The Seattle City Council voted to appoint Kirsten Harris-Talley to fill the Position 8 City Council seat made vacant by interim Mayor Tim Burgess until the new election results are certified in late November.
Harris-Talley, the program director at Progress Alliance, was nominated by Councilmember Bruce Harrell, who participated in the vote by phone. She received five of the eight votes.
Harris-Talley, who organizes with Block the Bunker and No New Youth Jail, had backing from the Seattle Peoples Party, one of Seattle’s newest political organizations. The Peoples Party also fielded Nikkita Oliver for Mayor. Harris-Talley said that she would focus on issues such as police accountability and reproductive justice, among other issues.
As the interim councilmember, she will have an opportunity to influence the budget process, which kicked off Oct. 5.
The process to appoint an interim member of the City Council was different than in years past due to the influence of Transparent Seattle, a coalition of individuals and organizations who pushed for an open, public process before the council voted to fill the vacancy. That led to two forums in two days allowing the 16 candidates to air their views on the city, politics and budget priorities.
Ashley Archibald is a Staff Reporter covering local government, policy and equity. Have a story idea? She can be can reached at ashleya (at) realchangenews (dot) org. Twitter @AshleyA_RC
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