Afternoon Jolt

Burgess Not Running for Fourth Term

The council's "conservative" won't seek reelection.

By Josh Feit December 12, 2016

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Longtime city council member Tim Burgess, considered the conservative on Seattle's super lefty council—mostly because during his first term, he pushed an ordinance to criminalize panhandling and more recently because he wasn't on board with legislation to prevent homeless encampment sweeps—confirmed this afternoon he's not running for a fourth term. A former cop, ethics commissioner, and then PR consultant, he was first elected in 2007.

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During his tenure, Burgess earned the respect of his colleagues across the political spectrum for being a straight shooter and honest compromiser.

Some of Burgess's biggest accomplishments have been helping secure a citywide pre-k funding program, passing a gun control tax, and leading the compromise that passed paid sick leave. Most recently, he's been pushing to regulate Airbnb and making fun of Pronto, the bike share program.

Burgess ran for mayor in 2013, before dropping out and endorsing now Mayor Ed Murray; Burgess has been a consistent Murray ally.

There's already one candidate for Burgess's citywide Position Eight seat, Jon Grant, who announced  his candidacy late last month.

Grant, a populist with an anti-developer rap, ran against Burgess in 2015; Burgess won 54.55 to 44. 88.

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