(The Center Square) – Alexis Mercedes Rinck is leading incumbent citywide Seattle City Councilmember Tanya Woo on the first night of the general election, with 57.3% of votes tallied.
If votes remain consistent, Rinck would represent another change to the Seattle City Council. Prior to this year, the previous city council was considered more progressive. However, five new city council members were elected to represent their respective districts.
Since then, the council has broadly supported the Seattle Police Department officer shortage, addressed an approximately $250 million budget deficit that has resulted in proposed layoffs for next year, and supported downtown Seattle’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rinck has previously worked for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, which has served as the organization responsible for coordinating funding and services for homeless across all of King County since 2019.
Rinck’s priorities have included exploring additional revenue options, from a local capital gains tax to a high payroll tax. Rinck expects the progressive taxes to generate enough revenue to fund vital city programs.
Rinck also wants to further fund programs such as the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion and the Community Assisted Response and Engagement team, which features behavioral health specialists who have prior field experience and higher education credentials in behavioral health.
Woo was appointed to the vacant citywide seat by the Seattle City Council at the beginning of the year. The seat was left vacant after Teresa Mosqueda resigned from the Seattle City Council on Jan. 2, to take a seat on the King County Council.
Woo lost to incumbent Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales in the 2023 general election by two percentage points. Both Morales and Mosqueda endorsed Rinck.
The incumbent’s priorities include fully staffing SPD, incentivizing small business growth, and setting performance expectations for homeless service providers to ensure tax dollars are being efficiently used to address the city’s homeless crisis.
Woo is also an advocate for policies that protect and enhance neighborhoods in her district, including Chinatown-International District and Little Saigon.
Results from the primary election in August showed that Rinck led all candidates with 50% of votes. Woo received 38%.
