District 5 is the only city council seat up for grabs in Seattle this election. Candidates Nilu Jenks and Julie Kang are competing to represent the city’s northernmost neighborhoods, including Broadview and Lake City.
Whoever wins will only secure the position through 2027 and will have to run again next fall to serve a full four-year term on the council.
Councilmember Cathy Moore resigned from the position in 2025 due to health and personal reasons. The council appointed Debora Juarez to fill the District 5 seat, but only until North Seattle voters officially decide who will complete the final year of Moore’s term.
Both candidates have made public safety and affordability central to their platforms.
Jenks wants to ‘hit the ground running’
Jenks won the August primary with approximately 54% of the vote. She works as the political and partnership director for the nonprofit FairVote Washington, which advocates for ranked choice voting. She said this experience will help her if she is elected.
“Knowing how to pass a bill and get a sponsor and work through committees, while also you have to turn around and run again,” Jenks said. “I think having someone to hit the ground running, knows what they’re doing and has these relationships will help.”
Jenks has lived in Lake City since 2019 and said she has seen firsthand how Seattle’s northern neighborhoods have been underserved over the years. An example she points to is last year’s closing of Lake City’s Fred Meyer, which was that neighborhood’s only full-service grocery store.
“I’m running because I think blue cities should show that they can govern and meet our needs: public safety, transportation, housing, shelter, but also really basic infrastructure,” Jenks said.
Her priorities include advocating for 1,000 affordable housing units across the district and working to address food deserts across Seattle. Jenks has been endorsed by The Stranger, the King County Democrats and County Executive Girmay Zahilay.
Kang touts experience in education and banking
Kang is proud to have lived across North Seattle over the last three decades. An educator, she has held leadership roles at Seattle University and University of Washington. This summer, Kang came in second in the primary with about 33% of the vote.
As she has canvassed the area, Kang said potential voters have made it clear they want District 5 to get more attention.
“People just want the basics to work. Safe streets, vibrant parks, clean neighborhoods,” she said. “These are not things that are going to cost a lot of money.”
Kang said she will also focus on affordability issues and increasing access to housing as District 5’s councilmember. Her list of endorsements include The Seattle Times editorial board, Councilmember and Public Safety Committee Chair Bob Kettle and former Council President Sara Nelson.
On top of her work at universities, Kang said her experience in finance has prepared her to represent North Seattle residents. She co-founded Pacific International Bank, which served “Korean-American Businesses owners and ethnic communities,” according to her LinkedIn.
“As an educator, financial executive, community leader and as a neighbor for 30 years, I bring the practical skillsets and I ask the practical questions,” Kang.
Divided on surveillance cameras
Public safety is a hot-button issue in the city council race. District 5 includes sections of Aurora Avenue North that are notorious for crime and prostitution. This spring, residents along the busy street blocked off neighborhoods to prevent drive-by shootings from spreading into residential areas.
Protestors would later march along North Aurora to demand city officials take action. Mayor Katie Wilson ordered more permanent barriers to be installed to block some residential streets, but residents' concerns persist. This, along with the Bite of Seattle shooting in July, has made public safety a significant issue in the election.
Both Jenks and Kang want to see more police in North Seattle. They also want to find ways to strengthen Seattle’s CARE Department, which manages the city’s community crisis responders. However, the candidates differ on their stances concerning the use of police surveillance cameras.
The Seattle Police Department operates surveillance cameras in the city’s downtown area, along Aurora Avenue North and the Chinatown-International District. Jenks has made it clear that she does not support the use of these cameras and thinks the council should focus on other strategies to improve public safety.
“We can invest in detectives. We can invest in undercover operations. We can invest in a lot of things that actually prevent crime,” she said. “All of these things that don’t say, ‘I'm going to trade all of these civil liberties to make myself safer.’”
Kang has been less consistent. Earlier this year, she told The Urbanist that she was against the use of surveillance cameras and Seattle’s Stay Out of Area of Prostitution zones, or SOAP zones. But over the course of her campaign, she switched her stance. Now, she is advocating for the continued use of cameras, and expanding where they are used when it's warranted, along with enforcing the SOAP zone along Aurora Avenue North.
“We haven’t done our best to use the footage, open up a case, enforce the laws and make sure that the people who are causing harm aren’t returning to the neighborhood,” she said.
Both Jenks and Kang acknowledge that there is a limit to what they will be able to accomplish in a single year on the council. But, if elected, they plan to focus on community outreach as they prepare to run for a full four year term next fall.
