Charter Amendment 19 would change Seattle City Council elections from nine at-large positions to seven members elected by geographical district and two at-large. Under the proposal, the city is divided roughly into seven districts each with about 88,000 residents. The districts generally follow geographical boundaries, with West Seattle one district, for example, and Southeast Seattle another.
Proponents say electing council members by district would give every area of the city a representative who is familiar with local issues and would work to get a share of city resources for the district for street repair, parks and other improvements.
Supporters also say candidates would only have to reach voters in one part of the city instead of citywide, making it cheaper to run and giving younger, grass-roots candidates a better shot at election.
Opponents say district elections result in pork barrel politics where every member is looking out for their own district with less focus on city-wide problems and priorities. They say the current city council is diverse—three women, two gays, one minority—and its strength means it can be an effective check on the mayor. They say it limits voters’ choices by allowing them to vote only for one district representative and two at-large members. Currently, everyone in the city votes for every position.
