City council members' terms begin January 1 although public ceremonies are held on the following Monday.

[3] The council positions are officially non-partisan and the ballot gives no party designations.

The town charter established a five-member board of trustees to govern Seattle, which appointed citizens to other positions.

[11] The Home Rule Charter, adopted in 1890, reorganized the city council into a bicameral legislature, with a nine-member Board of Aldermen and a sixteen-member House of Delegates.

[14] The partial transition to districts started with 2013 elections for Positions 2, 4, 6, and 8 being truncated, two-year terms.

This made Seattle's city council among the highest paid in the United States, behind only Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

The Council President serves as the official head of the City's legislative department.