Nilu Jenks leads Julie Kang in Seattle District 5 council race

The Race for Seattle’s District 5 Seat

As election results continue to trickle in, Nilu Jenks has emerged with a lead in the race to represent Seattle’s City Council District 5. With approximately 58 percent of the tallied votes, Jenks holds an advantage over her opponent, Julie Kang. While the numbers currently favor a Jenks victory, the electoral process remains active, and Kang has indicated that she considers it premature to declare a final outcome while ballots are still being processed.

This special election was necessitated by the departure of former council member Cathy Moore, who stepped down last year citing health and personal reasons. Whoever secures the seat will be tasked with filling the remainder of that term, though both Jenks and Kang have already committed to running for a full four-year term when the seat appears on the ballot again in 2027.

Aurora Avenue Business Owner Plans Closure Due to Crime

For the residents and business owners of District 5, public safety is a top concern. Linh Nguyen, who has operated the Little Amazon Fish & Pet shop on Aurora Avenue for more than 30 years, serves as a poignant example of the neighborhood’s exhaustion. Nguyen recently told KOMO News that her family intends to close their business by the end of the year, citing a recurring cycle of break-ins and safety concerns that have made continued operation untenable.

The economic and human toll of this crime wave has forced a sharp divide in how the two candidates propose to stabilize the district. Jenks has centered her platform on an expansion of behavioral health support, specifically advocating for a broader deployment of the city’s CARE team. Her argument is rooted in operational efficiency: by shifting lower-priority calls to specialized behavioral health responders, Jenks contends that the city can reduce the current 160-minute average response time for priority-three calls in North Seattle, thereby allowing police to focus on higher-urgency matters.

“If you can shift some of that to the care team, which they are trained as behavioral health specialists to respond to a lot of them, we can get a faster response on the priority one and two calls,” Jenks stated in an interview with KOMO News.

Diverging Strategies for Neighborhood Policing

While both candidates acknowledge the need for increased police presence, they part ways on the tactical execution of that goal. Kang is pushing for a more traditional law enforcement framework. This includes a dedicated push for a second police precinct within the district, increased overall staffing, and the use of Stay Out of Area of Prostitution (SOAP) orders to address illegal activity along Aurora Avenue. Jenks, conversely, has explicitly rejected the use of SOAP orders, favoring instead an approach that pairs increased detective work and undercover work with community-based service organizations aimed at helping those being trafficked.

For the residents who have seen their neighborhoods struggle, the question is which strategy can actually deliver a measurable decline in crime. Nguyen, reflecting the frustration of many local merchants, noted that while she would like to see the city expand its CCTV camera system to better identify criminal actors, she feels that current efforts have been insufficient. “They talk, but I don’t see any action yet,” Nguyen told KOMO News.

A Process Still in Motion

Julie Kang, a banker and educator of 32 years, has maintained a focus on gratitude as the final votes are tallied. In a public statement, Kang emphasized the scale of the campaign her team conducted, noting that they attempted to connect with 37,500 neighbors at their doors. She maintained that the focus of her campaign remained on listening to community concerns and building the relationships she believes are necessary to govern effectively.

The final tally will determine who takes the seat later this month. For now, the district remains in a state of transition. Whether the city chooses the path of expanded behavioral health intervention or the path of intensified traditional policing, the incoming council member will face immediate pressure to prove that the “hard season” described by local business owners like Nguyen is nearing its end.

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