(WSB photo: District 1 Councilmember Rob Saka, with daughter Maeve administering oath of office)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Hopes and expectations were running high as the new edition of the Seattle City Council gathered for its first meeting, before a full house that gave councilmembers a standing ovation, cheering loudly as they entered the chambers.

(WSB photo)

First task in the 2 1/2-hour meeting: They chose a new president – the only nominee, elected unanimously, was citywide Councilmember Sara Nelson, who is midway through her first term.

(WSB photo)

Then came the ceremonial swearing-in ceremonies for, and speeches by, the seven newly elected/reelected district councilmembers, in district numerical order, so District 1’s Rob Saka was first, with the oath given by his 9-year-old daughter Maeve, a Fairmount Park Elementary student, who concluded, “Congratulations, Daddy!” In his subsequent speech, he thanked his wife Alicia and their three kids for being “with him every step of the way,” as well as his father. He shared the personal story many heard during the campaign – with an emphasis on “resilience and unity.” He said those are the factors that led him to enlist in the U.S. Air Force, and why he became a lawyer. He acknowledge “immense” challenges facing the council, including public safety and housing, as well as the nuts and bolts “basics” of government (potholes, etc.). He says he wants to be the “king of potholes” if that’s what it takes – “the little things in life matter.” He also declared this is a “once-in-a-generation opportunity … to reshape the culture here at City Hall.” He made some of the same points in our brief interview with him before the meeting:

If you don’t have time to listen to the interview, a key question we asked Councilmember Saka was how he plans to stay in touch with constituents; he said he’ll continue the “robust” weekly newsletters that his predecessor Lisa Herbold began, and he also plans to keep his promise to open a district office. He also has hired his first two staffers – chief of staff Elaine Ikoma Ko and district relations/scheduler Leyla Gheisar. (Find the office contact info here.)

Committee chairs were announced during the meeting; Saka will chair the Transportation Committee. That was not a major topic during Saka’s campaigning, but for public safety, which was, the committee chair role is going to new District 7 Councilmember Robert Kettle.

There will be some major transportation-related issues this year, though, as senior Councilmember Tammy Morales noted while speaking as president pro tem during the opening moments of the meeting. She observed that the “challenging year ahead” for the council will include “enormous tasks” such as the next transportation-levy proposal as well as a new comprehensive plan, new Seattle Police Officers Guild contract, and a potential $250 million budget deficit.

Nelson, in her first speech as council president, vowed to “work to do the most good for the greatest number of people.” She also said the council needs to “double down on our oversight role.” She described her “grand vision as council president” as “simple good governance.” She also expressed a preference for the in-person format that filled the chambers.

(City-provided photo)

As Saka noted in his interview with us, the first big task for the council is to choose its ninth member – the citywide Position 8 had been held by Teresa Mosqueda (a North Delridge resident), but she is now resigning to take her new job as King County Councilmember, for which she’ll be sworn in soon. They have just under three weeks to do that; the appointed councilmember will serve until someone is elected this fall to finish what will then be the remaining year of Mosqueda’s term. Here’s the webpage with information on the process.

With public comment and some routine business added to all that, the new council’s first meeting concluded at about 4:30 pm, with new president Nelson declaring, “We got this, everybody!”

ADDED: Here’s the Seattle Channel meeting video – if you watch from that page, it includes links to jump ahead to specific times, such as Councilmember Saka’s swearing-in and speech.