The progressive Councilmember has represented District 2 since 2019 and was reelected to another four-year term in 2023. Morales has found herself at odds with the more conservative majority that took office last year, often providing a lone No vote against her eight colleagues’ Yeas.
In her announcement, Morales said that over the past 11 months, the Council has “eroded our checks and balances as a Legislative department and undermined my work as a policymaker.”
On the policy front, she pointed to her colleagues’ support for increasing spending in the budget for police, jail capacity and homeless encampment clearance while reducing funding for social services; putting forth a competing social housing ballot measure; implementing a more punitive approach to drugs and prostitution; and attempting to cut investments in the city’s equitable development initiative, among others. Morales broke down in tears in November when explaining her rationale for voting against the city budget for the first time in her Council career.
Morales also cited the Council’s decision to arrest people after a raucous public comment period turned into a protest; an incident in which a Councilmember allegedly asked nonpartisan staff analysts to revise their memo about a bill to tamp down potential concerns; and the exodus of three central staff members and the Council’s entire communications team.
“This was a very difficult decision. I’ve thought a lot about my responsibility to my constituents and to the Council as an institution,” wrote Morales in her announcement. “As an elected representative I took an oath to the Constitution of the United States, Washington State, and to our City Charter. Key among those duties is to protect the health, safety, environment and general welfare of the people. I can no longer, in good conscience, say I am doing this by remaining on this Council.”
The new Council majority has often framed their legislative efforts as undoing the progressive policy experiments of the previous Council, of which Morales was a member. That has at times led to visible tension on the dais between Morales and her colleagues. In April, Councilmember Cathy Moore accused Morales of calling her “evil” and a “corporate shill” in the media, a charge Morales denied that ultimately appeared to be unsubstantiated.
In recent months, Moore and Morales allied on some housing and progressive tax proposals. Moore proposed a last-minute city-level capital gains tax at the end of the budget process. The Council rejected it 3-6, but Moore and Morales promised to bring a new version of the bill next year. With Morales’ departure, a future capital gains tax proposal will likely have an even harder time passing.
The strain has worn on the Councilmember, who said that the role has “caused my mental and physical well-being to deteriorate, and this is an unfortunate reality for many women in particular who serve in public office.”
In an emailed statement Wednesday, Council President Sara Nelson wrote, “I want to thank Councilmember Morales for her dedicated service to the constituents of District 2. We worked together to pass a number of important pieces of legislation that benefit the people of Seattle, and I wish her and her family well on the next chapter.”
Morales’ announcement comes just one day after the swearing-in ceremony for new citywide Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, another progressive who was sure to align with Morales on new taxes, money for social safety net initiatives, affordable housing and more.
“I’m deeply sadden by the news that my friend and colleague Tammy Morales is leaving the council,” said Rinck in an interview with Cascade PBS. “She’s been a beacon for progressive values and has tirelessly championed the rights of workers, families, and transit riders, especially in District 2. I respect her decision to do what’s best for her personally, her team and her family. I’m thankful for her service and hope to build on her legacy.”
Rinck won her election by 17 percentage points and said, “Our office has a mandate to champion the progressive values we ran on and I hope my colleagues will respect that and work with us on those efforts.”
After the news broke, Rinck said she spoke to all her new Council colleagues and hopes this moment can be “a chance to reset how we work together on the second floor [of City Hall] and the entire legislative department.”
“Obviously it’s not good,” said Katie Wilson of the Transit Riders Union when asked what Morales’ resignation means for Seattle progressives. Wilson is general secretary of the progressive political group and has worked closely with Morales in the fight over how to spend Jumpstart business tax revenues, on renter protections and more.
But, Wilson continued, it’s unclear how much policy impact it might have in the short term since even with the election of Rinck, the Council would likely have voted 7-2 on many issues. Still, she thinks the Council might have been able to pass a capital gains tax next year with Morales’ help and said the Councilmember was instrumental in reinstating tenant services in next year’s budget.
“It’s hard to fault her for needing to step back, given how she’s been treated,” said Wilson. “In our work with her office and City Hall over the last year, it’s been clear what a palpable sense of exclusion her office was experiencing. That’s natural. You’re in a political minority, everyone’s not going to be rushing to tell you their plans. But it just seems like [the exclusion] has gone beyond the level of what would be natural or appropriate.”
Morales has three years remaining in her term. The Council will appoint someone to fill the role until the November 2025 election, when voters will elect someone to represent District 2 for the remainder of Morales’ term, ending in December 2027.
Resignations and appointments are becoming familiar territory for Seattleites. Former Seattle Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda left her position in January of this year after she was elected to the King County Council.
Seattle Councilmembers appointed Tanya Woo to fill Mosqueda’s seat in January. She lost to Rinck in November. Woo ran against Morales in 2023, and her appointment to the Council just two months later was another point of contention between Morales and her new colleagues.
Mayor Bruce Harrell, who largely aligns with the new Council and endorsed many of their candidacies in 2023, provided a statement Wednesday on the announcement.
“I want to thank Councilmember Tammy Morales for her dedicated work representing the people of District 2 over the last five years,” Harrell wrote. “I know she will remain an engaged leader and advocate for our southend communities, and I wish her all the best in the future.”
Morales does not yet know what she’ll do next. She said she plans to spend time with her children and take care of her ailing father while figuring out “how best to serve the City I love and find the next opportunity to repair the harm done to Black and brown communities, democratize access to power and resources, and plan for the 7th generation.”
This story has been updated with comment and reactions from additional sources.
