Who’s in the running to fill Tammy Morales’ Seattle Council seat?

Following Morales’ resignation, the Council must pick one of 20 applicants to represent South Seattle’s District 2 until a special election this fall.

the outside of seattle city hall

Seattle City Hall in 2024. (David Ryder for Cascade PBS)

Twenty Seattleites have thrown their hat in the ring — and meet the qualifications — to temporarily fill former District 2 Councilmember Tammy Morales’ vacant City Council seat.

Morales resigned from the position on Jan. 6 with three years remaining in her term. When she announced the decision in December, she accused her colleagues of creating a toxic work environment, among other complaints. The City Council has until Jan. 27 to select a replacement to serve as D2 Councilmember through November 2025.  

Voters will elect a D2 Councilmember this fall to serve out the remainder of Morales’ term, ending in December 2027.  

The Council solicited applications for the vacancy from Jan. 2-9. According to the city charter, a qualified applicant must be a United States citizen, be able to read and write English, be an active registered voter in the City of Seattle and live in District 2, which represents southeast Seattle from the Chinatown-International District down to Rainier Beach.  

This is the second time in two years the Council has had a vacancy to fill. In January 2024, former Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda left her position with one year remaining in her term after being elected to the King County Council.   

Here are the 20 qualified applicants:  

  • Henry M. Armas-Amaya is a resident of the Chinatown-International District and previously worked as a microfabrication technician for a company that makes fiberoptic sensors.  

  • Nimco Bulale is the founder of South Sound Strategies, a political consultancy firm, and was campaign manager for the successful renewal of Seattle’s $970 million Housing Levy. Bulale ran in the 2022 primary for 37th District State Representative.  

  • Hong Chhuor is a longtime nonprofit communications professional with Friends of the Children – Seattle and previously worked for Plymouth Housing, El Centro de la Raza and more. In addition, his family co-owns King Donuts, which they purchased in 2017.  

  • Nahom Debessay is a project manager focused on health care IT. He grew up in Seattle’s Eritrean community and remains active there today.  

  • Adonis E. Ducksworth works as senior transportation policy manager for Mayor Bruce Harrell and was deputy chief of staff at the Seattle Department of Transportation prior to that.  

  • Takayo M. Ederer is a commercial and residential real estate investor who was born in the Columbia City neighborhood and still calls it home.  

  • Randy Engstrom is the former director of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, a position he held for 11 years. He now runs a consultancy focused on creative economy and civic art strategies.  

  • Thaddaeus J. Gregory, a land-use lawyer with Van Ness Feldman, grew up in the Lakewood/Seward Park neighborhood.  

  • Romain R. Harris is a longtime insurance agent and lifetime Seattleite who launched his own agency in 2021.  

  • Edward C. Lin has been an attorney with the Seattle City Attorney’s Office since 2017.  

  • Alex Morrison is a marketing and communications manager for a general contracting company. According to their application, they would be the youngest councilmember if selected.  

  • Erik L. Nielsen, a contracts negotiator at Boeing, leads the Seattle chapter of the Center for New Liberalism.  

  • Rachel Ramseur is a real estate broker and former police officer with the Edmonds and Eugene, Oregon police departments.  

  • Bishop R. Rogers is executive director of Circle of Love Outreach, a homelessness outreach organization and the presiding bishop at Seattle’s Full Gospel Pentecostal Assemblies.  

  • Chukundi Salisbury has had a 28-year career in the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, where he currently works as a sustainability and environmental engagement manager. Salisbury ran in the 2020 general election for 37th District State Representative.   

  • Steven Sloan runs a public relations firm and previously worked as a vice president and publisher of two design and construction magazines.  

  • Mona Smith is a lawyer who runs her own law firm and is a former commissioner on Seattle’s Labor Standards Advisory Board.  

  • Mark A. Solomon is a crime prevention coordinator at the Seattle Police Department. He ran and lost against Morales for the D2 Council position in 2019 and was a finalist for last year’s council vacancy appointment.  

  • Mark Sztainbok is a software developer who wants to focus on addressing crime if appointed.  

  • Nakita Venus is executive director of Seattle’s LGBTQ+ Center, a nonprofit that provides community health care and other resources.   

After Morales announced her resignation, there was speculation over whether former Councilmember Tanya Woo would apply to fill the vacancy. Woo was appointed by the Council to fill Mosqueda’s vacancy and served in that role until she lost to Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck last November. Prior to her appointment last year, Woo had run and lost against Morales in the 2023 D2 election.  

The City Council will hold a special meeting on Friday, Jan. 17 to select finalists. Next week, at a public forum, the finalists will answer questions and make the case that they’re the one for the job. The Council expects the forum to be held the evening of Jan. 21, but the exact timing has not been finalized.  

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