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Government

Get To Know Your New Seattle City Council District

KUOW | By Kara McDermott
Published August 21, 2015 at 2:10 PM AKDT
KUOW Illustration

How well do you know the Seattle City Council district you live in? In 2013, Seattle voted to split the city into seven districts to elect council members with two more members elected at-large. This year will be the first election under that system.

To help navigate the new voting framework, we gathered demographic and other information on the new districts from Seattle's Department of Planning and Development and surveyed our listeners about their thoughts as they prepare to choose the new City Council.

Not surprisingly, housing and transportation topped the lists of issues on voters' minds. See a sampling of those results below in each district and weigh in for yourself!

Make sure to explore all of KUOW's ongoing election coverage!

Jump To Your District

District 1 | District 2 | District 3 | District 4 | District 5 | District 6 | District 7 | At Large

What's Around?

Zoom in on the map to see the services available in your district. Click on the top left menu button to see the key and select the layers you would like to focus on.

[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "District 1", "style": "full"}]]Candidates

  Total Population: 86,785

  • White: 68.4 percent
  • Asian: 9.6 percent
  • Hispanic or Latino: 9.4 percent
  • Black or African American: 6.7 percent
  • Two or more races: 4.3 percent
  • American Indian and Alaskan Native: 0.8 percent
  • Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander: 0.7 percent
  • Some other race: 0.2 percent

Total Housing Units: 41,857

  • Occupied: 92.6 percent (owner occupied: 60.1 percent, renter occupied: 39.9 percent)
  • Vacant: 7.4 percent

[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "What Residents Are Saying", "style": "wide"}]]On Housing

"West Seattle is becoming an ugly Ballard. No developed permit is ever denied, and the high density box housing units are now every[where] -- without any accountability for additional parking or increased bus routes; our transportation problems are already horrific, and now hundred of more people will live here and make the current situation even worse."

"The city council has passed several measures that restrict housing construction and put additional fees on housing construction. In addition, the city council and candidates are considering even more onerous restrictions and fees on housing at the behest of wealthy and privileged NIMBYs."

"Seattle, and West Seattle definitely, is becoming richer and whiter at the expense of anyone who is not. Gentrification pushed by our city council who are in bed with developers."

On transportation

"We're completely pinched off here. We need grade-separated, dedicated right-of-way light rail or bus Rapid Transit yesterday."

"It's getting impossible to travel out of West Seattle any time of day."

"The City has done an excellent job prioritizing transit service in North and Central Seattle, but the 2013 transit levy and possible Move Seattle Levy investments will not benefit the vast majority of West Seattle. West Seattle is growing, yet the transit service is not keeping up with the expansion."

On public safety

"The majority of kids in our neighborhood don't qualify for bus transportation to school. The problem is, the streets [are] just busy enough to make bike commuting without an adult dangerous, but asking your kid to walk puts them at high risk of theft and cat calling. I'm a 32-year-old mom who runs for sport. I regularly get hollered at by men in passing cars making me feel unsafe. If I don't feel safe, why should I send my child out on their own?"

"I think that all the other issues are tied into public safety. If we don't have well-lit sidewalks to walk on to get to buses or the bus hubs are too dangerous to wait in after dark -- that all has a serious impact on whether people will use public transportation or opt for the safety of their own car, thus impacting the traffic issues for an area with two bridges out."

On neighborhood culture

"I enjoy the diversity and the collectivist culture feel."

"I used to like that it was a small town in a big city. That's no longer the case. I'll be moving out of West Seattle in the next 5 years."

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[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "District 2", "style": "full"}]]Candidates

Total Population: 87,268

  • Asian: 36.3 percent
  • White: 27.8 percent
  • Black or African American: 20.9 percent
  • Hispanic or Latino: 8.7 percent
  • Two or more races: 4.8 percent
  • Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 0.7 percent
  • American Indian and Alaskan Native: 0.6 percent
  • Some other race: 0.2 percent

Total Housing Units: 34,603

  • Occupied: 93.6 percent (owner occupied: 54.0 percent, renter occupied: 46.0 percent)
  • Vacant: 6.4 percent

[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "What Residents Are Saying", "style": "wide"}]]On housing

"Housing prices are going up very fast and it is changing the makeup of South Seattle. It is sad to see communities and people of color displaced and priced out of South Seattle."

"The rent is out of control."

"The average wage earner cannot afford to buy a home."

Other comments

"Crappy crappy computer connections! I wish our city would create a good computer connection as a utility."

"Business district is lacking basic services, like a post office, drug store, hardware store, etc. (But we're within 1 mile of a Home Depot and a Lowe's and we're 'close' to everything)."

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[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "District 3", "style": "full"}]]Candidates

Total Population: 86,558

  • White: 66.5 percent
  • Black or African American: 12.5 percent
  • Asian: 9.2 percent
  • Hispanic or Latino: 6.3 percent
  • Two or more races: 4.3 percent
  • American Indian Alaskan Native: 0.6 percent
  • Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 0.3 percent
  • Some other race: 0.2 percent

Total Housing Units: 48,974

  • Occupied: 90.9 percent (owner occupied: 38.4 percent, renter occupied: 61.6 percent)
  • Vacant: 9.1 percent

[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "What Residents Are Saying", "style": "wide"}]]On neighborhood culture

"The neighborhood has character, it's close to everything, and it enables me to walk and bus everywhere - I haven't owned a car in nine years."

"The changes to night life and new attacks on LGBT people are disheartening."

On housing

"Seattle is growing and Capitol Hill is changing at a pace where it will soon no longer be affordable for most people - including me."

On transportation

"Traffic and parking is horrible in this city."

"Condos and townhouses everywhere and horrible traffic and parking."

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[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "District 4", "style": "full"}]]Candidates

Total Population: 87,677

  • White: 74.4 percent
  • Asian: 13.7 percent
  • Two or more races: 4.6 percent
  • Hispanic or Latino: 4.4 percent
  • Black or African American: 2.0 percent
  • American Indian or Alaskan Native: 0.3 percent
  • Some other race: 0.3 percent
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.2 percent

Total Housing Units: 39,295

  • Occupied: 93.2 percent (owner occupied: 46.0 percent, renter occupied: 54.0 oercent)
  • Vacant: 6.8 percent

[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "What Residents Are Saying", "style": "wide"}]]On neighborhood culture

"I love our easy access to the humanities in Seattle. Our neighborhood feels quiet and distinct from the city, but we can easily drop downtown for entertainment and great food."

On housing

"With current housing costs going up so dramatically, I don't think I'll be able to stay in Fremont for too much longer. Prices are increasing, but my salary is not. I feel like I'm forced to move to an area I don't want to live in."

"I would like District 4 to become more inclusive and for new buildings to be forced to include housing for workers, working families, elderly and other underserved populations."

"The cost of living in Seattle is only going up and it's forcing people to leave the city. I know firsthand as a college student working minimum wage, trying to afford rent. It's difficult. We need to, as a city, have a serious conversation about rent control."

On transportation

"Traffic congestion continues to get worse in our city and moving anywhere -- east, west, north, and/or south -- after 1 p.m. until 9 p.m. is a nightmare."

"We have three light rail stations in District 4 and we need people to live car free. Our buses need to be more frequent and more reliable to get people to and from these stations."

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[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "District 5", "style": "full"}]]Candidates

Total Population: 86,950

  • White: 67.3 percent
  • Asian: 13.2 percent
  • Hispanic or Latino: 7.3 percent
  • Black or African American: 6.2 percent
  • Two or more races: 4.7 percent
  • American Indian or Alaskan Native: 0.7 percent
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.4 percent
  • Some other race: 0.3 percent

Total Housing Units: 43,710

  • Occupied: 92.4 percent (owner occupied: 52.3 percent, renter occupied: 47.7 percent)
  • Vacant: 7.6 percent

[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "What Residents Are Saying", "style": "wide"}]]On housing

"The architectural disasters seen in other neighborhoods (big steel and concrete boxes with flat roofs) have yet to invade this neighborhood."

"The massive development reflects very little architectural charm. Would love more green buildings, since they are going to be built anyway."

On transportation

"I commute through the city both ways (from Lake City to SODO and back) every day. The roughly 10-mile commute takes me longer than my husband's 30-mile commute to Everett. We keep growing and growing without putting any real thought or effort into how to move people around more efficiently."

"There are no sidewalks. The steady encroachment of speed humps, intentionally mis-timed traffic signals. The spillover of angry drivers diverted from traffic jams on I-5 and Aurora. The ever increasing number of burglaries that the police do nothing about."

On public safety

"I don't always feel safe in my neighborhood. There have been home invasions, assaults, kidnappings and drug dealing near my home."

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[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "District 6", "style": "full"}]]Candidates

Total Population: 86,771

  • White: 83.1 percent
  • Asian: 5.5 percent
  • Hispanic or Latino: 4.8 percent
  • Two or more races: 3.9 percent
  • Black or African American: 1.8 percent
  • American Indian and Alaskan Native: 0.6 percent
  • Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 0.2 percent
  • Some other race: 0.3 percent
  • Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 0.2 percent

Total Housing Units: 44,467

  • Occupied: 94.1 percent (owner occupied: 54.2 percent, renter occupied: 45.8 percent)
  • Vacant: 5.9 percent

[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "What Residents Are Saying", "style": "wide"}]]
On housing

"NIMBY activists posting flyers that equate renters with homeless people. I've lived in the neighborhood for more than ten years!"

On transportation

"Quality of life has gone noticeably downhill in the four years I have lived here due to increased traffic congestion. Driving to downtown Seattle in 2010 took 20 minutes, now it takes 50 minutes. The main arterial road (NW 85th St) near my house is backed up for several blocks at the intersection with 15th Ave NW. Riding the bus is no solution because it must use the same roads. My district desperately needs a convenient, efficient mass transit system."

"The city is allowing biking on arterials, narrowing streets and putting in curb bulbs thus creating avoidable traffic jams. This is ruining the city as people no longer want to go out, there's more exhaust and people are driving through the neighborhoods (including mine) at high rates of speeds in frustration. "

"District 6 covers a large swath of territory, with most of the population in Fremont and Ballard. But in Greenwood, at the northern border of District 6, the sidewalk, biking and road infrastructure is decades behind the rest of the district." 

"The shopping district is widely isolated from the rest of the neighborhood, requiring crossing of streets with no stop or yield signs on exposed sidewalks. The neighborhood core is great, but I'd love for it to be more accessible to those that live nearby!"

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[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "District 7", "style": "full"}]]Candidates

Total Population: 86,651

  • White: 76.8 percent
  • Asian: 8.6 percent
  • Hispanic or Latino: 5.3 percent
  • Black or African American: 4.2 percent
  • Two or more races: 3.8 percent
  • American Indian and Alaskan Native: 0.8 percent
  • Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 0.3 percent
  • Some other race: 0.2 percent 

Total Housing Units: 55,610

  • Occupied: 88.2 percent (owner occupied: 36.4 percent, renter occupied: 63.6 percent)
  • Vacant: 11.8 percent

[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "What Residents Are Saying", "style": "wide"}]]On neighborhood culture

"Downtown has many services for low-income individuals, so there is a high concentration of drug use, theft and panhandling -- similar to Pioneer Square. As more and more residential uses are being added, the balance needs to be readjusted. Downtown is no longer a dumping ground for the failures of our social welfare system, but it still feels like it."

"The energy, diversity, and ability to walk to the Pike Place Market or beach without feeling like I live in an entitled homogenous suburb (Ballard or West Seattle)."

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[asset-pullquotes[{"quote": "At Large", "style": "full"}]]Position 8 Candidates

Position 9 Candidates

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Kara McDermott
Year started with KUOW: 2013
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