On Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, Takele Gobena resigned from his position as SeaTac City Councilmember.

Councilmember Gobena was elected in 2019 and served for four years in Position No. 5.

He was not seeking reelection, and Position 5 is on the November ballot as part of the regular election cycle, pitting James Lovell against Brian Millican.

During his tenure, Gobena served as Administration & Finance Committee Chair and as a member of the Transportation & Public Works Committee, Sidewalk Advisory Committee and Public Safety & Justice (PS&J) Committee.

In an email resignation to the City Manager (see below), Gobena stated:

”It’s been an honor to serve the people of SeaTac for the last four years. We have made tremendous changes to improve our City and lives of citizens of SeaTac in so many ways and I am so proud of that.”

Gobena is a father of three daughters. He graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Art in Politics, Philosophy, Economics, and a Minor in Business Administration.

Once King County Elections certifies the winner of the Position No. 5 race on Nov. 28, the newly elected councilmember will be sworn in to replace Gobena for the remainder of his term, which is until Dec. 31, 2023.

Here is Gobena’s full resignation letter, as sent out to fellow councilmembers and City Manager Carl Cole on Oct. 25:

From: Takele Gobena <[email protected]>
Date: October 25, 2023 at 2:31:22 PM PDT
To: Peter Kwon <[email protected]>, Jake Simpson <[email protected]>, Senayet Negusse <[email protected]>, Iris Guzman <[email protected]>, Mohamed Egal <[email protected]>, Erin Sitterley <[email protected]>
Cc: Carl Cole <[email protected]>
Subject: Effective Today

“Fellow council members,

“It’s been an honor to serve people of SeaTac  for the last 4 years.  We have made tremendous changes to improve our city and lives of citizens of SeaTac in so many ways and I am so proud of that.

“Effective today, I will be a regular citizen and will continue to serve the citizens in a different capacity than as a council member.

“This city will remain in heart forever.

“With gratitude,
Takele 
Takele Gobena

Councilmember, Position 5
City of SeaTac
Phone: 206-348-2247
Email: [email protected]

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?‘ – MLK