Tammy Morales

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.

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

Early life and education

Morales was raised in San Antonio, Texas by a single mother who always worked two jobs.[2][3]

Morales attended the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. She later earned a Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Austin.[4]

Career

Morales served as Legislative Director for a state legislator in the Texas House of Representatives[5] 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[6] where she focused on children's service agencies.[4]

Morales moved to Seattle in 2000 and worked for nonprofits focused on community-centered development and impactful philanthropy. Morales later started a successful consulting firm providing community development, advocacy and communications services with specialties in cross-sector strategic planning, public policy research and analysis, and community building and convening. Work on food access research and programming included clients such as the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment and Seattle-King County Public Health.[6][4]

Morales completed a two-year term as a Human Rights Commissioner for the City of Seattle in July 2019[7] and also served on the board of the Rainier Beach Action Coalition.[8]

Political career

2015 Seattle City Council Election

In the 2015 general election, Morales came within 344 votes[9] 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.[10]

2019 Seattle City Council Election

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.[11]

Morales, along with incumbents Lisa Herbold and Kshama Sawant, received national attention[12][13] 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).[14] In her campaign, Morales supported a head tax for Seattle corporations,[15] legislation opposed by Amazon and that in 2018 Seattle City Council approved then quickly rescinded.[16] 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.[17]

Morales won the 2019 general election with 60.5% of the vote.[18]

Seattle City Council

Morales assumed the office of District 2 Councilmember in January 2020,[19] representing Rainier Beach, Beacon Hill, Chinatown/International District, SODO and Georgetown.

Electoral history

2015 election
Seattle City Council District 2, Primary Election 2015[20]
Nonpartisan Josh Farris 1,725 13.20%
Nonpartisan Tammy Morales 3,223 24.66%
Nonpartisan Bruce Harrell 8,066 61.72%
Nonpartisan Write-in 55 0.42%
Party Candidate Votes %
Turnout 13,258 26.81%
Registered electors 49,450
Seattle City Council District 2, General Election 2015[21]
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
Seattle City Council District 2, Primary Election 2019[22]
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[23]
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

Personal life

Morales has been a Seattle resident for nearly 20 years. She is a mom with three kids - two in the Seattle Public School system and one at Portland State. Morales and her family call the Lakewood neighborhood home.[3]

References
  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. "About Councilmember Tammy J. Morales". Seattle City Council. 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  4. "Tammy J. Morales - Seattle City Councilmember - City of Seattle". LinkedIn. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  5. Oron, Guy (July 2, 2019). "Meet The District 2 Candidates: Tammy Morales". South Seattle Emerald. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  6. 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.
  7. "Seattle Human Rights Commission". Seattle.gov. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  8. "RBAC Spotlight: Tammy Morales". Rainier Beach Action Coalition. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  9. "Can Tammy Morales Win a Council Race and Finish What She Started Four Years Ago?". The Stranger. January 10, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Smith, Rich (October 24, 2019). "Bernie Sanders Praises Herbold, Morales, Sawant, and Scott in City Council Races". The Stranger. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  13. Bowman, Nick (November 5, 2019). "Bernie Sanders throws support behind quartet of Seattle council candidates". MyNorthwest. Bonneville Seattle. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  14. Nickelsburg, Monica (October 24, 2019). "Activists and politicians protest Amazon spending on Seattle elections: 'The country is watching'". GeekWire. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. "King County Official Final, General Election" (PDF). King County Elections. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  19. 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.
  20. "King County Official Final, Primary Election". King County Elections. August 17, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  21. "King County Official Final, General Election". King County Elections. November 24, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  22. "King County Official Final, Primary Election" (PDF). King County Elections. November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  23. "King County Official Final Election Results, General Election" (PDF). King County Elections. November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
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