Whelp, there might be three rock-solid certainties in life: death, taxes, and Tanya Woo running for office.

Woo has filed to participate in the Democracy Voucher program as a candidate for Seattle’s District 2 race, along with previously announced candidates Eddie Lin and Adonis Duckworth. Though Woo has not officially announced her run for D2, she tells The Stranger that she's currently exploring the option.

"Over the past few months, we’ve seen some positive changes in Little Saigon, but there’s still more work to do. Among my projects, I’ve continued advocating for community and look forward to seeing my council budget items that will fund safety ambassadors, the mobile treatment van and We Deliver Care deployed," she says. "Many people have been dropping off their Democracy Vouchers to me, and I want to make sure I’m following the rules, so I signed the pledge." 

However, shortly after receiving that statement from Woo, The Stranger confirmed with a spokesperson from the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission that Woo is officially filed as a candidate for District 2 and, as of this afternoon, is now listed as an active campaign on their website.

Should she run again, it will mark Woo's third city council run in less than three years. To recap her brief political odyssey, Woo first ran against then-D2 incumbent Tammy Morales in 2023, eventually losing to Morales in a tight race. The conservative-leaning city council then appointed Woo to the citywide District 8 seat after Teresa Mosqueda vacated it to serve on the King County Council. Woo held the seat for nine months before running for re-election against Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who decisively throttled her in November, winning nearly 60 percent of the vote.

After Tammy Morales announced she’d be stepping down from her city council seat in January, there was speculation that Woo might either seek to be appointed to or run for the district seat again, though, she was noncommittal when speaking to KUOW in December. However, she did express concerns about the lack of Asian representation on the council, despite Asians making up the largest ethnic group in the city.

After watching the electorate vote against her twice, one of Woo’s opponents greeted her apparent run with a bit of a shoulder shrug. “While Tanya’s commitment to public service is laudable, voters have made it clear on multiple occasions that they want a leader with deeper connections to the people and values of our communities,” said D2 candidate Adonis Duckworth in a text to The Stranger. 

One former Woo supporter, speaking on the condition of anonymity, insisted that a third time would most definitely not be the charm for Woo should she choose to run again. 

“At this point, Tanya Woo isn’t running for office— she’s speed dating the electorate,” they said. 

This article has been updated to reflect Tanya Woo's comments on a potential third run for city council.