After narrowing the list of potential appointees from 22 to 6 on July 17, the City Council appointed former Councilmember Debora Juarez eleven days later to fill the open District 5 seat until the voters choose a successor in the November 2026 election.
The opening was created by the decision of Councilmember Cathy Moore to resign from the Council for health reasons on July 7, 2025. The Council had 21 days to make an appointment and made the appointment of Juarez on the final day, July 28.
Juarez was first elected to represent District 5 in 2015, the first election with council districts. After winning reelection in 2019, Juarez was elected Council President by her colleagues in 2022. She did not seek reelection to a third term in 2023.
During her 8 years on the Council, Juarez was a moderate who was very focused on the needs of her district. Her accomplishments included convincing Sound Transit to add a light rail station at 130th NE and successfully persuading the Seattle Kraken to build its practice rinks at Northgate.
The other finalists for the appointment were Nilu Jenks (who received one vote), James M. Bourey, Katy Haima, Julie Kang, and Robert D. Wilson.
