Seattle City Council member Tammy Morales will resign in January; constituents respond

Seattle City Council member Tammy Morales announced she is resigning from the City Council, effective Jan. 6, despite her term in office not ending until 2027.

“Representing the people of Seattle, especially of south Seattle, has been my greatest honor and I will miss the opportunity to work alongside all of you on behalf of our neighbors,’ Morales said in her announcement. “I’m proud of the work we’ve accomplished over my tenure, including passing the historic Race and Social Justice ordinance, our Tenants Bill of Rights and securing over $350 million of investments in D2 and across the city.”

Morales was re-elected to the Seattle City Council, representing District 2, in 2023, defeating challenger Tanya Woo by 403 votes. A Seattle Council member since 2019, she first ran for the council in 2015, losing to then-incumbent Bruce Harrell by just 344 votes. Four years later, she defeated Mark Solomon in 2019 by nearly 6,000 votes.

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“I want to thank Council member Morales for her dedicated service to the constituents of District 2,” Council President Nelson said in response to the announcement. “We worked together to pass a number of important pieces of legislation that benefit the people of Seattle, and I wish her and her family well on the next chapter.”

According to Publicola, Morales began seriously considering leaving the council in September after she “went home and screamed at (her) family” following a confrontation amongst the council.

Morales’ departure came with plenty of allegations that the current city council is not operating in good faith with the rest of the city.

“I am worried about the future of this institution, and my place in it,” Morales stated. “For the last 11 months, this council has eroded our checks and balances as a Legislative department and undermined my work as a policymaker.”

In her departing address, Morales cited the council interfered with staff providing objective policy analysis, stifled First Amendment rights during public comment through arrests and intimidated commenters by having an established police presence when any controversial legislation was considered. She claimed the council “suppressed the will of voters” through alternative ballot initiatives, and that the newly voted-in council had an overall lack of foundational, institutional knowledge.

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Her criticisms of the current city council continued, stating they attempted to defund a critical program for people of color, while also passing 11 separate bills that “increased the punitive nature of our criminal legal system.”

Morales has also been vocally against the council’s pitches for budget reduction, which has affected social services primarily, while the council simultaneously increases funding for jails, police departments and sweeps.

“This was a very difficult decision,” Morales added. “I’ve thought a lot about my responsibility to my constituents and to the council as an institution. As an elected representative, I took an oath to the constitution of the U.S., Washington and to our City Charter. Key among those duties is to protect the health, safety, environment and general welfare of the people. I can no longer, in good conscience, say I am doing this by remaining on this council.”

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According to Publicola’s conversation with Morales, several of the new council members have treated her as the personification of the previous City Council.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Morales said. “I just need some time to think about how best to serve the city I love and find the next opportunity to repair the harm done to Black and brown communities, democratize access to power and resources, and plan for the seventh generation.”

Morales was the lone progressive representative on the council until Alexis Mercedes Rinck, replacing Teresa Mosqueda, joined last month. The council will now search for another person to represent Seattle’s District 2. Whoever is appointed will have to stand for election next year.

Seattle constituents react to Tammy Morales leaving the Seattle City Council

Constituents in Morales’ South Seattle district spoke out Wednesday after the news broke. They were surprised and confused at her sudden resignation, regardless of how they voted.

“It’s a pretty wimpy way out,” said one man who’s lived in Columbia City for three years. “I voted against her (in 2023). I think she could have made this choice a year ago. The council was already in place.”

Theo Martin, who’s owned the Columbia City restaurant Island Soul for 27 years, said he supported Morales and that he was disappointed.

“We want people to be more outspoken and aware. We need more people like (Morales),” he told KIRO Newsradio. “What we need is people like her to be part of the solution and not run away from the problem.”

Martin said he understands and sympathizes with Morales’ intention to take care of herself and her family after leaving office, but Morales blamed other council members’ positions on controversial issues as part of the reason for her resignation – and that’s something supporters like Martin cannot get behind.

“‘It’s not going my way, so I’m going to leave’ – that’s how it comes across,” he said.

Another business owner along Rainier Avenue agreed.

“It comes off as a bit of a tantrum,” she said, requesting to remain anonymous for fear her political opinions would invoke negative attention to her restaurant. “I think you have to have a thick skin whether you’re a business owner or a politician. It’s just part of the callous – if you don’t have a callous, everything rubs you wrong. But you can’t turn and run.”

Others, like the Kulp family in the Mount Baker neighborhood, said they did not feel like Morales adequately represented them and their concerns, such as public safety. They supported Morales’ previous political opponent, Tanya Woo, who ran and lost in 2023 by about 400 votes. Now, the Kulps are looking forward to Morales’ replacement.

Scott Kulp met Woo while she was doing door-to-door campaigning.

“I have not met Tammy Morales but am not happy with the noticeable deterioration of my neighborhood under her watch,” he said.

His wife, Neva Kulp, said she was surprised Morales would resign just one year into her new term.

“Many in her district complained that she didn’t respond to their calls or emails, and that she seemed to either ignore or not care about the serious problems her constituents were experiencing in the (Chinatown International District), Rainier Valley and Beacon Hill,” she said. “I hope whoever becomes the next (District 2) council member will make a more concerted effort to reach out and listen to all of the people in the community, not just special interests, and also give voice to their concerns before the city council.”

Scott Kulp said he is concerned with repeated arsons along Rainier Avenue and graffiti getting “out of control” since Morales took office in 2019.

“Neva and I feel less safe than ever before in our neighborhood,” he said. “We’ve lived here for 30 years. I’m ready for something better.”

Contributing: Sam Campbell, KIRO Newsradio

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.