Seattle, WA

Joy Hollingsworth Takes Helm in Seattle Council Shakeup » The Urbanist

Published

2 weeks ago

January 6, 2026

Joy Hollingsworth Takes Helm in Seattle Council Shakeup » The Urbanist

D3 Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth was elected Council President Tuesday in a unanimous vote. (Ryan Packer)

District 3 Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth will lead the Seattle City Council as its President for the next two years, following a unanimous vote at the first council meeting of 2026. Taking over the gavel from Sara Nelson, who left office at the end of last year after losing to progressive challenger Dionne Foster, Hollingsworth will inherit the power to assign legislation to committees, set full council agendas, and oversee the council’s independent central staff.

The role of Council President is usually an administrative one, without much fanfare involved. But Nelson wielded the role in a more heavy-handed way: making major staff changes that were seen as ideologically motivated, assigning legislation that she sponsored to the committee she chaired, and drawing a hard line against disruptions in council chambers that often ground council meetings to a halt.

With the Nelson era officially over, Hollingsworth starts her term as President on a council that is much more ideologically fractured than the one she was elected to serve on just over two years ago. The addition of Foster, and new District 2 Councilmember Eddie Lin, has significantly bolstered the council’s progressive wing, and the election of Katie Wilson as the city’s first progressive major in 16 years will also likely change council dynamics as well.

“This is my promise to you all and the residents of the city of Seattle: everyone who walks through these doors will be treated with respect and kindness, no matter how they show up, in their spirit, their attitude or their words,” Hollingsworth said following Tuesday’s vote. “We will always run a transparent and open process as a body. Our shared responsibility is simple: both basics, the fundamentals, measurable outcomes, accessibility to government and a hyper focus on local issues and transparency.”

Seattle politicos are predicting a closely split city council, arguably with a 3-3-3 composition, with two distinct factions of progressives and centrists, and three members — Dan Strauss, Debora Juarez, and Hollingsworth herself — who tend to swing between the two. Managing those coalitions will be a big part of Hollingsworth’s job, with a special election in District 5 this fall likely to further change the dynamic.

Alexis Mercedes Rinck, elected to a full four-year term in November, will chair the council’s human services, labor, and economic development committee. (Ryan Packer)

Though it took Tuesday’s vote to make the leadership switch official, Hollingsworth spent much of December acting as leader already, coordinating the complicated game of musical chairs that is the council’s committee assignments. In a move that prioritized comity among the councilmembers ahead of policy agendas, Hollingsworth kept many key committee assignments the same as they had been under Nelson.

Rob Saka will remain in place as chair of the powerful transportation committee, Bob Kettle will keep controlling the public safety committee, and Maritza Rivera will continue heading the education committee, which will be tasked with implementing the 2024 Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy.

There are plenty of places for progressives to find a silver lining in the new assignment roster, however. Foster will chair the housing committee, overseeing issues like renter protections and appointments to the Seattle Social Housing PDA’s governing council. Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who secured a full four-year term in November, will helm the human services committee, a post she’d been eyeing for much of her tenure and which matches her background working at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. Labor issues have been added to her committee as well, and she will vice-chair the transportation committee.

The Seattle City Council’s newest progressive members, Dionne Foster and Eddie Lin, will chair the housing and land use committees, respectively. (Foster/Lin campaigns)

Lin, a former attorney in the City Attorney’s office who focused on housing issues, will stay on as chair of the wonky land use committee, after inheriting the post from interim D2 appointee Mark Solomon last month. Thaddaeus Gregory, who served as Solomon’s policy director and has extensive experience in land use issues, has been retained in Lin’s office.

The land use committee overall will likely be a major bright spot of urbanist policymaking this year, with positions for all three progressives along with Strauss and Hollingsworth. The housing committee will feature exactly the same members, but with Juarez swapped out for Strauss.

In contrast, Kettle’s public safety committee will feature Eddie Lin as the sole progressive voice, and Dan Strauss’s finance committee, which oversees supplemental budget updates that occur mid-year, won’t have any of the council’s three progressives on it at all. Strauss will also retain his influential role as budget chair.

But the biggest issues facing the council in 2026 will be handled with all nine councilmembers in standalone committees: the continued implementation of the Comprehensive Plan, the renewal of the 2019 Library Levy and the 2020 Seattle Transit Measure, and the city’s budget, which faces significant pressures after outgoing Mayor Bruce Harrell added significant spending that wasn’t supported by future year revenues.

Hollingsworth will likely represent a big change in leadership compared to Sara Nelson, but with such a fractured council, smooth sailing is far from assured.

Ryan Packer has been writing for The Urbanist since 2015, and currently reports full-time as Contributing Editor. Their beats are transportation, land use, public space, traffic safety, and obscure community meetings. Packer has also reported for other regional outlets including BikePortland, Seattle Met, and PubliCola. They live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.

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Seattle, WA

‘Free America’ march moves through Seattle – MyNorthwest.com

Published

6 hours ago

January 20, 2026

Press Room

‘Free America’ march moves through Seattle – MyNorthwest.com

A “Free America” march and rally moved southbound on 2nd Avenue before making its way to Pier 58 in downtown Seattle.

The event was sponsored by Refuse Fascism Seattle. People all over Seattle were encouraged to walk out of school, out of work, or just out of their homes in opposition to what they call a “fascist administration.” It also encouraged people to pause spending and call their legislators to voice their opposition.

“Fascism is not a curse word. Fully imposed, it is a radically oppressive and repressive form of rule over the people of this country, with devastating impact on the people of the world,” one protestor told KIRO Newsradio.

The group marched from Seattle Central College to the waterfront, where they held a tribute for Renee Good, the woman killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis.

Good’s family hires law firm that represented George Floyd

Good’s family accused federal officers of killing her as she tried to follow their instructions, and has since hired the same law firm that represented George Floyd’s family, according to The Associated Press (AP).

Her loved ones said in a statement that they want Good to be remembered as “an agent of peace,” The AP reported.

Protesters were previously blocking all southbound traffic but have since dispersed, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) reported Tuesday afternoon via X.

Contributing: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio

Follow Julia Dallas on X. Read her stories here. Submit news tips here.

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Seattle, WA

Leonard Williams explains Sam Darnold’s changes with Seahawks

Published

18 hours ago

January 20, 2026

Press Room

Leonard Williams explains Sam Darnold’s changes with Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is getting ready for the biggest game of his career against the Los Angeles Rams.

While Darnold has appeared in the Super Bowl before, he only did so as a backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. This weekend, he’ll have a chance to start in the NFC Championship against the Rams, who eliminated him last year when he was with the Minnesota Vikings.

Before Darnold was with any of these NFL teams, he started out his professional career with the New York Jets as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of USC. During his college days, he was teammates with defensive end Leonard Williams, whose path has eerily matched with Darnold to get to the pacific northwest. Now, the pair have a chance to reach a Super Bowl together.

“He means a lot to this team. I’ve been around him in college, I’ve been around him early in his career on the Jets, and I think as soon as I saw him in the building here, I saw a dedicated guy. He’s dedicated to his craft, dedicated to the work, dedicated to this organization, and he’s just a special leader on this team,” Williams said of Darnold.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold throws the ball as New York Giants defensive end Leonard Williams defends. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Darnold, Williams have unusual path together

The pair were teammates in college for two seasons at USC before Williams went to the league as a first-round pick for the New York Jets. In 2018, Darnold became the Jets’ quarterback and played with Williams again for two seasons before the defensive star was dealt to the New York Giants in the middle of the season. Darnold stuck with the Jets for one more season before the team traded him to the Carolina Panthers ahead of the 2021 season.

Two years later, Williams was dealt again, this time to the Seahawks. Two years after that, Darnold rejoined them, and now the pair have a chance to get to the mountain top of the football world together. While things are a bit different, Williams says things have shifted a bit.

“I think we’re both very different. Even for me, I was too young to pay attention to other guys that much. Now I’m a veteran, I can understand what guys are going through. I can be more of a leader in that space where I can see what’s going on in the locker room. When he first got to the Jets, I was still young as well, so it was harder for me to pay attention to what other guys were doing,” Williams said of Darnold.

The two were not called upon to be leaders on a young Jets team, but now that they have both grown in their careers, they are being asked to play a big role for the Seahawks on and off the field. The Seahawks will need both of them to be on their A-game in order to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 11 years.

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams celebrates on the field following an NFC Divisional Round. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Seattle’s losing streak continues as Penguins capitalize on second-period surge

Published

1 day ago

January 19, 2026

Press Room

Seattle’s losing streak continues as Penguins capitalize on second-period surge

SEATTLE — Brett Kulak broke a second-period tie with his first goal of the season, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Seattle Kraken 6-3 on Monday.

Kulak, acquired from Edmonton in December as part of the trade for goalie Tristan Jarry, scored for the first time since last year’s Western Conference final. The defenseman ripped a one-timer to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead with 5:15 left in the second.

Several other unlikely offensive contributors chipped in for the Penguins (23-14-11). Fellow defenseman Parker Witherspoon got the scoring started with a wrister from the point that slid past Seattle goalie Joey Daccord for his third of the season.

Pittsburgh center Connor Dewar scored short-handed in the first period and added an empty-net goal with 29.6 seconds remaining. Dewar’s first goal marked the third straight game the Kraken (21-18-9) have yielded a short-handed goal.

After falling behind 2-0, the Kraken tied it on goals from forward Ben Meyers and defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Meyers’ goal was his career-high fifth of the season. Eeli Tolvanen also scored for Seattle, which has lost four straight and six of seven.

Justin Brazeau scored early in the third for the Penguins to make it 4-2. Rickard Rakell added an insurance goal before Dewar’s empty-netter. Pittsburgh won for the second time in three games following a three-game skid.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had two assists in his 1,400th career game. Stuart Skinner stopped 20 shots.

Daccord made 26 saves for Seattle.