Licata says if he runs for council it's at-large

Maybe Nick Licata can win against Tim Burgess or Sally Clark, maybe he knows for sure that he would lose to Mike ÓBrien.

There is still only one candidate for the 5th District, Halie Watkins. It is hard to believe Watkins would run unopposed for an open council seat. We will just have to wait and see.

There are potentially three candidates running at-large. It is very likely that more people jump into those two races. Sally Bagshaw, too, could draw challengers.

Licata says if he runs in 2015, it will be at-large

If the long-time councilmember does run for one of the two at-large seats, he would have to compete against two of his current colleagues.

Longtime Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata says that he will make a decision in January about whether to run for re-election in 2015.

Licata told Crosscut yesterday that if he does run, it will be for one of the two at-large seats available under the City Council's new election system, which is partially district-based. Council President Tim Burgess and Councilmember Sally Clark have already filed paperwork with the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission to campaign for the at-large seats. This means that if Licata does decide to run, he would find himself in a competitive race against a colleague, which could get even more complicated if candidates from outside the Council emerge.

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Licata and O'Brien both reside in Council District 6, which includes north Seattle neighborhoods such as Green Lake, Fremont and Ballard. By running at-large, or not running at all, Licata would avoid a race against his district-mate. The two are generally regarded as among the most liberal members of the council.

Apart from Burgess, Clark, Licata and O'Brien, the other five council members have registered to campaign for four-year terms in their newly established districts. Charter Amendment 19, which passed in last year's city election, ushered in the new district election system for the Council. 

North Seattle's Council District 5, which includes Lake City and Northgate, is the only district in which no current council member lives. Halei Watkins, a Planned Parenthood organizer, has registered to run for that seat.

In his West Seattle district, Tom Rasmussen already faces two challengers, David Ishii and Charles R. Redmond III. And community activist Tammy Morales is planning to run against Bruce Harrell in District 2, which encompasses Southeast Seattle.

Licata says if he runs in 2015, it will be at-large | Crosscut.com

http://crosscut.com/2014/09/23/politics-government/122015/licata-2015-ill-decide-january/