After just one term in office, U-District Seattle City Councilmember Alex Pedersen announced he is not seeking reelection to represent Seattle's District 4 in 2023. 

“I have decided not to seek reelection in 2023 to another four-year term as the fulltime City Councilmember for District 4,” Pedersen said in a press release. “After 2023, my family will need me more than City Hall, and they are looking forward to having me back.” 

Throughout Pedersen’s time in office, he often found himself as a moderate in the liberal landscape of the City Council. In 2022, he voted against a proposition that would have increased the tax rate on the highest earners working for big businesses, funding $140 million of infrastructure and housing projects. Pedersen also sponsored legislation that would have rolled back cuts made to the Seattle Police Department’s budget. 

Making clear how he viewed his role on the council, Pedersen referred to himself as “a voice of reason during tumultuous times.” 

Pedersen made homelessness a key issue during his 2019 campaign, claiming his work as a financial analyst for affordable housing developments and his time with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development gave him “expertise in homelessness.” While in office, Pedersen played a key role in the creation of both the Regional Homelessness Authority and Rosie's Tiny Home Village in the U-District. 

Pedersen also chaired the Transportation Committee, where his crowning achievement was reopening the West Seattle Bridge in 2022. The project led to audits of all of the city's bridges, throughout which Pedersen spearheaded an effort to allocate funding for necessary future repairs. 

Looking ahead to 2024, the City Council will have plenty of fresh faces. Pedersen is one of four councilmembers to announce they are not seeking reelection, alongside councilmembers Kshama Sawant, Lisa Herbold, and council president Debora Juarez. Fourth-year student and president of the Students for a Democratic Society at UW (SDS) Nathan Mitchell thinks it is time for a change. 

“I think Councilmember Pedersen is someone who hasn't been that voice for students, someone who hasn't been approachable, hasn't made attempts to connect with students on campus,” Mitchell said. 

Specifically, Mitchell and the rest of the SDS point to the lack of action toward affordable housing and renters’ rights. 

“There have been a lot of pushes in the U-District for affordable housing units, and we have not seen much come of that — one would think our city councilmember would advocate for that,” Mitchell said. “We have not seen any advocating for rent control from Pedersen to support renters, and the majority of students are renters.”  

With Pedersen stepping away from the position, the SDS hopes for a representative that will better meet the needs of the UW community. 

“[We want] someone wanting to advocate around transportation, renters’ rights, access to health care, and that sort of thing … Someone who comes to bat for renters and college students,” Mitchell said. 

Three candidates have already thrown their hats in the ring, announcing campaigns for the soon-to-be vacant seat. In the running are tech consultant Ron Davis, civil engineer Kenneth Wilson, and UW graduate student Matthew Mitnick, the latter of which has earned an endorsement from both Mitchell and the SDS. 

The election will take place later this year Nov. 7.