Seattle City Council chooses crime prevention coordinator for open seat

The Seattle City Council chose Mark Solomon, a crime prevention coordinator with the Seattle Police Department, to fill the open District 2 seat left earlier this year by former member Tammy Morales.

Solomon was selected Monday from a group of six finalists. Praised by his new colleagues for his intellect and collegiality, he’ll have just about 10 months to make his mark on the council: Following his selection, he reiterated his previous promise not to run to retain his seat this fall.

“I want to get in, do the work and not be distracted by trying to campaign at the same time,” he said.

That truncated timeline leaves little room for lofty pledges about his ability to transform the city; rather, Solomon said he’d narrow his priorities down to a “punch list” related to growth and public safety.

In his application, Solomon said his priorities on council would be to complete the comprehensive plan update, regulate late-night lounges that have been the sites of violence and to address “disorder and human suffering in the Little Saigon neighborhood.”

He added permitting reform to that list Monday.

This is the third time Solomon has sought a seat on the council. He ran in 2019, before losing to Morales in the general election. He also applied to fill the vacancy left by Teresa Mosqueda in 2024.

Solomon’s job as a crime prevention coordinator with the Seattle Police Department is a civilian position intended to connect with community organizations and come up with preventive measures.

He has also worked as a security consultant and an intelligence analyst for the Air Force; he joins Councilmembers Bob Kettle and Rob Saka as members of the council with military experience.

Solomon’s selection serves as one more break from the politics of the majority of the council and those of more-progressive Morales. Twice now the council has appointed someone who lost to Morales in the general election.

Tanya Woo lost to Morales in 2023 before being appointed in 2024. Woo then lost the election for the seat to challenger Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who is more closely aligned with Morales’ politics.

Solomon said he developed a good working relationship with Morales after their race and promised to serve everyone in his district.

“If you don’t agree with me, fine,” he said. “I’m still going to advocate for you. I’m still going to work for you. I’m still going to try to make things better by delivering services for the community.”

In his various bids for a seat on the council, Solomon has emphasized public safety, echoing the vocal priorities of most of the current council. He’s long advocated for hiring more police.

He’s also previously expressed skepticism about upzones passed as part of a “grand bargain” between developers and the city, allowing extra height in exchange for affordable housing contributions.

As incoming chair of the land use committee and also an employee of the police department, Solomon’s time will likely be spent focused on development and public safety.

Speaking Monday, Solomon said the responsibility of density would have to be shared across the city. He said arterials like Rainier Avenue in his district have carried too much of the weight.

While he said he’s still digesting Mayor Bruce Harrell’s plan for accepting growth in the city, Solomon said he supports the proposed “neighborhood centers” that would mean more development near 30 commercial centers across the city.

“There’s some neighborhoods who don’t want to change, they don’t want eight-story apartment buildings in their community. That’s understandable, but we’re one Seattle,” he said, referencing Harrell’s mantra for his administration. “One Seattle needs to come together so that it’s all not concentrated on North Rainier in District 2.”

Solomon said Monday he wanted to find ways to expedite permitting.

He also pledged to take a holistic approach to improving public safety in places like Little Saigon, by offering more support to local businesses, in addition to pushing for more police officers to join the force.

After 20 people applied for the position, the council chose Solomon out of a group of six finalists. The others were: Hong Chhuor, Adonis Ducksworth, Thaddaeus Gregory, Edward Lin and Chukundi Salisbury.

Solomon takes over the city’s land use committee — a particularly salient role in a year when the council will be taking on plans for absorbing and adapting to continued growth over the next two decades. Although the update to the comprehensive plan — a required roadmap for development — has its own committee, the land use chair will nevertheless have a full portfolio of work as the city debates density and housing development moving forward.

Solomon joins an already deeply inexperienced council. With his appointment, only Councilmember Dan Strauss has served more than one term, and seven out of nine members have been on the council for less than two years.

And yet, the business of the city’s legislative body marches on. Top of mind will be the update to the city’s housing plan. Technically due in 2024, the council is racing to meet its obligations both to draw a road map and to comply with new state-level requirements for allowing more density in neighborhoods mostly made up of single-family homes.

The council debated whether they would prefer to choose someone who’d serve until the end of the year and then leave, or someone who would seek reelection this fall. Councilmember Rob Saka preferred the former, saying he’d like an appointee whose attention was not split between running a council office and a campaign.

Council President Sara Nelson, on the other hand, said she preferred to choose a person who would have to be accountable to voters for their decisions on the council.

Of the six finalists, only Solomon and Salisbury committed to not seeking reelection.

The council chose its replacement by voting in rounds until one person received five votes. Candidates Chukundi Salisbury, Edward Lin and Adonis Ducksworth all received votes before Solomon was appointed after five rounds.