Alexis Mercedes Rinck in lead to beat incumbent Tanya Woo for Seattle City Council Position 8
Nov 5, 2024, 9:51 PM | Updated: 9:53 pm
Alexis Mercedes Rinck (Left) and Tanya Woo (Right) competed for the Seattle City Council's Position 8. (Mercedes Rinck's photo courtesy of the Seattle Channel and Woo's photo courtesy of her campaign/MyNorthwest file photo)
(Mercedes Rinck's photo courtesy of the Seattle Channel and Woo's photo courtesy of her campaign/MyNorthwest file photo)
There could be a major shift in Seattle leadership. Progressive Alexis Mercedes Rinck is in the lead for Seattle City Council’s Position 8, beating incumbent conservative Tanya Woo.
As of Tuesday at 9:45 p.m., Mercedes Rinck is leading with 57.32% and Woo is trailing with 42.28%, according to The Associated Press.
Mercedes Rinck held a significant lead over Woo in an October 28-November 2 poll by the Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI). Of 613 likely Seattle voters, 52% were for Mercedes Rinck while 28% were for Woo, giving Mercedes Rinck a 24-point lead.
“That’s an enormous lead for a challenger to have, and it speaks to the dissatisfaction that Seattleites have with their current city council,” NPI stated.
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As reported by NPI, Woo took Council member Teresa Mosqueda’s spot who was elected to the King County Council in 2023. Woo was then chosen by the Seattle City Council majority, which is now under the leadership of conservative Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson. Woo had previously challenged Seattle City Council member Tammy Morales for District 2 and lost.
According to The Urbanist, Woo’s committee assignments included land use, transportation, housing, and chairing the Sustainability, City Light, Arts and Culture Committee.
Woo, according to her website, is a fifth-generation Seattlelite whose family immigrated to Seattle in 1887. Woo worked at her family business Moon Temple Restaurant in Wallingford while leading a volunteer program. She also spearheaded the renovation of a hotel to create affordable housing.
Mercedes Rinck attended Syracuse University, fundraising for Planned Parenthood and leading LGBTQ+ justice, as stated on her website. She then graduated with degrees in political science and sociology and moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington and started a career in public policy.
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The two made their case for Seattle City Council Position 8 in a September debate.
According to Cascade PBS, both candidates want more services for homeless people, improved pedestrian safety and alternatives to police for people in crisis. However, they did not agree on how to pay for those initiatives.
The media outlet reported Mercedes Rinck’s idea was to create more revenue to pay for the initiatives by further taxing corporations and the wealthy. Woo said property taxes are too high and her idea is to create rebate programs by cutting programs in the existing budget.
To watch a video from each candidate as they made their case in October, visit the Seattle Channel’s website.
Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.
