“I sincerely hope that [the council will] take a breath and commit to trying something a bit different, since things were not working for at least one of their colleagues.”
By Erica C. Barnett
New Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck was as surprised as anyone to learn that progressive Councilmember Tammy Morale will resign in January, barely a year after defeating Tanya Woo, but she said she “obviously” respects Morales’ decision “to do what’s best for her, her team, and her humanity.”
As we reported on Wednesday, Morales said she decided to step down after nearly a year of “being undermined” by her colleagues, starting with their decision to install Woo into a vacant citywide council position after she was the only centrist candidate to lose last year. Rinck defeated Woo in November, winning more votes than any local candidate in modern Seattle history.
Rinck told PubliCola she was “deeply saddened” when Morales let her know on Monday that she was stepping down. “In so many ways, Councilmember Morales has been a beacon for progressive values, and I was hoping to be able to join her and partner in this work,” Rinck said.
New council members, including Bob Kettle and Cathy Moore, frequently used Morales as a synecdoche for the entire previous city council—which passed landmark progressive legislation, including the JumpStart payroll tax—and a one-for-one stand-in for socialist firebrand Kshama Sawant). Reflecting on her decision to leave, Morales said she hoped her next elected replacement will be able to come in fresh, unburdened by any association with the previous council, and that Rinck will be able to build better relationships as a newcomer coming in with such an overwhelming mandate.
Rinck said she spend much of her first two days going around and talking to her new colleagues about “the work ahead of us to and how we can work together.” But, she said, “I’ve been very clear to say that I hope we can take this time to all reflect on our own behaviors and the kind of work environment we’d like to have. I can understand feelings of defensiveness and how people might see their own perspectives on how the last 11 months have gone, but I sincerely hope that [the council will] take a breath and commit to trying something a bit different, since things were not working for at least one of their colleagues.”
The council will appoint a replacement for Morales after she steps down early next year, and the position will be on the regular 2025 primary and general election ballots. It seems unlikely the council would welcome Woo back into the fold right after she lost an election so overwhelmingly (her fourth second-place finish in a row), but they already showed their willingness to ignore the will of the voters when they appointed her in the first place, so there’s a precedent—and Woo would only have to win reelection in District 2, where she lost more narrowly to Morales in 2023.
Business and labor allies are already scrambling to find candidates for next year’s election. In the meantime, Rinck said, “I’m really focused on making sure that my office is spending dedicated additional time in District 2 to support community dialogue and make sure that we have a true champion to represent their needs in city hall.”
LOL, she wasn’t being deeply undermined. She was being out voted. By other council members who were elected by the public a year ago. Morales was the only surviving incumbent. The voters and the city went a different direction than her opinions. The reason the voters elected people who opposed her positions is because she and the last council utterly failed the city when they had power.
Now she’s taking her ball and going home. Good riddance.
There were other council members that were in the minority when Lorena Gonzalez was council president. They didn’t agree with the Lorena majority decisions but they didn’t quit. They stood firm and compromised but she’d light on concerns with Lorena policies.