The first Burien City Council meeting of 2026 marked a significant turning point for the city, characterized by shifting leadership and daunting fiscal realities.
The session opened with the swearing-in of newly-elected Councilmembers Sam Méndez and Rocco DeVito, followed immediately by a reorganization of the dais that saw Sarah Moore and Hugo Garcia appointed as Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively.
However, the optimism of a new term was tempered by a sobering financial forecast. Faced with a looming deficit driven by rising costs and dwindling revenue, the council will need to weigh difficult choices, ranging from potential service cuts to new taxes.
New Mayor & Deputy Mayor
This was the first council meeting for newly-elected Councilmembers Méndez and DeVito. Méndez and DeVito are replacing former Councilmembers Jimmy Matta and Stephanie Mora, who served terms as mayor and deputy mayor, respectively.
The first act of this new council was to choose a new mayor and deputy mayor. For the mayoral selection process, Councilmember Hugo Garcia nominated Councilmember Sarah Moore, and Councilmember Linda Akey nominated Councilmember Kevin Schilling. Moore won with the votes of Garcia, Méndez, DeVito, and herself. Akey and Andrade voted for Schilling, while Schilling himself abstained. After the vote, Mayor Moore took her place in the mayoral seat, and the meeting continued with the selection of her deputy.
Councilmember Akey nominated Councilmember Alex Andrade, sharing that she thought Andrade serving as deputy mayor would help bring balance to the new council. Councilmember Sam Méndez nominated Councilmember Hugo Garcia, who then won the position, becoming Deputy Mayor Garcia in a 4–3 vote, with Akey, Andrade and Schilling supporting Andrade.
Public Concerns Over New Councilmember
Two Public Commenters expressed concerns over what was said by a newly-elected councilmember during a recent “hot mic” incident at a Dec. 10, 2025 Planning Commission meeting. One speaker said that because of his clear bias, this councilmember should recuse himself from all future votes regarding shoreline zoning. Another said that his public apology was disingenuous and transparently insincere, and called for a formal censure. They expressed that along the shoreline, ecology takes precedence and that they are not a bunch of “NIMBYs” for wanting to limit development there.
After all commenters who had signed up had spoken, Deputy Mayor Garcia suggested that Mayor Moore allow one final commenter, who began speaking at the mic, though he had not signed up in advance. After Councilmember Akey raised a point of order, Mayor Moore cut him off, upholding rules that speakers need to sign up prior to the meeting. Another commenter had mentioned earlier that the council should reconsider the rules around Public Comments, as they limit participation in local government.
Discussion Of Proclamations
Councilmembers all seemed to concur that the city would do well to consider issuing fewer official proclamations. It was agreed that proclamations could have more impact if not done routinely. Councilmember Akey mentioned that in other organizations, proclamations are only issued at the specific request of community organizations. Councilmember Schilling added that proclamations also made sense when there is a related community event to go along with it. It was agreed by all that this would be discussed in greater detail at the upcoming council retreat.
Grim Financial Forecast
With reduced state and federal grants, and a cancellation of the co-response grant from King County, plus a decrease in sales tax revenue, the city is facing a big dip in expected revenue. In addition, expenses routinely go up by at least 3% per year. Certain contracts, like insurance and the police, increase at a much steeper rate. This results in negative annual cash flow, which is hardly sustainable. See the link above for more information.
The city will look at more ways to reduce expenditures. This will likely mean cutting services, and cutting staff positions. In addition, they will explore methods to raise revenue. They may consider attempting a future levy in order to remain fiscally operational.
The recent public safety levy failed by a small margin. The cost for police services is nearly 42% of the city’s overall budget. If police services are going to be cut, the city needs to give them 18 months notice. The council will discuss implementing a new public safety sales tax. It is estimated that this could bring in $2.5 million in new revenue, which would be limited to public safety expenses.
Transportation Improvement Board Grants
Not all the financial news was grim, however. The city was awarded $2.5 million for transportation improvements. Three projects will be funded, including improving non-motorized travel connections between the Burien Transit Center and the Lake to Sound Trail. This includes things like bike lanes, sidewalks, and ADA curb ramps along the 4.4 mile route.
The second project will increase safety and accessibility between Occidental and SR 509, along 128th St. This includes lighting, signage, and ADA improvements. The final project involves installing medians and ADA ramps in several locations throughout the city, in order to improve pedestrian safety. See the link above for details.
Special Meeting Scheduled
A special council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 26 from 2 – 4:30 p.m. The aim of this meeting is to introduce all city departments to the new councilmembers.
Congratulations to Burien's new Deputy Mayor and Mayor! The Burien City Council voted on January 12 to elect Sarah Moore to serve as mayor for a two-year term and Hugo Garcia for a one-year term as deputy mayor. Read more: https://t.co/dzV0pi7fQa pic.twitter.com/wB9YePSLvr
— City of Burien, WA (@Burien) January 15, 2026
Video
Below is the full, raw video of this meeting:
After watching Sarah and Hugo’s interactions with fellow Council members and the public over the years I don’t support this promotion. Sarah has consistently shown a lack of understanding and often has to have things repeated or explained, Hugo is overly emotional and has pigeon holed himself focusing on ICE insteadof business. These people are supposed to represent Burien and things they say or do is embarrassing and as elected officials they fail.
I agree. Leadership roles require preparation, independent judgment, and the ability to respond clearly in real time. What the public has consistently seen from Moore is hesitation, deferral, or answers that only emerge after she aligns with a small group of her vocal activist peers. That raises legitimate concerns about her readiness for a leadership role that requires decisiveness and clarity.
As for Garcia, narrowing his focus almost exclusively to a single issue, regardless of its importance, comes at the expense of the broader needs of the city. Being singularly focused is not the same as governing. It is not a substitute for leading a complex city, especially at a time when Burien is facing serious financial warning signs.
I hope they both take this moment to listen and learn. But the public should also be clear-eyed. Adopting the language or posture of moderate does not equal moderate governance, and it should not be confused with the breadth of leadership Burien needs right now.
I 100% agree, quite concerned with this… I feel like our voices are not heard at all with this group and haven’t been.
Your own narrow focus on “the homeless industrial complex” has blinded you to the fact that many Burienites are terrified of the threat that ICE poses. I don’t understand why you’re not just as terrified, these masked thugs have publicly been given carte blanche to kill US citizens and face zero repercussions.
We need our local representatives to stand up to the fascist actions being taken by our federal administration. What’s good for all Americans is also good for Burien. Widen your own focus a little to the real threats out there, and the real rights that are being stripped away from you.
You have used all the key words and canned responses to make your position known but I made no mention of the (HIC) in my comment, yet you brought it up as some form of reference. I have other concerns and (ICE) is one of them., where you and I disagree is the enforcement of laws regarding immigration, make no mistake there is a legal and official way to seek and gain legal status, and then there’s the illegal way. It’s unfortunate that innocent, and actual US citizens are caught up in both past and current actions, but others by being illegal have only themselves to fault. Had the USA not allowed or condoned unchecked illegal immigration the mess the nation has found itself in wouldn’t have driven such a harsh crackdown. There is a right and legal way to gain citizenship, if you don’t believe someone needs to follow those laws then what other laws are you willing to overlook and ignore?
I brought up your obsession with the HIC because you bring it up all the time, and hyperfocus on it. So, if CM Garcia is hyperfocused on ICE, I would hope you might have a little empathy about why we get focused on certain things that we feel threatened by. And, I think that ICE is a far greater threat, so I feel CM Garcia has YOUR best interests in mind, in that regard.
Your argument fails to acknowledge that ICE has targeted, and continues to target, people trying to immigrate the “right” way. They have killed, and have been encouraged to kill, US Citizens, if US Citizens object to their treatment of immigrants. They have “mistakenly” targeted US Citizens, had US Citizens incarcerated, and have been told by our federal government that they can do no wrong, even if innocent lives are lost.
Again, Louis G., for the nth time, I am arguing for your rights here, too. And CM Garcia is doing the same, even if you don’t agree with all his positions. We don’t have to agree on everything, but please, I’m begging you, acknowledge the actual threat to your rights and freedoms, and stop trying to tear down people whom you disagree with, that are fighting for YOU.
Tom T. I have 100% disagreed with pretty much everything you’ve said on the B-town blog. You are not protecting “our” rights nor is CM Garcia – that’s called an opinion… not a fact, which one has the right to disagree and plead their own opinion. Agree to disagree. (Hence political parties and their differences of opinions….. and why they exist)
It’s rather rich of you to lecture me about rights, I have protected the the rights of this nation by serving in the military and then I retired from a full career as a public servant seeing the best and worst of society. The rights that exist are because they were fought for, and are for the benefit of the nation’s legal citizens, if you’re afraid of losing them don’t get in the way of them being enforced.
Also, for what it’s worth, you tried to “gotcha” me with an irrelevant comment about which neighborhood you *thought* I lived in. So, miss me with this “brought it up as some form of reference” nonsense.
Honestly I never comment but Tom T……… SMH
1. You don’t get to diagnose “obsession” or “hyperfocus” simply because someone repeatedly raises an issue you don’t like. That’s not insight, it’s a rhetorical dodge meant to delegitimize criticism instead of addressing it…
2. Second, asserting that ICE is “the actual threat” doesn’t magically make it so. You’re stacking extreme claims, many of them disputed or context-free and presenting them as settled fact, then demanding agreement as a moral litmus test. That’s not persuasion, that’s called coercion. Saying “I’m fighting for your rights” while dismissing someone’s concerns is also textbook condescension.
3. Invoking CM Garcia as someone who has my “best interests in mind” is presumptuous at best. You don’t get to decide who represents someone else’s interests, especially when that person has explicitly said they disagree. Claiming to act for someone while ignoring what they’re actually saying is called arrogance.
4. Lastly, “I’m begging you” is not an argument. If you want credibility, engage with the substance of the criticism instead of framing disagreement as ignorance, denial, or self-harm. People are allowed to criticize public officials and still care about civil liberties.
You don’t need unanimity to fight for rights. You do, however, need to stop tearing down dissent by pretending it’s somehow against its own interests..
Yeah and theres murders and rapists walking around daily and also commiting terrible acts of violence … but I dont see the out cry from the public??? Where’s the people trying to stop that and the protests for that?? Specially the repeat criminals being put back onto our streets…
Total hypocrisy by the indoctrinated from watching too much legacy news and parroting what they seem to think as important headlines due to repetition on screens….. this country SMH
Arrest the criminals and deport any illegals. Law & order is a must for human beings to live in a functional society.
Make me understand how is it that the people of the City of Burien have no choice/vote on the “NEW” Mayor and Deputy Mayor?
According to https://www.burienwa.gov/city_hall/about_burien/how_is_burien_governed:
“Burien is governed under a council-manager form of government.
“The council-manager form consists of an elected city council which is responsible for policy making, and a professional city manager, appointed by the council, who is responsible for administration. The city manager provides policy advice, directs the daily operations of city government, handles personnel functions (including the power to appoint and remove employees), and is responsible for preparing the city budget.
“Under the council-manager statutes, the city council is prohibited from interfering with the manager’s administration. The city manager, however, is directly accountable to and can be removed by a majority vote of the council at any time.
“The mayor in council-manager cities is generally selected by the city council. The person selected must also be a councilmember. In optional municipal code cities or first class cities, the mayor may be directly elected by the people. The mayor presides at council meetings and is recognized as the head of the city for ceremonial purposes, but has no regular administrative duties.”