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Tanya Woo

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Tanya Woo
Member of the Seattle City Council
from District 8
In office
January 24, 2024 – November 26, 2024
Preceded byTeresa Mosqueda
Succeeded byAlexis Mercedes Rinck
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRandall Wo-Eng
ResidenceRainier Beach, Seattle
Alma materUniversity of Washington (BA)

Tanya Woo (胡清雅) is an American politician from Seattle, Washington. She ran for Seattle City Council in 2023 in District 2 against incumbent Tammy Morales but lost by a narrow margin of 403 votes. Woo was then appointed to the city-wide District 8 seat in January 2024 but lost that seat in the November 2024 special election to Alexis Mercedes Rinck.

Early life and education

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Woo's family immigrated to Seattle in 1887 from China and owned multiple small businesses throughout Seattle and the Chinatown–International District, Seattle.[1] Woo's father bought the historic Louisa Hotel in 1963[2] and Woo took over the redevelopment of the hotel after a devastating fire in 2013.[1]

Woo has a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Washington.[1]

Community activism

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In 2021, Woo began volunteering for Chinatown International District Community Watch (CIDCW), which was created after anti-Asian crimes, such as robberies, assaults, and vandalism, occurred in the CID during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] CIDCW provides resources and supplies to homeless individuals in the CID, do community clean-ups, and provide self-defense classes to senior citizens.[4]

In September 2022, King County, Washington released a plan to expand an existing homeless shelter in the SoDo, Seattle neighborhood. The proposed expansion included 150 additional shelter beds, tiny homes, expanded support services, a sobering center, and reserved spaces for RVs.[5] In response, Woo wrote an op-ed in the local International Examiner newspaper stating that the proposed expansion "...follows a long history of policies that have been forced on the CID, starting with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This is systemic racism."[6] Community organizers, included Woo, organized a rally of primarily senior citizens asking to be heard about all the challenges the community has faced.[7]

In October 2022, King County executive Dow Constantine announced that the SoDo Homeless shelter expansion would be halted, citing special interest’s involvement against the expansion.[8]

Seattle city council

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2023 election

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In February 2023, Woo announced a run for Seattle City Council District 2, against incumbent Tammy Morales.[9] She centered her campaign on public safety and homelessness, especially in the Chinatown International District.[10] In the August 2023 Primary Election, Morales came in first with 52% of the vote, and Woo came in second with 42.5%, both moving on to the November primary.[11]

After the primary, Woo held a press conference with councilmember Sara Nelson and community leaders who all criticized the city's and Morales' response to address the drug use and illegal market that had negatively impacted the Little Saigon neighborhood.[12] Morales responded saying, "...if the chief can reallocate where we what we have right now so that the areas that are needing more attention are getting it that would be great."[12] At a debate, Woo accused Morales of voting to defund the police when she voted on a non-binding resolution, which Morales denied despite her past statements showing support.[13] Morales was critical of Woo's activism around stopping the SoDo shelter expansion due to the lack of shelter beds for homeless individuals.[13]

In the November general election, Morales won 50.65% of the vote to Woo's 49.1%, with a narrow margin of 403 votes.[14]

District 8 appointment

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In January 2024, Teresa Mosqueda vacated her seat for Seattle City Council District 8, representing the entire city of Seattle, after being elected to King County Council District 8.[15] 72 people, including Woo, applied for the vacant seat,[16] and in a 5-3 vote the Council voted to appoint Woo to the seat.[17] The appointment would last for ten months, until the November 2024 election and whoever won that election would only serve until the end of the term and would have to run for reelection in November 2025.

In June 2024, Woo announced that she would recuse herself from a controversial Gig Worker Wage Bill after recommendations by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission which stated there were potential conflicts of interest due to her husband and father-in-law owning a BBQ restaurant that uses food delivery apps.[18][19] During her tenure, she voted in favor of various public safety-related legislation including, the "Stay Out of Drug Areas" (SODA) zones, proposing amendments to expand the Little Saigon SODA zone, and funding a pilot program to deploy surveillance cameras in high-crime areas.[20][21][22] Woo also voted in favor of an amendment to allocate the full $20 million in funding previously promised by the Council for student mental health resources for select high schools, which failed, and only an additional $2.25 million was added.[23][24]

2024 special election

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In March 2024, Woo announced that she would run in the November 2024 special election to remain on the city council.[25]

In the August 2024 Primary Election, Woo came in second with 38.38% of the vote, and Alexis Mercedes Rinck, former assistant director of policy planning and state operations at the University of Washington, came in first with 50.18%.[26] During a September debate, Woo promoted much of the legislation passed by the current council, including the recently passed SODA legislation, and policies supported by Mayor Harrell.[27] Woo criticized Rinck for supporting policies similar to the previous council and for her time at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority where she authorized the 5-year-plan that would have cost nearly $12 billion. Rinck defended the price tag, saying it was to build housing, and she criticized Woo and the city council for not funding key services with progressive taxes.[27][28]

In the general election, Rinck won with 58% of the vote to Woo's 41%.[29][30]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Bray, Lauryn (October 2, 2023). "Meet the District 2 Seattle City Council Candidates: Tanya Woo". South Seattle Emerald. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  2. ^ Hamlin, Andrew (May 26, 2022). "Louisa Hotel: History and mystery in plaster". Northwest Asian Weekly. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  3. ^ Okikawa, Emi. "Chinatown-International District Community Watch: Empowering the community to protect themselves and each other". Seattle Parks Foundation. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  4. ^ Robinson, Chetanya (January 20, 2022). "Chinatown-ID night watch group promotes community safety for unhoused and housed residents". International Examiner. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  5. ^ Leon, David (September 26, 2022). "Homeless shelter expansion proposed on "S" site in CID". Urbanize Seattle. Urbanize Media LLC. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  6. ^ Woo, Tanya (September 8, 2022). "Opinion: Systemic racism in lack of community outreach for Chinatown-ID shelter expansion". International Examiner. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  7. ^ Krieg, Hannah. "Chinatown Protests "Homelessness Megaplex"". The Stranger. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  8. ^ King, Angela (October 17, 2022). "Homeless shelter expansion plans halted for Chinatown-International District". KUOW. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  9. ^ "Tanya Woo announces campaign for Seattle City Council". King5. February 16, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  10. ^ Haider, Mo (February 16, 2023). "Tanya Woo announces Seattle City Council campaign". KOMO News. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  11. ^ "King County Official Results August 2023 Primary" (PDF). King County Elections. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Daniels, Chris (September 5, 2023). "Council member publicly blames colleague for south Seattle public safety failures". KOMO News. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Hyde, David; Denckmann, Libby; Burrows, Jason (October 11, 2023). "Sharp disagreements over homeless sweeps, policing in South Seattle City Council race". Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  14. ^ "King County Official Results November 2023 Election" (PDF). King County Elections. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  15. ^ "Seattle City Council seeks applicants for vacant seat". King5. January 4, 2024. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  16. ^ Cohen, Josh. "72 people applied for the Seattle City Council's vacant seat". Croscut. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  17. ^ Trumm, Doug (January 24, 2024). "Seattle Council Appoints Morales Challenger Tanya Woo to Fill-In Council Seat". Urbanist. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  18. ^ Barnett, Erica C. (June 6, 2024). ""I Will Accept Whatever You Think is Best": Woo Says She'll Recuse Herself From Gig Worker Wage Vote". Publicola. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  19. ^ Kroman, David (May 20, 2024). "Tanya Woo should recuse from minimum wage vote, ethics head says". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  20. ^ Nerbovig, Ashley (September 19, 2024). "Seattle City Council Passes Unpopular Exclusion Zones, Reinstated Prostitution Loitering Laws". The Stranger. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  21. ^ Cohen, Josh (September 17, 2024). "Seattle enacts controversial drug, prostitution 'stay out' zones". Cascade PBS. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  22. ^ Donovan, Lauren (October 8, 2024). "Seattle passes surveillance technology ordinance despite privacy concerns". Fox13. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  23. ^ Bray, Lauryn (August 14, 2024). "City Council Votes 'No' on Amendment to Fully Fund Student Mental Health Resources". South Seattle Emerald. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  24. ^ Morales, Dominique (October 9, 2024). "Seattle City Council Position 8 incumbent Tanya Woo talks to Real Change". Real Change News. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  25. ^ Kroman, David (March 13, 2024). "Tanya Woo launches race to retain seat on Seattle City Council". Seattle Times. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  26. ^ "King County August 2024 Primary Results" (PDF). King County Elections. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  27. ^ a b Radoc Cabahug, Jadenne (September 18, 2024). "5 takeaways from the Seattle City Council Position 8 debate". Cascade PBS. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  28. ^ Krieg, Hannah (September 19, 2024). "Tanya Woo Shadowboxes Old City Council on Debate Stage". The Stranger. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  29. ^ Pauley, Spencer (November 8, 2024). "Alexis Mercedes Rinck wins Seattle citywide council seat". The Center Square. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  30. ^ "Alexis Mercedes Rinck defeats Tanya Woo". Northwest Asian Weekly. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
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