Seattle Loses Second Longtime Council Member

Another longtime Seattle City Council member has announced he will not seek reelection this year. Tom Rasmussen said he’ll retire from the council after twelve years. His announcement follows Nick Licata’s similar news last Thursday.

Rasmussen said he’ll stay involved in local issues but he also wants more balance in his life.

Rasmussen: “More bicycling. Spending more time with my mother. My partner travels for his job so we can travel together sometimes. So I would say it’s personal, as well as I’ve completed a lot of things that I’ve wanted to do on the City Council.”

Rasmussen would not have faced any fellow council members in West Seattle if he’d run in Seattle’s new district system. He said the campaigns are beginning, so he had to make a decision.

Rasmussen: “People wanted me to run, they were volunteering, they wanted to do coffees and fundraisers and endorse me, and I have to let them know that I am not running.”

He cites the passage last fall of Prop 1, which puts new funding toward Seattle transit service, as one of his proudest accomplishments. Rasmussen chairs the Transportation Committee and said he’ll be watching carefully as Prop 1 is implemented this year.