West Seattle, Washington
14 Tuesday
Teresa Mosqueda‘s move from the Seattle City Council to the King County Council is complete with today’s swearing-in ceremony at the county council’s first meeting of the year. Administering the oath of office in the council chambers downtown was Councilmember Mosqueda’s husband, Manuel Valdes; they and their 4-year-old daughter live in North Delridge. Mosqueda was one of two newly elected councilmembers sworn in today, along with Jorge Barón; they are making history as the first Latina/o members elected to the County Council. Mosqueda, who succeeds Joe McDermott in representing District 8 (including White Center, West Seattle, Vashon and Maury Islands, and Burien), will chair two committees – the Health and Human Services Committee and the Regional Transit Committee, and will be vice chair of the Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee. You can track County Council meeting dates and agendas, including committee meetings, here.
That video is from new District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka‘s first newsletter, and it includes some news – his council-committee assignments beyond what’s already been announced (new Council President Sara Nelson said Tuesday that Saka will chair the Transportation Committee). He promised to carry on the weekly-newsletter tradition started by predecessor Lisa Herbold, and sent his first one on Friday. (If you didn’t receive it, read it here.) In the newsletter video, Saka says he’ll be vice chair of Public Safety (which will be chaired by new District 7 Councilmember Bob Kettle) and a member of two other committees, Housing and Human Services and Sustainability, City Light, and Arts & Culture.
In addition to council committees, councilmembers serve on various regional entities, and a document filed in the city system shows that Saka will be appointed to serve on the King County Regional Transit Committee, the Puget Sound Regional Council‘s Economic Development Board, Executive Board, and Transportation Policy Board, plus the SeaShore Transportation Forum, Watershed Forums for WRIA 8 and 9, and the Move Seattle Levy Oversight Committee.
NEXT MEETINGS: This week the new council has its first briefing meeting, at which members talk about what they’re doing in the week ahead, at 2 pm Monday (including a staff presentation on what the council has the power to do and an update on the process of filling the council vacancy). Then on Tuesday at 2 pm, it’s their second official weekly meeting (here’s the agenda). Both will be streamed by Seattle Channel.
(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.
With five of nine Seattle City Councilmembers brand new to the job – and a sixth soon – tomorrow’s the day we will start seeing what they do. The council’s 2 pm Tuesday meeting is their first of the year and will be devoted to:
*Electing a new president (previous council president Debora Juarez did not run for re-election)
*Ceremonial swearing-in – Along with the five new members, two were re-elected in November, so there will be seven oaths of office: Rob Saka (District 1), Tammy J. Morales (District 2), Joy Hollingsworth (District 3), Maritza Rivera (District 4), Cathy Moore (District 5), Dan Strauss (District 6), and Robert Kettle (District 7).
*Speeches
*Public comment
*Starting the process of appointing a councilmember – Right after the meeting, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (a West Seattleite who holds citywide Position 8) will resign to take her new role as a County Councilmember. So the new council has to appoint someone to fill the position until this fall’s election. This webpage explains the basics of the process, and will have more information once the council makes more process decisions tomorrow.
Here’s the agenda; you can watch this all live Tuesday afternoon via Seattle Channel.
(WSB photo: District 1 Councilmember-elect Rob Saka with Mayor Bruce Harrell)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Two and a half weeks after election results were finalized, the five newly elected Seattle City Councilmembers-to-be – including District 1’s Rob Saka – answered media questions this morning after a mayoral welcome.
We were there for the event on the mayor’s floor atop City Hall. Mayor Bruce Harrell started his welcome speech by explaining staffers have been meeting with the “new cast of characters” for the past week. (In addition to Saka, the “new cast” is District 3’s Joy Hollingsworth, succeeding Kshama Sawant; District 4’s Maritza Rivera, succeeding Alex Pedersen; District 5’s Cathy Moore, succeeding Debora Juarez; , and District 7’s Bob Kettle, the only one to take office by defeating an incumbent, Andrew Lewis. There will be a sixth new councilmember next month, when the council appoints someone to fill the citywide seat Teresa Mosqueda is leaving to join the King County Council.) Here are the mayor’s opening remarks:
Harrell suggested the new councilmembers can’t be put in a “binary box” of political ideology, but instead are “committed to get stuff done.” He also noted their range of “lived experience” with a list of attributes major and minor, from “two veterans” (Saka and Kettle) to “two dog owners.” He also insisted that he and the departing councilmembers “did some marvelous work together,” ticking off more stats, such as the council passing all 344 bills he sent them and that he only vetoed one council bill. “I want to dispel the notion that things were so bad we got nothing done … we got a lot done.”
So what do the newly elected councilmembers-elecct want to do? Each got a turn at the microphone before the floor was opened to questions. Here’s what Councilmember-elect Saka said:
He promised he would “be a servant to the residents of District 1” and assessed the changes as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to usher in a new culture at City Hall,” promising he and his new colleagues could “disagree without being disagreeable.” When Q&A time came, we noted that he had campaigned on “public safety, public safety, public safety” and asked what he planned to do first to try to improve it:
(It should be noted here that the mayor said a bit later in response to a reporter question that crime rates are going down.) In short, Saka didn’t mention a specific propodal but said he’d “work collaboratively with the mayor” and that more officers had to be hired – the hiring incentives don’t seem to be working – plus the alternative CARE Team must “grow and scale.”
Harrell had more to say about public safety in answering questions about his goals for the year ahead, mentioning “new ideas” – referring to the budgeted gunshot-locator technology as one of those, along with “CCTV cameras” (we’re checking on which cameras he was referring to). He also declared that “crime rates are going down.”
To see what the other councilmembers-elect said, the entire event was streamed by Seattle Channel; we’ll link their recording when it’s available. Councilmember-elect Hollingsworth had a notable observation – “We didn’t just want the job title, we want to do the job.” That will formally start when they’re sworn in January 2nd.
Just got belated word of this:
Tonight, 6-8 PM, 34th LD Republicans Committee host Semi Bird, GOP candidate for Governor. Inviting all King County to a special Christmas dinner and inspiring conversation.
Where? The Grove West Seattle Inn, 3512 SW Alaska St
Please RSVP: birdforgovernor.com/34th-ld-republican-committee-christmas-dinner-potluck-rsvp
(WSB photo from September day when stolen Hyundai, Kia were dumped together)
At her final full City Council meeting tomorrow, District 1 Councilmember Lisa Herbold plans a resolution urging the feds to recall the much-stolen Kia and Hyundai models. Here’s the announcement from council staff:
Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold (District 1 – West Seattle) will propose a resolution calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall specific Kia and Hyundai models and require the manufacturers to install industry standard anti-theft technology.
The lack of immobilizer technology in some models made between 2011 and 2021 has made the vehicles vulnerable to theft. That has negatively impacted public safety in cities across the country – including Seattle.
Earlier this year, the Seattle Police Department said that, from 2021 to 2022, there had been a 363 percent increase in reports of stolen Kias and a 503 percent increase in reports of stolen Hyundais. A more recent investigative report found astounding trends in 68 other cities in the U.S.
In January, Seattle became the first city in the nation to file a lawsuit against the automakers. That lawsuit, which is still pending, is seeking to recover damages for the City from the automakers.
If passed, the City of Seattle would join cities such as Baltimore and Philadelphia in passing a resolution urging a recall.
The NHTSA, however, is not currently contemplating a recall, according to what they told us in response to our inquiry after getting the announcement above. They note that the heart of the theft problem is “intentional criminal conduct,” while adding, “However, since last year, NHTSA has repeatedly met with Hyundai and Kia to discuss the causes contributing to the theft vulnerability, review the scope of differing software and hardware in the affected models, and receive regular updates on the companies’ action plans. NHTSA will continue to monitor this issue, spread awareness of further updates to local authorities, and lend its expertise in efforts to strengthen motor vehicle safety.”
(Image from council-committee agenda, incorporating Google Maps photo)
Last night we previewed an item on today’s agenda for the Seattle City Council Transportation and Public Utilities Committee meeting (which just concluded after more than 2 1/2 hours), a plan to pay the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and Suquamish Tribe $133,000 for murals on up to 15 columns under the West Seattle Bridge – a mile from the Duwamish Tribe‘s Longhouse. At the request of District 1 Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who noted public comments voicing concern, the committee delayed a vote until it reconvenes next year (by which time both Herbold and the committee’s chair Councilmember Alex Pedersen will have left office). SDOT acknowledged there had been no “outreach” to the Duwamish Tribe on the bridge-columns project during the year and a half it’s been in the works, but said the Duwamish are involved with a separate public-art project planned near the Longhouse. (We’re following up to get more information on that and will update this story with whatever we learn.)
Three weeks after voting ended on Election Day, King County has certified the final results. Here’s how the three key incumbentless local races ended up:
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1 (46% turnout)
Rob Saka – 18,382 – 54.15%
Maren Costa – 15,431 – 45.46%
KING COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 8 (41% turnout)
Teresa Mosqueda – 33,921 – 55.01%
Sofia Aragon – 27,553 – 44.68%
SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 6 (45% turnout)
Gina Topp – 173,596 – 88.58%
Maryanne Wood – 21,796 – 11.12%
(Here’s the full countywide results report for all races and measures.) Generally the newly elected leaders won’t take office until the start of the year. For example, City Council spokesperson Joseph Peha tells us their public ceremonies will be either January 2 or 9, but they will take the oath of office in late December in low-key private ceremonies as the result of a city rule requiring that “to create overlap in case of an emergency like an earthquake, etc., (so) there can be continuity of government.”
Though the election results won’t be finalized and certified for another two-plus weeks, after today’s count, the daily results updates will be down to a trickle. Most notably in our area, this means Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda will be moving to the County Council, with ballots counted from 40 percent of voters in District 8, which includes West Seattle, White Center, Vashon and Maury Islands, and spans southward to Burien:
KING COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 8
Teresa Mosqueda – 32,811 – 54.77%
Sofia Aragon – 26,908 – 44.91%
Mosqueda’s term in citywide Position 8 had two more years to go. Her successor will be appointed by the new council. Speaking of which, it’s definitely final in D-1:
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1
Rob Saka – 17,880 – 54.35%
Maren Costa – 14,872 – 45.21%
45 percent of voters’ ballots have been counted in these results, only 1 percent less than have been received. In the six other council districts, two of the three incumbents who did run for re-election are leading their opponents – Tammy Morales and Dan Strauss. If these results hold, the council will have six new members and three holdovers. Next ballot count is on Monday.
The third round of election results is out. No change in who’s winning the local races we’ve been watching.
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1: 7,000+ additional votes were counted in today’s tally, which now brings the count up to 34.4% of registered D-1 voters, with at least 9,000 left to count, according to the ballot-return stats.
Rob Saka – 14,250 – 56.99%
Maren Costa – 10,637 – 42.54%
KING COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 8: More than 14,000 additional votes have been counted, for a total so far of 31.6% of registered D-8 voters; at least 14,000 ballots remain to be counted.
Teresa Mosqueda – 24,759 – 52.36%
Sofia Aragon – 22,364 – 47.29%
Though tomorrow’s a government holiday, the KC Elections calendar says there’ll be a Friday afternoon update.
The second set of King County general-election results is in – but it didn’t add much to the totals in our local races; the elections team lost time today because of a powder scare – here’s how they explained it:
This morning, King County Elections received a piece of mail that contained white powder. The envelope was immediately isolated, the facility evacuated, and 911 was called. Law enforcement and HAZMAT teams arrived quickly to assess the situation.
The piece of concerning mail arrived in our mailroom, on the first floor, in our administrative suite. All ballots remained secured on the ballot processing floor and were monitored by both security cameras and livestreamed webcams viewable on the King County Elections website.
This situation kept Elections staff out of the building and away from processing ballots for approximately three hours. After the mailroom was cleared and cleaned by HAZMAT, staff returned to work and processing resumed for the day.
In all, the new results only add 20,000 ballots countywide, only several hundred in City Council District 1, which is at the same margin as last night:
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1
Maren Costa – 7,265 – 40.91%
Rob Saka – 10,393 – 58.53%
For the closest race in our area, County Council District 8, close to 2,000 more ballots have been counted, and the gap is wider than last night, more than a point and a half:
KING COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 8
Teresa Mosqueda – 17,224 – 50.68%
Sofia Aragon – 16,612 – 48.88%
Find the full set of updated results here. Next update is due out by 4 pm tomorrow.
8:26 PM: Tonight’s biggest race in our area is for the City Council District 1 seat that Lisa Herbold is leaving after two terms, representing a newly expanded area including not only West Seattle and South Park, but also Georgetown and south-downtown neighborhoods. In the first and only round of results to be released tonight, here’s where the race stands:
Rob Saka – 10,088 – 58.65%
Maren Costa – 7,013 – 40.77%
In the six other council races, the three incumbents that are running for re-election – Tammy Morales, Andrew Lewis, and Dan Strauss – are all trailing their challengers. Second round of results will be released around 4 pm tomorrow.
9:58 PM: Saka’s Election Night party was at Portage Bay Café in The Junction. We went over after the results came in and talked to him briefly:
If none of the leads change – the only one close is District 6, where incumbent Dan Strauss is two percentage points behind challenger Pete Hanning – and if Teresa Mosqueda is elevted to the County Council (she’s narrowly leading), Saka would be one of eight new City Councilmembers, with Sara Nelson (midway through her first term) the only holdover.
8:25 PM: Tonight’s second-biggest race in our area is for the County Council District 8 seat that Joe McDermott is leaving after 13 years. In tonight’s first and only round of results, here’s where the race stands:
KING COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 8
Teresa Mosqueda – 16,189 – 50.18%
Sofia Aragon – 15,929 – 49.37%
9:50 PM: Mosqueda, a citywide Seattle City Councilmember and North Delridge resident, spent Election Night at a party downtown, too far for us to go interview her, but she has sent a statement saying in part: “It’s been incredibly motivating to connect with community leaders and neighbors across this district. The outcome of this election is a testament to our campaign’s deep community engagement and collaborative work to support community-led solutions. Thank you to every endorsing community member, labor union, organization, small business, and elected leader who generously offered their time to help make this result possible. I appreciate your support and look forward to working together to deliver on diverse needs across District 8.”
Another local seat without an incumbent is being decided in this election – Leslie Harris is leaving the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors after two terms. She represents District 6 (West Seattle and most of South Park); in the general election, all board seats are decided by a citywide vote, so that means we’re tracking four seats tonight. Here’s tonight’s first and only round of results:
SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 6
Gina Topp – 88,366 – 86.84%
Maryanne Wood – 12,946 – 12.72%
(updated) Here are the first results in the other three districts (asterisk marks an incumbent):
SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 1
Liza Rankin* – 61,290 – 60.77 %
Debbie Carlsen – 38,919 – 38.59 %
SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 2
Lisa Rivera Smith* – 68,870 – 68.00 %
Christina Posten – 31,995 – 31.59 %
SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 3
Evan Briggs – 51,788 – 51.08%
Ben Gitenstein – 49,122 – 48.45%
One big ballot measure in this election – the renewal/expansion of the Seattle Housing Levy, which would collecdt almost $1 billion over seven years. Here’s tonight’s first and only round of results:
SEATTLE PROPOSITION 1
Yes – 74,078 – 65.98%
No – 38,196 – 34.02%
By this time tomorrow night, we’ll see the first round of election returns. So far in our area, the percentage of ballots received is up to just under 22 percent. The turnout so far is higher than it was with one day to go before the August primary – at that point, only 16 percent of ballots had been received. Another number of note – according to one of the ballot-return breakouts, by far the largest group to have turned in ballots so far is voters 65+ – more than twice the next highest group, 55-64. Reminder that you have only nine decisions to make:
Seattle Proposition 1 (Housing Levy)
Seattle City Council District 1
King County Council District 8
Seattle School Board Districts 1, 2, 3, 6
Seattle Port Commission Position 5
Your ballot includes some uncontested races, too. For it to count, it has to be in a King County Elections dropbox – West Seattle has three – by 8 pm tomorrow, or in the USPS mail early enough tomorrow to be sure it’ll get a Tuesday postmark. Then we’ll get one round of results around 8:15 pm, and updates most weekday afternoons thereafter until the results are certified on November 28.
King County Elections is again posting frequently updated stats on how many ballots have been received. As of this afternoon – with exactly one week left to go – only 10.1 percent of ballots countywide are in, with the percentage slightly higher in our area (10.46 percent of voters in Seattle City Council District 1). That’s a lower percentage than at this point in the 2019 election, when 12 percent of D-1 ballots were in. As listed here earlier this month, you have nine decisions to make, and 8 pm Tuesday, November 7th, is the deadline to get your ballot into an official dropbox; send it earlier if you’re using USPS, because you need to ensure it’s postmarked by that date.
13 days left to vote; your ballot should have arrived by now.
EARLY VOTING: King County Elections is now updating stats on how many ballots have been received. As of right now, they have received 2,645 ballots from Seattle City Council District 1 (out of 74,329 registered voters). The leader right now is District 3 (Capitol Hill and vicinity, represented by outgoing Councilmember Kshama Sawant), with almost 4,000 ballots already returned. You should have received your ballot by now; if you haven’t – here’s what to do.
CANDIDATE FORUM: On Monday, D-1 candidates Rob Saka and Maren Costa had another side-by-side appearance, this time at the Senior Center of West Seattle, in a forum presented by Age-Friendly Seattle. Here’s our video of the event:
Tuesday, November 7th, is the deadline for voting. You can put your ballot in USPS mail or in an official KC Elections dropbox.
Your ballot likely has already arrived. You might even have voted already. If not – tomorrow (Monday, October 23) brings another opportunity to see the Seattle City Council District 1 candidates. Rob Saka and Maren Costa are scheduled to answer questions about topics of interest to older Seattleites during a forum presented by Age-Friendly Seattle. It’s set for 3 pm to 4:30 pm Monday at the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon). Registration isn’t mandatory but if you sign up here you can also submit a question for consideration and list the topics you’re most interested in hearing Costa and Saka address.
Ready to vote? Your ballot could arrive in USPS mail as soon as today (Thursday) and you can vote as soon as you get it. The King County Elections dropboxes open today – 3 in West Seattle (here’s the map). So here’s what you’ll be voting on – one levy, and 8 contested races (you’ll see some unopposed candidates on your ballot too)
Seattle Proposition 1 (Housing Levy)
Seattle City Council District 1
King County Council District 8
Seattle School Board Districts 1, 2, 3, 6
Seattle Port Commission Position 5
Voting ends Tuesday, November 7th – the dropbox deadline is 8 pm, or get your ballot into the postal mail early enough that it’ll be postmarked no later than that date. (And if you haven’t registered to vote yet – it’s not too late.)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Voting begins this week in the general election, with three major open seats in our area – Seattle City Council District 1, King County Council District 8, and Seattle School Board District 6.
At its monthly lunch meeting this past Thursday, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce hosted two half-hour mini-forums with the candidates in two of those races. We’ve already published our coverage of the Q&A with the County Council candidates (see it here). Here’s what happened when City Council D-1 candidates Maren Costa and Rob Saka shared the stage to answer questions asked by local journalist/broadcaster, and Chamber board member, Brian Callanan. (The Chamber’s new executive director Rachel Porter made it clear first that the organization does not endorse candidates and was presenting this as an opportunity “for our business leaders to hear from those who wish to represent us.)
Below are brief summaries of the questions and responses; as with our usual coverage format for events like this, these are paraphrases except for any words/phrases inside quotation marks.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
While most of the local election-season spotlight has shone on the Seattle City Council District 1 race, two other major local positions are on the ballot, both also without incumbents. The candidates in one of those races, King County Council District 8, answered questions for half an hour at the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s monthly lunch meeting.
Burien Mayor Sofia Aragon and citywide Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda are the candidates for the seat that County Councilmember Joe McDermott is leaving. They answered questions asked by local journalist/broadcaster, and WS Chamber board member, Brian Callanan. We recorded the event on video:
From here down are our brief summaries of the questions and answers, starting with the introductory statements. These are summaries/paraphrases with the exception of anything you see in quotation marks.
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