In a surprise move Monday, Councilmember Cathy Moore announced her plans to step down from elected office, effective July 7. Moore was elected in 2023 to represent north Seattle’s District 5 and will leave office with two and a half years remaining in her four-year term.
Moore cited “health and personal reasons” for resigning.
“My decision to leave the City Council is one I’ve been considering seriously over the past several months due to some recent health challenges,” Moore stated in her announcement. “Ultimately, I believe that District 5 community members deserve a representative who can give their full attention to the critical issues facing the City and its neighborhoods.”
Moore is the third Seattle Councilmember since January 2024 to resign early from a term.
Former District 2 Councilmember Tammy Morales, the body’s left-most member at the time, resigned at the start of this year, accusing her more conservative colleagues of undermining her work, among other charges. At-large Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda left in January 2024 after being elected to the King County Council.
Moore ran for office promising to focus on public safety. One of her most significant accomplishments on that front was the passage of a controversial anti-prostitution bill last fall. It reinstated Seattle’s misdemeanor prostitution loitering law and created “banishment zones” along Aurora Avenue North, from which people could be barred if they were accused of or charged with prostitution, prostitution loitering or soliciting prostitution.
Supporters said the bill was necessary to disrupt prostitution and its associated violence along Aurora. Moore said her intention was to target sex traffickers and johns, not trafficking victims and sex workers. Opponents argued the law would do more harm than good for vulnerable people without addressing the underlying problem.
As has been the case numerous times since the current City Council took office, meetings about Moore’s anti-prostitution bill drew heated testimony from the public, with some commenters chanting and hurling invectives at Councilmembers, and officials retreating from chambers to hold proceedings remotely.
Similar tensions were on display at City Hall during Moore’s recent proposal to rewrite Seattle’s ethics rules. The bill would’ve eliminated the requirement that Councilmembers recuse themselves from voting on legislation when faced with a financial conflict of interest. Instead, they would simply need to publicly disclose the conflict.
The proposal was met with significant backlash, and Moore ultimately withdrew her bill before it went to a final vote.
In the face of last year’s $260 million budget deficit, Moore proposed a Seattle capital gains tax that would have levied a 2% tax on capital gains in excess of $250,000. The revenues would’ve been directed towards housing and food assistance. The Council rejected the proposal 6-3.
Moore chaired the Council’s Housing and Human Services Committee. In her resignation announcement, she said she was proud of securing extra money for emergency rental assistance to help people stay housed and helping rewrite the King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s interlocal agreement.
In a statement Monday, City Council President Sara Nelson said, “Councilmember Moore’s decision to leave the City Council is disappointing news, but I respect and support her choice. I want to express my appreciation for her dedicated service over the past 18 months. Her contributions have been vital to this Council’s ability to make significant improvements in public safety.”
Prior to her election to the Seattle City Council, Moore had retired from a career as a King County Superior Court Judge. When she ran for Council, she told Cascade PBS she saw the Council role as a chance to use the final chapter of her career to make a positive impact on Seattle.
After Moore’s departure on July 7, the Council will have 20 days to appoint a replacement to serve until voters elect someone in November 2026 to finish the remainder of Moore’s term through 2027.
Shortly after the news of Moore’s resignation broke, Nilu Jenks, political director at FairVote Washington, announced on Facebook that she intends to apply for the Council appointment. Jenks ran in the 2023 District 5 primary, but failed to advance to the general after receiving the third-most votes.
