Former council president launches site to track Seattle City Council

Why it matters: Nelson says traditional channels for public participation can favor organized interests and people with time to attend council meetings — leaving many Seattleites out.

• "People are busy; they have jobs and kids," Nelson told Axios. "I'm just trying to create a platform to make it easy for people to know what's going on, so they can do something about it."

The other side: Councilmembers did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

The big picture: CivicTide is part of Nelson's broader effort since leaving office to shape Seattle's civic and political conversations.

• Her 501(c)(4), SeaFor, has three goals: recruit and support candidates it considers pragmatic, make public engagement easier and broaden Seattle's political narrative.

Yes, but: CivicTide also plans to cover Seattle elections and endorse candidates. SeaFor plans to contribute to an independent expenditure campaign in this year's District 5 council race, in which Nelson supports candidate Julie Kang.

What she's saying: Nelson rejects the idea that the project is driven by bitterness over losing her council seat last year.

• "Another way of looking at it is, I didn't stop caring about Seattle," she told Axios. "Sour grapes doesn't last very long. This is really an interest and a passion of mine."