In the final voting round, Solomon garnered support from Councilmembers Joy Hollingsworth, Cathy Moore, Sara Nelson, Maritza Rivera and Rob Saka. Councilmembers Bob Kettle, Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Dan Strauss voted for Adonis Ducksworth, a transportation policy adviser in Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office.
Vacancy appointments have a different voting process than standard bills. Councilmembers go around and each name the finalist they want appointed until an appointee receives at least five votes. If no candidate is chosen in a given round, voting continues in a new round.
Solomon will represent Southeast Seattle’s District 2 — which spans from the Chinatown-International District through Rainier Beach — until voters elect a representative in November. The elected councilmember will serve through the end of Morales’ term in December 2027.
Solomon has worked on crime prevention at SPD for nearly 35 years. He also worked as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force. In 2019, Solomon ran against Morales for the D2 seat in 2019, but lost 39% to 60%, in the general election.
The Council swore Solomon into office immediately following the vote.
“I’m really about serving this community, getting things done and working with this Council to make life better for the city of Seattle and the residents of District 2,” Solomon said immediately after taking the oath. “And for the residents of District 2 I am here. I am here to be of service to you and I’m here to be a colleague to all of you. So let’s stop talking and get stuff done.”
Solomon will have a limited window to get policies passed. He does not intend to run for election, stating that he knows the challenges of campaigning and holding a full-time job. Instead, Solomon wants to focus on the work of legislating before providing a “warm handoff” to the councilmember elected by D2 residents.
There’s no rule against the appointed Councilmember running to stay in the seat this November. But there are differing views on whether the appointee should be a “caretaker” until the election or should attempt to run.
Saka and Moore both stated that they were looking for a caretaker. Earlier in the appointment process, Nelson said she wanted someone who planned to run, arguing that campaigning will require them to meet with and be accountable to district residents. Rinck made a similar argument Monday.
Solomon will take over Morales’ position as chair of the Land Use Committee. Land use is one of the Council’s highest priorities in the first half of this year as it finalizes Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan, which will change zoning to dictate how and where Seattle grows for the next decade.
Asked about his land use priorities during a press conference after Monday’s appointment, Solomon said he wants to find ways to speed up housing construction by addressing permitting delays, ensure there are strong anti-displacement measures in place and increase homeownership opportunities so people can build multigenerational wealth.
When it comes to the comp plan, Solomon said he wants to see that density and affordable housing are spread evenly through the city, not just concentrated in some neighborhoods.
“Quite frankly, right now, D2 has a lot of density. It may not all be affordable density, but it's there,” said Solomon. “When it comes to the low-income housing, workforce housing, I want to spread the wealth throughout the city and not just concentrate it in D2.”
Unsurprisingly, given his role as a crime prevention coordinator, Solomon also wants to prioritize public safety.
Asked about crime and disorder in the Chinatown-International District, Solomon said, “What’s going on in Little Saigon, in the CID is [going to take] more than just law enforcement. It’s going to have to be a more holistic approach, something that we call place-based crime prevention, which really does focus on community engagement, community activation."
The vacancy appointment was déjà vu for the City Council, which went through the same process this time last year to fill Teresa Mosqueda’s seat after the former Councilmember was elected to King County Council with two years remaining in her city term.
In 2024, the Council appointed Tanya Woo to fill the vacant seat. Woo had just run and lost against Morales in 2023. She ran to stay in the seat she’d been appointed to, but lost against Rinck.
Now, in appointing Solomon, the Council again chose someone to fill the seat who’d run and lost against Morales.
“While Councilmember Morales and I were rivals for the position, even after the election, we did work together,” Solomon told reporters on Monday. “She and her staff and I did work on public safety issues impacting the Little Saigon area, impacting the Mount Baker light rail station.”
He continued, “So for those who may be disappointed that, I’m now their representative … I’m still going to advocate for you. I’m still going to work for you.”
When she announced her resignation from the Council last month, Morales, the leftmost Councilmember at the time, accused her more conservative colleagues of undermining her work and “eroding the checks and balances” between the legislative department and the mayor.