3 key divides shaping this year's only Seattle council race
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Seattle City Council candidates Alexis Mercedes Rinck (left) and Tanya Woo. Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy of the campaign of Rinck and Seattle City Council
Seattle City Councilmember Tanya Woo is fighting to retain her seat against a progressive challenger, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who led Woo by almost 12 percentage points in the August primary.
Why it matters: The race will serve as an early test of how voters feel about the new council majority, which took office in January after receiving big support from business-backed groups in last year's elections.
State of play: It's the only Seattle council race on the ballot this year, after Woo was appointed in January to replace Teresa Mosqueda, who left to become a King County Council member.
- Whoever wins will represent all of Seattle on the nine-member city council. And all Seattle voters get to weigh in, unlike with the council's seven district-based seats.
- The winner of the Nov. 5 special election will serve the final year of Mosqueda's unexpired term.
- They'll then have to run again in November 2025 if they want to keep the seat.
Here are some of the Position 8 candidates' biggest areas of disagreement.
Taxes and budget
The city is facing an annual budget deficit of at least $250 million heading into 2025.
- Given that shortfall, Rinck says, the council needs to seek new progressive tax revenue so it can afford to expand services like drug treatment, housing and youth programs.
- Those new taxes should target "corporations and the ultra wealthy" to ensure they "are paying their fair share," Rinck said during a debate last month.
The other side: Woo says taxes "should be a last resort."
- She says her approach to the budget reflects her experience working for her family's business in the Chinatown-International District.
- For small business owners, Woo said during the debate: "We can't always ask for additional funding when we are trying to balance our budgets."
Drug and prostitution "banishment" zones
Woo supports the council's recent action to create "stay out" zones, which people can be banned from entering if they're convicted or accused of certain prostitution or drug crimes.
- She says those policies will help the city crack down on human trafficking and drug dealing.
- "We cannot go back to the failed policies of the last four years," Woo said at the debate, citing street disorder and drug use in Little Saigon as one of her major concerns.
Rinck characterized the "stay out" zones as "drawing lines on city maps" without adding the resources necessary to get people the help they need. She said the city has tried "banishment laws" before without success, and she said she would have voted against the proposals.
- "I think we need to be promising the public comprehensive solutions that truly solve the problem at hand," Rinck told the debate moderators.
Police department
Rinck said she wouldn't have approved a recent police contract that didn't do much to add new accountability measures for officers.
- Woo voted for that contract, which gave officers retroactive pay raises. She said competitive wages are important as the department seeks to boost police staffing.
- Woo added that the council will do more work on police accountability issues in the upcoming police contract that is still being negotiated.
What's next: Ballots will be mailed to registered Seattle voters Oct. 16.