Heidi Wills

1999 election

In May 1999, Seattle city councilmember Tina Podlodowski announced she would not seek reelection for Position 7.^[3] Wills ran for the open seat against five other candidates. In the September primary election, she came in second with 38% of the vote, with former councilmember Charlie Chong coming in first with 40%.^[4] Wills outraised Chung and all other candidates that cycle.^[5] In the general election, Wills defeated Chung, 55% to 45%.^[6]

Tenure

While in office, Wills was chair of the Energy and Environmental Policy Committee and vice-chair for the Housing, Human Services, Education, and Civil Rights Committee and the Transportation Committee.^[1]

While chair of the Energy Committee, Wills oversaw increases to Seattle City Light utility bills for top energy users^[7] to discourage high energy usage.^[8] Mayor Greg Nickels was against the "third tier" increases, stating the increases would effect low-income individuals, even though the majority of "third tier users" were not low income.^[9] Wills would successfully pass the rate increases for high energy users,^[8] with exemptions for low-income users.^[7] She later contacted the Seattle Ethics and Elections director over potential ethics violations regarding a letter Nickels sent to Seattle City Light customers disparaging the rate "third tier."^[8]

Wills' Energy committee also ushered a bill that would keep a surcharge, averaging $23 a month, for an extra two years to pay down City Light debt.^[10] Wills stated, "We're in unprecedented circumstances".^[10]

Wills voted to repeal the teen dance ordinance and promised to keep the poster ban repeal.^[9] Wills also sponsored legislation to switch green traffic lights to LED bulbs, saving the city millions in money and energy.^[11]

Strippergate

Former Washington state governor Albert Rosellini assisted the Colacurcios family by lobbying six members of the Seattle City Council and raising funds for three of the politicians.^[12] In June 2003, James Bush, a reporter for the North Seattle Sun, reported city council members Judy Nicastro, Jim Compton and Heidi Wills received a combined $36,000 worth of campaign donations from the Colacurcio family and their business associates.^[13] On June 16, 2003, in a 5–4 vote, the council approved the parking zoning changes allowing them to use their existing land for parking requested by the Colacurcios.^[13] Nicastro, Compton, and Wills all voted in favor on the expansion.^[13]

All councilmember returned the money, and Wills paid a $1,500 fine to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission.^[14]

2003 election

Wills ran for reelection against three challengers. In the primary election, Wills placed first with 44% of the vote, and David Della, a director at United Way of King County, came in second with 34%.^[15] Della blamed Willis for the rate increases by releasing flyers and billboards of people yelling at their utility bills.^[16] Wills's campaign outraised Della's, fundraising over $250,000 and breaking the record $198,000 she raised in the 1999 election.^[17] Della defeated Willis in the general election, 65,324 votes (54%) to 55,620 (46%).^[18]

2019 election

In April 2019, councilmember Mike O'Brien announced that he would not seek reelection for District 6, the fourth council member that cycle to decline running.^[19] Wills announced she would run for the open seat focusing her campaign on bring city hall "back to basics".^[20] Thirteen candidates ran in the primary, the most of any race that year. Wills came in second, with 21%, with Dan Strauss, former legislative aid to Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, coming in first with 34%.^[21]

Wills faced a finance complaint over the amount of in-kind donations an event space gave to Wills during an October fundraiser.^[22]

The election gained national attention after Amazon spent nearly $1.5 million on campaign contributions to Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee, which supported Wills.^[23]

In the general election, Willis lost to Straus, 44% to 56%.^[24]