Council Vacancy

Why is There a Vacancy on the Seattle City Council?

Councilmember Cathy Moore (District 5) resigned her seat on the Seattle City Council, effective July 7, 2025.

The City Charter gives the City Council 20 calendar days to fill a vacant Council position. This 20-day period begins July 8, the first day of the vacancy, and ends on July 28.

From the date of the appointment, the newly appointed councilmember will serve until the 2026 General Election results are certified by King County Elections and the newly elected councilmember representing District 5 takes the oath of office.

Important Dates

Dates subject to change

Scheduled City Council Meetings to Discuss Candidates
Thursday, July 17 at TBD
Tuesday, July 22 at TBD

Community Forum
Monday, July 21 at TBD

Anticipated City Council Vote on Appointment
Special City Council Meeting, Monday, July 28 at TBD

Applications and Qualifications

Noted below are the minimum requirements for filling the Council vacancy, as determined by Ordinance No. 125479.

Application Period:
Opens: 8 a.m. on Wednesday, July 2
Closes: 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9

Completed applications must be received by the City Clerk before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in order for an application to be accepted. Applications received at 5:00 p.m. or later will be considered late and will not be forwarded to Council for review.

Applications may be submitted by email at CouncilVacancy@seattle.gov or in person at Seattle City Hall, City Clerk's Office, Floor 3. An application is considered complete if it includes all the required attachments as described below.

Applicants must submit the following to the City Clerk:

Resume
Cover letter
Completed financial interest statement form (must include name and address used to register with King County Elections)

The City Charter requires applicants to be:

A citizen of the United States
A qualified elector of the State of Washington
Able to read and write the English language
A registered voter of the City of Seattle, and residing in the district represented, for at least 120 days prior to and including the date of the filing the declaration of candidacy, which is determined by verifying an active voter registration status with King County Elections at the address provided by the applicant on the financial interest statement.

Any additional qualifications may be determined by the Council. The approved applications will be posted on the Council Vacancy page by July 11, 2025.

The dates and formats of meetings and forums, and the procedure to vote for candidates will be determined by the Council.

Public Forum and Community Entities

Community entities can get involved in two ways:

Complete a form to provide feedback related to:
- Recommendations for forum's structure
- Questions posed to candidates: and / or
- Accessibility considerations.

The form will be available on this page starting at 8 a.m. on July 2 through 5 p.m. on July 9.

Community entities that wish to participate in developing or hosting the public forum where candidates will be interviewed should email a letter of interest describing their capacity and prior relevant experience to CouncilVacancy@seattle.gov

Letters of interest from community entities will be accepted starting 8 a.m. on July 2 through 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9.

The date of the public forum is tentatively scheduled for July 21.

Please note: Information provided by applicants for the vacant Council seat and community entities is considered a public record and may be subject to public disclosure. For more information, see the Public Records Act, RCW Chapter 42.56. To learn more about how we manage your information, see our Privacy Statement.

Additional Information

Read the "Meetings and Public Forum" section of this page above for information about upcoming meetings regarding the council vacancy.