  • Lola January 20, 2023 (12:25 pm)

    Yes to all four of them going.  We need new blood on the council instead of the same old thing every year and nothing changes.  So glad to see Sawant is leaving, good riddance. 

  • anonyme January 20, 2023 (12:48 pm)

    Anne, that’s a great point.  These people were elected by a majority, no matter how slim.  Unless the base has changed, neither will the outcomes – and that goes for national as well as local races.  I am concerned that none but the most extreme candidates will even run.  I’ve always thought that there should be an option to vote “none of the above”, and give some weight to the outcome.  I suspect that there is a large portion of the voting public who are not happy with any of the choices, which allows a small minority to make decisions for the majority.   How do we get better-quality candidates?  I don’t have the answer.

  • Brusco January 20, 2023 (1:50 pm)

    STAUSS, LEWIS, MOSQUEDA AND MORALES SHOULD GO… I just feel bad for CM Juarez cuz i think she’s great.

    • WSB January 20, 2023 (1:57 pm)

      Lewis has announced he’s running again. Mosqueda is citywide, so that position isn’t up for a vote until 2025.

  • WS Guy January 21, 2023 (1:14 am)

    My optimism is tempered by the possibility that the political machine that runs Seattle is just clearing out the baggage.  Meaning, there will be new faces for their same policies – new faces that don’t have to answer for the results of the last 10 years but can still pick up where they left off.

Sorry, comment time is over.