Seattle City Council


The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-large positions; all elections are non-partisan. It has the responsibility of approving the city's budget, and passes all legislation related to the city's police, firefighting, parks, libraries, and electricity, water supply, solid waste, and drainage utilities.
The mayor of Seattle is not part of the council.

Members

DistrictMemberParty preferenceFirst elected
1Rob SakaDemocratic2023
2Eddie LinDemocratic2025
3Joy HollingsworthDemocratic2023
4Maritza RiveraDemocratic2023
5Debora JuarezDemocratic2025
6Dan StraussDemocratic2019
7Robert KettleDemocratic2023
8 Alexis Mercedes RinckDemocratic2024
9 Dionne FosterDemocratic2025

;Notes

Elections

Election of city council members occur on odd-numbered years, with at-large seats staggered from district seats. City council members' terms begin January 1 although public ceremonies are held on the following Monday. The council positions are officially non-partisan and the ballot gives no party designations. Party identification is based on candidates' voluntary self-identification. Like other elections in Washington, all candidates run together in the primary with the top two progressing to the general election. Beginning in 2027, Seattle will begin to use ranked-choice voting to determine the top two candidates from the primary who will compete in the general election.
Candidates may participate in Seattle's unique democracy voucher program, which provides residents with vouchers to give candidates for public campaign funding.

Districts

Beginning in 2015, the geographic outline of the 7 districts and 2 citywide positions are as follows. Some neighborhoods overlap more than one district, indicated with an asterisk*. Redistricting occurs every 10 years following the decennial U.S. census, beginning in 2022.
DistrictNeighborhoods
1West Seattle, Delridge, South Park, Harbor Island, Industrial District*
2Beacon Hill*, Central District*, Downtown*, Rainier Valley*, Georgetown, Columbia City, Seward Park, Chinatown/International District, Industrial District*
3Beacon Hill*, Capitol Hill*, Cascade*, Central District*, First Hill*, Montlake, Rainier Valley*
4Bryant, Cascade*, Fremont, Laurelhurst, Maple Leaf*, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Sand Point, University District, View Ridge, Wallingford*, Wedgwood*
5Bitter Lake, Broadview, Greenwood*, Haller Lake, Lake City, Maple Leaf*, North Beach/Blue Ridge*, Northgate, Roosevelt*, View Ridge, Wedgwood*
6Ballard, Crown Hill, Fremont*, Green Lake*, Greenwood*, North Beach/Blue Ridge*, Phinney Ridge, Wallingford*
7Belltown, Capitol Hill*, Cascade*, Downtown*, First Hill*, Interbay, Magnolia, South Lake Union, Queen Anne
8At-large position, citywide
9At-large position, citywide

History

Seattle was first incorporated as a town by an act of the Territorial Legislature on January 14, 1865. The town charter established a five-member board of trustees to govern Seattle, which appointed citizens to other positions. The act was repealed January 18, 1867, after most of the town's leading citizens petitioned for its dissolution. Seattle was again incorporated, this time as a City, on December 2, 1869. The new unicameral legislature, known as the Common Council, was elected at-large to one year terms. At-large election was replaced in 1884 by a system of 14 wards and four members elected at-large, all elected to two-year terms.
The Home Rule Charter, adopted in 1890, reorganized the city council into a bicameral legislature, with a nine-member Board of Aldermen and a sixteen-member House of Delegates.

District-based elections

In 2013, Seattle voters approved Charter Amendment 19 calling for the nine citywide Seattle City Council positions to be divided into seven district-elected seats and two citywide, at-large seats. The elections for the two at-large seats are held as separate contests, thus results are not proportional. Each seat is filled in two-step process - a primary election is held in August, with the two most popular candidates going on to a general election in November. The partial transition to districts started with 2013 elections for Positions 2, 4, 6, and 8 being truncated, two-year terms.
The 2015 election cycle featured all nine seats, except the seven district positions were elected to full, four-year terms, and the two at-large positions would be for truncated, two-year terms. The first primary based on the new combined district/at-large system was held on August 4, 2015, with the general elections held on November 3, 2015.
The seven district seats were up for election again in 2023; the two at-large seats will be up for election again in 2025. Only two of the seven districts retained their incumbent member in the 2023 election.

Timeline

  • 1869–1883 – Seven at-large Council members elected for one-year terms.
  • 1884 – Nine Council members elected: three from each of the three wards, elected to two-year terms.
  • 1886 – One ward added, Council reduced to eight members: two elected from each ward for two-years terms.
  • 1890 – The Home Rule Charter established eight wards and bicameral legislature. A Board of Delegates composed of nine at-large members was elected for four-year terms. House of Delegates had 16 members – Two from each ward, elected for two-year terms.
  • 1892 – One ward added to make nine. Both houses to have nine members – all elected from wards.
  • 1896 – New Home Rule Charter reestablished unicameral legislature with nine wards. One Council member elected from each ward for two years and four elected at large for four-year terms.
  • 1905 – Two wards added to make 11. One Council member from each with four at-large – 15 council members total.
  • 1907 – The Charter was amended twice during the year, the first time adding two more wards, increasing the size of Council to 17. Later, another ward was added, increasing Council to 18 members.
  • 1910 – The Charter was amended to abolish wards, reduce Council to nine at-large positions elected to three-year terms. This took effect in 1911 and remained constant until 1946. The 1910 Charter amendments also made the elections non-partisan. Prior to that candidates for Council ran on party tickets.
  • 1946 – The new Charter created the four-year term.
  • 2013 – City voters pass measure changing councilmember elections to a mostly-district-based scheme.
  • 2015 – First councilmember elections held under new combined district/at-large scheme.

    Salary

In 2006, Seattle City Council salaries exceeded $100,000 for the first time. This made Seattle's city council among the highest paid in the United States, behind only Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
As of 2021, salaries of district councilmembers are authorized to be $65.32 per hour. Annually, councilmembers make as much as $140,000.

Council President

The Seattle City Council picks among its peers a Council President to serve a two-year term, beginning January 1 of the year following an election. The Council President serves as the official head of the City's legislative department. In addition, they are tasked with: