Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales steps down, citing harmful work environment

December 04, 2024 / 9:35 am

Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales has announced that she’ll step down in January, ending her term three years shy of completion. Morales is one of two remaining incumbents of the 2020 council, one marked by a push for progressive police reform.

KUOW spoke with Morales two weeks before she announced her departure. She described a venomous work culture in which any progress she attempted to make on behalf of her constituents was stunted by fellow councilmembers.

“I have been particularly targeted with bullying and gaslighting all year and it is bad behavior on the part of our elected officials,” Morales said in an interview on Nov. 20. “It’s making it harder for me to work on behalf of my constituents and I think that needs to be called out.”

In an announcement made to her District 2 constituents, Morales echoed that sentiment.

“For the last 11 months, this council has eroded our checks and balances as a legislative department and undermined my work as a policymaker,” she wrote.

In bullet points, she outlined actions allegedly taken by the council that she took issue with:

Interfered with the ability of our non-partisan Council Central Staff to provide objective policy analysis
Suppressed the will of voters by offering an alternative ballot initiative that would effectively gut the Seattle social housing developer next February
Stifled first amendment rights during public comment by arresting people
Intimidated commenters by having a police presence when any controversial legislation is considered
Witnessed a significant reduction of institutional knowledge through the departure of 3 Council Central policy staff, the entire Council communications team, members of our human resources and finance team, and several legislative aides
Attempted to defund a critical program for addressing anti-displacement and supporting community economic development led by people of color
Passed 11 separate bills to increase the punitive nature of our criminal legal system without any additional meaningful accountability for our police department
And passed a budget that reduces funding for social services for our most vulnerable while dramatically increasing funding for jails, police, and sweeps
RELATED: Sharp disagreements over homeless sweeps, policing in South Seattle City Council race

“This was a very difficult decision,” Morales wrote. "...As an elected representative I took an oath to the constitution of the United States, Washington State, and to our City Charter. Key among those duties is to protect the health, safety, environment, and general welfare of the people. I can no longer, in good conscience, say I am doing this by remaining on this Council."

Morales added that she has a responsibility to her family members, who “deserve to see me show up whole” and that her role has caused her “mental and physical well-being to deteriorate.”

Council President Sara Nelson issued a statement thanking Morales for her service on the council. The current council will appoint someone to fill Morales’ council seat within 20 days after her departure in January.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Correction notice, 12/4/24 at 9:46 a.m.: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Tammy Morales was the last remaining incumbent of the former City Council.