Tariq Yusuf

Tariq Yusuf ran in a special election to the Seattle City Council to represent Position 8 At-Large in Washington. He lost in the special primary on August 6, 2024.

Yusuf completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Tariq Yusuf was born in Seattle, Washington. He graduated from Edmonds Heights K-12. He earned an associate degree from Edmonds Community College in 2011, a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington, Allen School of Computer Science in 2014, and a graduate degree from the University of Washington School of Law in 2023. His career experience includes working as a software consultant. He has been affiliated with the International Association of Privacy Professionals, UW Alumni Association, and 43rd LD Democrats.^[1]

Elections

2024

General election

Special general election for Seattle City Council Position 8 At-large

Alexis Mercedes Rinck defeated incumbent Tanya Woo in the special general election for Seattle City Council Position 8 At-large on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alexis Mercedes Rinck (Nonpartisan)	58.2	215,642
	Submit photo	Tanya Woo (Nonpartisan)	41.4	153,146
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	1,491

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 370,279
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for Seattle City Council Position 8 At-large

Alexis Mercedes Rinck and incumbent Tanya Woo defeated Saunatina Sanchez, Tariq Yusuf, and Saul Patu in the special primary for Seattle City Council Position 8 At-large on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alexis Mercedes Rinck (Nonpartisan)	50.2	99,394
✔	Submit photo	Tanya Woo (Nonpartisan)	38.4	76,008
		Saunatina Sanchez (Nonpartisan)	4.4	8,621
		Tariq Yusuf (Nonpartisan)	3.8	7,521
	Submit photo	Saul Patu (Nonpartisan)	3.0	5,958
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	554

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 198,056
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Yusuf in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Tariq Yusuf completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Yusuf's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in New Holly, a Seattle Housing Authority project. My family and I relied on social programs like public health clinics and food stamps to survive. Running start and educational grants gave me the chance to go to college and start a successful career. My story is the embodiment of the Seattle promise; with a helping hand, we can uplift everyone and succeed together.

I’ve dedicated my career to protecting our privacy and keeping Big Tech accountable to the social and community impacts that their inventions have. In my personal life, I’ve volunteered with local refugee communities and worked to amplify their political voice and power. My professional and personal track record outline my dedication to speaking truth to power and unapologetically addressing the challenges that face us.

I’m not running for office for power or authority; I’m running because I’m tired of seeing our city force out people who lack the money or power to stay here. I’m tired of seeing my family and community struggle more and more each year. Seattle gave me the chance to succeed and now I want to give back. I want to leave this city better than I found it. I hope you will join me in building a Seattle where everyone has the chance to not just survive---but also succeed.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

The social safety net is an essential component to ensuring our society works. Thousands of people rely on government programs every day whether they realize it or not. It exists to provide a base level of care to those in our city that are struggling. From housing to public health, we need to ensure the programs are available, open, and easy to access for anyone that needs them.
Compassion and empathy are essential parts of good governance, I'm running to bring those back to city council. Our city council needs to represent the interests of the communities that rely on them. Humanity has been sorely absent from our city government for a long time and it's vital that we bring that back.
Openness and transparency are non-negotiable. Most people's experience with government often originates at the local or municipal level. Elected officials are the first line of people's voices from the community to government. As a full-time councilperson, my job will be centered and focused on getting answers and being as open as possible on the principles by which I plan to run our city.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Social services, transit, transparency and accountability, audit and oversight.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

Municipal government is the front-line of most services people engage with. This means that when state and federal programs allocate money for local impact, cities are responsible for ensuring that those are allocated with fairness and transparency. Being one of the biggest cities in the United States, we have a larger set of problems than the average city with housing affordability, growth planning, and future development. There are often visions of how society can work together in a more impactful and constructive way, but often we miss how much of that comes from local government.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

It's hard for me to pick one particular person, I tend to read a lot about many different people because they all had such different impacts on my life. I was a PBS kid growing up and I remember the lessons of empathy from figures like LeVar Burton, Mister Rogers, and the Kratt brothers. It taught me compassion and kindness towards everything and everyone.

As I became more comfortable with activism and speaking out, I drew a lot of inspiration from the Baltimore protests of 2015. It opened me to a world of learning about the impacts of systemic racism and the long tail of impacts it has on black communities. As a mixed-race Muslim, I resonated with some of these experiences and it helped me understand that all our struggles are interconnected.

I then read a lot about anti-colonial movements in Indonesia, West Africa, the Indian Subcontinent and many others. The same powers that were suppressing racial equity also suppressed free association and identity in other parts of the world. It was then I became truly appreciative of the people in my life. For us to truly create a city, state, nation, or world for everyone, we need to ensure that we are speaking truth to power even if we are part of the problem.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Empathy and openness; we are taught that good, healthy people are considerate of others and open with their time and energy. We're fortunate to have a city council that is made up of full-time elected officials. It is essential that we ensure their governance is based on principles of understanding and compassion.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Elected officials are given a trust by the people. All the responsibilities that go with running in office center around preserving community trust. That trust includes ensuring that decisions are made that put people first, balancing budgets, and crafting a vision for the future that builds for everybody.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want people to remember that compassion and care are what make our communities strong. We never lose anything from helping others. If I can leave this world knowing that I had a positive impact on even a single person, I consider that a victory.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

9/11. I was in first grade when the twin towers were struck. My dad was set to return home from visiting family in Indonesia. We were so scared that my parents pulled us out of school for what felt like months. We heard so many stories of people in our communities that were threatened or attacked as Islamophobia and Xenophobia continued to rise in the coming decade.

It led a decade of silence for people like me who were afraid to speak up and have their voices be heard for fear of violence or repression by individuals or the government. We had community members detained without charges, informants planted within our communities, overbroad policing and "extremism" training applied to our people. It took a long time for me to build the courage to speak up for what's important. When I was finally able to do so, it enabled me to fiercely advocate not because I was not afraid, but in spite of that fear.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was a tutor at Edmonds Community College. I had that position for two years while I was saving money for university. Having some sort of service job as my first job gave me an appreciation for how some jobs are important even if they don't pay as much as others. Service work is real work and we need to stop thinking that it's just a stepping stone to another position.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Pedro - Jaxomy, Agatino Romero, Raffaella Carrà

And yes, before you look it up, it is that song with the racoon on TikTok. It's been living in my head rent free for the past month.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I've struggled my whole life with chronic depression and was recently diagnosed with adult ADHD. On one hand, it has been freeing to understand why my brain works differently than most others; on the other hand, it's hard to move through the world with a different set of limiting factors that are not as visible to other people. It's taught me how to advocate and care for myself in a way that is respectful to the being I am and helpful to others.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

While there is always benefit in having previous experience, I don't think it's necessary to be elected to office. Elected officials are voted into office because the public believes that they have the principles that they wish to see their city run. Legislative aides and support staff play a critical role in a bridging the gap of policy experience with the principles of those elected into office.

Whomever holds public office must hold that position with integrity and principle. Without that, any amount of government or political experience doesn't matter if we don't put our communities first.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Understanding how challenges people have link to systemic solutions instead of just symptoms. Oftentimes, those in office solve problems with half-measures that are ill-informed about the larger systemic issues. With an office as complex as Seattle City Council, it is important to be able to approach a problem in a flexible way to understand what a comprehensive, long-lasting solution looks like.

Tell us your favorite joke.

An old couple living in the furthest north reaches of the then Soviet Union were bundling up in their house during a freezing storm. The man goes up to the window and says, "It looks like freezing rain."

"Do you mean sleet?" his wife chimes in. "No, it's freezing rain." he replies.

She says, "No, I'm pretty sure that's sleet" as she brings him a hot drink.

He takes a long sip and looks at her and says, "Rudolph, the Red, knows rain dear."

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

American Muslim Advancement Council

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

These are part and parcel of the job. As the primary voice that people turn to when they have issues with government, we need to ensure we're doing right by their decisions. That goes beyond when disaster strikes or harm hits our communities. We must ensure that we regularly check-in with communities (particularly at the local level) and be transparent about the principles by which we run our jurisdiction and how we hold ourselves and our offices accountable.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

External links

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Candidate

Seattle City Council Position 8 At-large

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Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 9, 2024

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 9, 2024

[1]

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Tariq Yusuf

Contents

Biography

Elections

2024

General election

Special general election for Seattle City Council Position 8 At-large

Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for Seattle City Council Position 8 At-large

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

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2024 Election analysis

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