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Tammy Morales

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Tammy Morales
Member of the Seattle City Council
from District 2
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 6, 2020
Preceded byBruce Harrell
Personal details
Born (1968-10-23) October 23, 1968 (age 56)
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations		Democratic Socialists of America[1]
SpouseHarry Teicher
ResidenceSeward Park, Seattle
Alma mater

Tammy Janine Morales (born October 23, 1968) is an American politician from Seattle, Washington. She was elected to represent District 2 on the Seattle City Council in November 2019.

Early life and education

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Morales was raised in San Antonio, Texas by a single mother who worked two jobs.[2][3] Morales attended the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and later earned a Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Austin.[4][5]

Career

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Morales served as Legislative Director for a state legislator in the Texas House of Representatives, where she worked with state agencies and advocates to develop legislation on TANF initiatives, childcare funding, and low-income housing.[4] Morales then worked as a budget and policy analyst for the New York City Independent Budget Office, where she focused on children's service agencies.[6][7]

Morales moved to Seattle in 2000 and worked for nonprofits focused on community development.[4] Morales later started a consulting firm providing public policy research and advocacy, especially in food access with clients such as the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment and Seattle-King County Public Health.[4][5][7]

Morales completed a two-year term as a Human Rights Commissioner for the City of Seattle in July 2019 and also served on the board of the Rainier Beach Action Coalition.[4][5][8][9]

Political career

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2015 Seattle City Council Election

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In the 2015 general election, Morales came within 344 votes[10] of District 2 Seattle City Council member Bruce Harrell, a two-term incumbent, former mayoral candidate, and Seattle lawyer. Harrell did not run for re-election in 2019.[11]

2019 Seattle City Council Election

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In January 2019, Morales declared her candidacy for Seattle City Council District 2 and received an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Seattle, who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus.[12]

Morales, along with incumbents Lisa Herbold and Kshama Sawant, received national attention[13][14] when Amazon donated $1.45 million to support opposing candidates via the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce's political action committee, the Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy (CASE).[15] In her campaign, Morales supported a head tax for Seattle corporations,[16] legislation opposed by Amazon and that in 2018 Seattle City Council approved then quickly rescinded.[17] In an email to supporters, Mayor Jenny Durkan called Morales a "socialist" — Morales's political affiliation is Democrat — and endorsed District 2 candidate Mark Solomon.[18]

Morales won the 2019 general election with 60.5% of the vote.[19]

Seattle City Council

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Morales assumed the office of District 2 Councilmember in January 2020,[20] representing Rainier Beach, Beacon Hill, Chinatown/International District, SODO and Georgetown.

Electoral history

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2015 election

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Seattle City Council District 2, Primary Election 2015[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Bruce Harrell 8,066 61.72%
Nonpartisan Tammy Morales 3,223 24.66%
Nonpartisan Josh Farris 1,725 13.20%
Nonpartisan Write-in 55 0.42%
Turnout 13,258 26.81%
Registered electors 49,450
Seattle City Council District 2, General Election 2015[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Bruce Harrell 9,532 50.79%
Nonpartisan Tammy Morales 9,188 48.96%
Nonpartisan Write-in 46 0.25%
Turnout 19,866 39.74%
Registered electors 49,987

2019 election

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Seattle City Council District 2, Primary Election 2019[23]
Nonpartisan Omari Tahir-Garrett 607 2.86%
Nonpartisan Ari Hoffman 2,451 11.54%
Nonpartisan Mark Solomon 4,923 23.19%
Nonpartisan Chris Peguero 1,000 4.71%
Nonpartisan Phyllis Porter 1,254 5.91%
Nonpartisan Tammy Morales 10,630 50.07%
Nonpartisan Henry Dennison 304 1.43%
Nonpartisan Write-in 61 0.29%
Party Candidate Votes %
Turnout 22,172 37.80%
Registered electors 58,655
Seattle City Council District 2, General Election 2019[24]
Nonpartisan Tammy Morales 16,379 60.47%
Nonpartisan Mark Solomon 10,586 39.08%
Nonpartisan Write-in 121 0.45%
Party Candidate Votes %
Turnout 28,400 47.82%
Registered electors 59,389

2023 election

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Personal life

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Morales has been a Seattle resident for over 20 years. She has three kids - two in the Seattle Public School system and one at Portland State University. Morales and her family live in Lakewood, near Seward Park.[3]

She is Jewish.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Anthony, Stephen. "Kshama Sawant Made the Wrong Decision to not Run for Reelection". The Activist. Young Democratic Socialists of America. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  2. ^ Robinson, Chetanya (February 14, 2019). "District 2 candidate Tammy Morales hopes to bring community power from the CID and south Seattle to City Council". International Examiner. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "About Councilmember Tammy J. Morales". Seattle City Council. 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e Reyna, Luna (October 2, 2023). "Meet the District 2 Seattle City Council Candidates: Tammy Morales". South Seattle Emerald. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Kramer Jenning, Linda (August 26, 2019). "Rebound Candidates: Will Past Defeat Help Tammy Morales?". Post Alley. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  6. ^ Oron, Guy (July 2, 2019). "Meet The District 2 Candidates: Tammy Morales". South Seattle Emerald. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Beekman, Daniel (October 10, 2019). "Seattle City Council District 2: Tammy Morales takes on Mark Solomon, who's backed by mayor". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  8. ^ "Seattle Human Rights Commission". Seattle.gov. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  9. ^ "RBAC Spotlight: Tammy Morales". Rainier Beach Action Coalition. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  10. ^ "Can Tammy Morales Win a Council Race and Finish What She Started Four Years Ago?". The Stranger. January 10, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  11. ^ Beekman, Daniel (January 8, 2019). "Bruce Harrell third incumbent who won't seek re-election to Seattle City Council". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  12. ^ Beekman, Daniel (January 7, 2019). "U.S. Rep. Jayapal endorses a Harrell challenger as Seattle City Council incumbents weigh options". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  13. ^ Smith, Rich (October 24, 2019). "Bernie Sanders Praises Herbold, Morales, Sawant, and Scott in City Council Races". The Stranger. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  14. ^ Bowman, Nick (November 5, 2019). "Bernie Sanders throws support behind quartet of Seattle council candidates". MyNorthwest. Bonneville Seattle. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  15. ^ Nickelsburg, Monica (October 24, 2019). "Activists and politicians protest Amazon spending on Seattle elections: 'The country is watching'". GeekWire. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  16. ^ Brown, Karina (November 7, 2019). "Amazon's Attempt to Flip Seattle City Council Appears to Be Flopping as Votes Are Tallied". Court House News Service. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  17. ^ Weise, Elizabeth (June 13, 2018). "In a fast about-face, Seattle caves to Amazon, overturns landmark corporate head tax". USA Today. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  18. ^ Radil, Amy (July 25, 2019). "Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan calls a council candidate a socialist but dismisses charge of 'red-baiting'". KUOW. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  19. ^ "King County Official Final, General Election" (PDF). King County Elections. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  20. ^ Robinson, Chetanya (January 7, 2020). "Morales, New City Council Members Sworn In, Offering New Visions for Seattle and the South End". South Seattle Emerald. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  21. ^ "King County Official Final, Primary Election". King County Elections. August 17, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  22. ^ "King County Official Final, General Election". King County Elections. November 24, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  23. ^ "King County Official Final, Primary Election" (PDF). King County Elections. November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  24. ^ "King County Official Final Election Results, General Election" (PDF). King County Elections. November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  25. ^ "Candidates to represent CID make their case in annual forum". Northwest Asian Weekly. July 21, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
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