Seattle City Council narrows down list of 72 candidates to fill vacant seat

SEATTLE — Seattle City Council has narrowed down its 72-name list of candidates to fill Teresa Mosqueda’s open at-large seat to eight finalists.

The list of submissions was released this week, with a smattering of new and familiar names.

Mosqueda formally resigned from her at-large position in early January, having won a seat on the King County Council during the November election. To fill that role, the city accepted applications from the public through Jan. 9.

Seattle’s city charter gives the council 20 days to fill a vacant seat. That process allows members of the public to apply for the job themselves. Then, anyone who qualifies takes part in a public interview forum.

After that, city councilmembers will vote on the appointment during a special meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 23. The candidate chosen will serve out the remainder of Mosqueda’s term, which runs through the end of 2024.

Councilmembers held a session on Friday afternoon to determine how to they might whittle down the list to a handful of finalists. Ultimately, they picked eight names: Tanya Woo, Neha Nariya, Mari Sugiyama, Juan Cotto, Mark Solomon, Vivian Song, Linh Thai, and Steven Strand.

Woo was the first choice for three councilmembers, but was only selected by one since each had to select a different candidate.

You can see the full list of applicants at this link.

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