And then there were 8. Seattle City Council announces finalists for vacant seat

On Thursday, the city released a list of 72 applicants who stepped forward to fill the vacant seat on the dais. On Friday, that list got whittled down to just eight.

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In a special meeting, council members narrowed in on the final eight, which includes names that might be familiar to Seattleites, such as Seattle School Board member Vivian Song; Mark Solomon, who is crime prevention coordinator with the Seattle Police Department and who previously ran for City Council; or Tanya Woo, who recently lost the Council election to incumbent Tammy Morales by 1.5% (403 votes).

The eight candidates:

• Juan J. Cotto
• Neha Nariya
• Mark Solomon
• Vivian Song
• Steven K. Strand
• Mari Sugiyama
• Linh Thai
• Tanya Woo

Read the applications for the council seat here.

The vacant spot on the Seattle City Council was created when Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda stepped down to move over to the King County Council. The position is temporary and represents Position 8, which is an at-large seat.

Next up, a to-be-scheduled forum will be hosted by the Seattle City Club for the community to meet the applicants. On Monday, Jan. 22, the Council will hold a special meeting and the eight applicants will be able to address Council members.

The Council is slated to make its appointment Jan. 23.

The appointee will fill in until the November election. They have the opportunity to run to keep the seat.