The 2023 Seattle City Council election was held on November 7, 2023, following a primary election on August 1. The seven district-based seats of the nine-member Seattle City Council are up for election; the districts were modified based on the results of the 2020 census. Four incumbent members of the city council did not seek reelection.
All seven contests in the general election were between a more moderate candidate endorsed by The Seattle Times and a more progressive candidate endorsed by The Stranger. Seattle Times endorsees won 5 of the 7 races, marking a significant shift from the 2019 Seattle City Council election, in which more progressive Stranger-endorsed candidates won 6 of the 7 contested seats.
Background The Seattle Redistricting Commission approved a new map for the city council districts on November 8, 2022. The 2023 election cycle was the fourth to use Seattle's democracy voucher program. At least 16,000 people utilized the democracy voucher program during this election.
District 1
Campaign Incumbent councilor Lisa Herbold, first elected in the 2015 election, announced on December 9, 2022, that she would not seek reelection. She stated that she did not want the election in the 1st district to repeat the 2021 Seattle City Attorney election in which Ann Davison, a Republican, was elected against a divided progressive field.
Preston Anderson, a social worker and unsuccessful candidate in the 2019 Pierce County Council election, and Maren Costa, a leader of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice that National Labor Relations Board ruled to be illegally fired by Amazon, announced their campaigns in January 2023. Rob Saka, a lawyer for Meta Platforms who was a member of the King County Districting Committee and the committee that selected Seattle Police Chief Adrian Z. Diaz, announced his campaign on February 14.
Phil Tavel, an administrative law judge who unsuccessful ran against Herbold in 2019, announced his candidacy on February 28. Stephen Brown, the co-owner of Eltana Bagels, announced his campaign on March 7, and stated that he considered running for office "during the height of the Black Lives Matter, George Floyd protests, and CHOP occupancy". Lucy Barefoot, Jean Craciun, and Mia Jacobson also ran while Michael Auger conducted a write-in campaign. AnnaLisa LaFayette withdrew from the campaign.
Campaign finance All of the candidates are participating in the democracy voucher program.
Brown's significant usage of billboards, which cost $1,000 per week, and mailers placed him above the $93,750 fundraising threshold for the democracy vouchers program. Brown told the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission that the advertisements were meant for his business and not his campaign. Costa and Saka also exceeded the fundraising limit, but the SEEC lifted their limit. Elliott Bay Neighbors Committee has spent $40,000 in support of Saka.
Candidate Campaign committee Raised Spent Preston Anderson $50,758.05 $44,711.48 $6,046.57 $9,200.40 Michael Auger $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Lucy Barefoot $1,180.00 $1,983.20 -$803.20 $0.00 Stephen Brown $78,414.65 $73,184.12 $5,230.53 $9,026.10 Maren Costa $87,752.00 $66,335.43 $21,416.57 $0.00 Jean Craciun $37,493.00 $23,266.07 $14,226.93 $4,456.00 Mia Jacobson $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Rob Saka $93,730.00 $85,444.67 $8,285.33 $4,550.00 Phillip Tavel $48,802.43 $35,760.45 $13,041.98 $10,322.49
Candidate forums + 2023 Seattle City Council District 1 candidate forums Date Host Moderator Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan NonpartisanKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn Preston Anderson Lucy Barefoot Stephen Brown Maren Costa Jean Craciun Mia Jacobson Rob Saka Phillip Tavel1 Jun. 6, 2023 2 Jun. 10, 2023 34th DistrictDemocrats Rachel Glass 3 Jul. 26, 2023 Paula Barnes
Endorsements
Primary results
General election debates & forum + 2023 Seattle City Council District 1 general election debates & candidate forum Date Host Moderator Nonpartisan NonpartisanKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn Rob Saka Maren Costa1 Sep. 22, 2023Sep. 22, 2023 Seattle Channel Brian Callanan 2 Sep. 25, 2023Sep. 25, 2023 Senior Center of West SeattleWest Seattle Blog Tracy Record 3 Oct. 3, 2023Oct. 3, 2023 KING-TVSeattle City-Club Matt MarkovichMaleeha SyedNatalie Swaby
General election results
District 2
Campaign Incumbent Tammy Morales announced her reelection campaign on February 1, 2023. Tanya Woo, an activist from the Chinatown–International District and a member of the Chinatown International District Community Watch, announced her campaign on February 16, 2023. Green Party steering committee co-chair Margaret Elisabeth also ran for the seat. Seattle Parks Sustainability and Environmental Engagement manager Chukundi Salisbury had been named as a potential candidate, but he did not run.
Isaiah Willoughby, a withdrawn candidate, did not gain traction or raise funds, but received attention due to his 2021 pleading guilty to charges of arson committed during the events of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest.
Campaign finance All the candidates are participating in the democracy voucher program.
Candidate Campaign committee Raised Spent Margaret Elisabeth $2,651.71 $2,125.87 $525.84 $1,623.64 Tammy Morales $93,750.00 $76,489.28 $17,260.72 $6,509.08 Tanya Woo $93,729.54 $84,590.52 $9,139.02 $4,410.86
Endorsements
Primary results
General election debate + 2023 Seattle City Council District 2 general election debate Date Host Moderator Nonpartisan NonpartisanKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn Tammy Morales Tanya Woo1 Oct. 4, 2023Oct. 4, 2023 Rainier Avenue Radio Tony Benton
General election results
District 3
Campaign Incumbent Kshama Sawant did not run for re-election.
Nine candidates ran for the seat: Shobhit Agarwal, retailer Ry Armstrong, actor Andrew Ashiofu, Seattle LGBTQ+ Commission co-chair Alex Cooley, cannabis business co-founder Bobby Goodwin, public defender Joy Hollingsworth, cannabis business co-founder Efrain Hudnell, deputy prosecutor in the King County Prosecuting Attorney's office Alex Hudson, executive director, Transportation Choices Coalition Asukaa Jaxx, perennial candidate (write-in)
Campaign finance All of the candidates are participating in the democracy voucher program.
Candidate Campaign committee Raised Spent Shobhit Agarwal $19,690.12 $15,786.73 $3,903.39 $3,000.00 Ry Armstrong $36,193.11 $24,081.31 $12,111.80 $23,108.21 Andrew Ashiofu $51,593.88 $48,297.68 $3,296.20 $0.00 Alex Cooley $89,554.77 $76,618.09 $12,936.68 $0.00 Bobby Goodwin $5,142.28 $4,482.70 $659.58 $2,375.51 Joy Hollingsworth $93,750.00 $79,530.73 $14,219.27 $0.00 Efrain Hudnell $36,184.58 $22,602.89 $13,581.69 $0.00 Alex Hudson $89,226.00 $72,740.61 $16,485.39 $17,700.00 Asukaa Jaxx $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Candidate forum + 2023 Seattle City Council District 3 candidate forum Date Host Moderator Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan NonpartisanKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn Shobhit Agarwal Ry Armstrong Andrew Ashiofu Alex Cooley Robert Goodwin Joy Hollingsworth Efrain Hudnell Alex Hudson Asukaa Jaxx1Jun. 13, 2023Jun. 13, 2023 Tech4Housing37th District Democrats43rd District Democrats Erica Barnett
Endorsements
Primary results
General election polling Poll sourceDate(s)administeredSamplesizeMarginof errorJoy HollingsworthAlex HudsonOtherUndecidedChange Research (D)October 31 – November 3, 2023327 (LV)± 5.7%52%28%4%16%
General election debate + 2023 Seattle City Council District 3 general election debate Date Host Moderator Nonpartisan NonpartisanKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn Joy Hollingsworth Alex Hudson1 Oct. 10, 2023Oct. 10, 2023 KING-TVSeattle City-Club Greg CopelandHana KimPoe Russell
General election results
District 4
Campaign Incumbent Alex Pedersen announced on January 4, 2023, that he would not run for re-election.
Entrepreneur Ron Davis announced his campaign for the seat on January 31, followed on March 10 by deputy director of the Department of Arts & Culture Maritza Rivera. George Artem and engineer Kenneth Wilson, runner-up in the 8th district in 2021, also ran for the seat. State representative Gerry Pollet was reportedly considering a campaign, but did not run.
University of Washington graduate student Matthew Mitnick launched his campaign for the seat on November 15, 2022, but on March 30, 2023, ten former campaign members published a formal statement containing serious allegations against him. Mitnick withdrew from the race on April 14.
Campaign finance All of the candidates are participating in the democracy voucher program. The SEEC lifted the fundraising limit for Davis.
Candidate Campaign committee Raised Spent George Artem $2,240.00 $2,085.08 $154.92 $0.00 Ron Davis $109,525.89 $86,923.67 $22,602.22 $7,864.92 Maritza Rivera $76,915.32 $72,828.64 $4,086.68 $16,700.00 Kenneth Wilson $93,664.32 $87,447.39 $6,216.93 $0.00
Endorsements
Primary results
General election debate + 2023 Seattle City Council District 4 general election debate Date Host Moderator Nonpartisan NonpartisanKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn Maritza Rivera Ron Davis1 Oct. 12, 2023Oct. 12, 2023 KING-TVSeattle City-Club Josh CohenHana KimMatt Markovich
General election results
District 5
Campaign City Council president Debora Juarez declined to run for re-election. Ten candidates filed for the District 5 race: Boegart Bibby Lucca Howard Nilu Jenks Shane Macomber Retired King County Superior Court judge Cathy Moore Social equity consultant ChrisTiana ObeySumner Tyesha Reed Justin Simmons Bobby Tucker Rebecca Williamson, candidate for the 9th district in 2021
Campaign finance All of the candidates are participating in the democracy voucher program.
Candidate Campaign committee Raised Spent Boegart Bibby $1,544.81 $1,534.81 $10.00 $1,534.81 Lucca Howard $2,725.66 $1,978.30 $747.36 $497.09 Nilu Jenks $90,424.01 $75,790.17 $14,633.84 $0.00 Shane Macomber $22,352.79 $22,613.61 -$260.82 $4,500.00 Cathy Moore $36,330.41 $36,157.52 $172.89 $17,944.72 ChrisTiana Obeysumner $49,746.00 $38,961.54 $10,784.46 $23,788.30 Tyesha Reed $14,205.92 $10,735.61 $3,470.31 $2,401.23 Justin Simmons $4,434.50 $4,164.76 $269.74 $2,099.72 Bobby Tucker $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Rebecca Williamson $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Endorsements
Primary results
General election debate + 2023 Seattle City Council District 5 general election debate Date Host Moderator Nonpartisan NonpartisanKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn Cathy Moore ChrisTiana ObeySumner1 Oct. 17, 2023Oct. 17, 2023 KING-TVSeattle City-Club John HopperstadAngela KingJake Whittenberg
General election results
District 6
Campaign Incumbent Dan Strauss ran for re-election. He was being challenged by Fremont Chamber of Commerce executive Peter Hanning, Dale Kutzera, Jon Lisbin, Victoria Palmer and attorney Shea Wilson. Strauss was the only candidate in any race to receive more than 50% of the vote in the primary.
Campaign finance All candidates save for Lisbin are participating in the democracy voucher program.
Candidate Campaign committee Raised Spent Pete Hanning $93,490.00 $66,558.37 $26,931.63 $15,000.00 Dale Kutzera $1,907.41 $1,826.01 $81.40 $2,072.41 Jon Lisbin $5,381.00 $2,004.79 $3,376.21 $0.00 Victoria Palmer $16,770.28 $15,759.14 $1,011.14 $6,874.32 Dan Strauss $93,760.09 $84,554.99 $9,205.10 $300.00 Shea Wilson $20,276.08 $19,104.54 $1,171.54 $3,000.00
Endorsements
Primary results
General election results
District 7
Campaign