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Committee recommends confirmation of Liliana Ayala as Seattle OSE director
Summary
The Land Use and Sustainability Committee voted 4–0 to recommend Liliana Ayala’s appointment as director of the Office of Sustainability and Environment; the recommendation will be sent to the full City Council on May 5.
The Seattle City Council Land Use and Sustainability Committee on April 29 voted to recommend confirming Liliana Ayala as director of the Office of Sustainability and Environment.
Chair Eddie Lynn moved the committee recommendation to confirm Appointment 03491 and Council member Foster seconded. The clerk recorded four yes votes (Foster, Hollingsworth, Rink and Lynn) and no opposition, and Chair Lynn said the committee’s recommendation will go to the May 5 City Council meeting.
The vote followed more than a dozen public commenters — including labor representatives, neighborhood advocates and housing providers — who urged support. Sean Watts of Watts Consulting told the committee he was "here to proclaim my enthusiastic support for Liliana Ayala," and several service‑provider representatives highlighted her experience with environmental justice and community engagement.
Ayala, who identified herself as the acting director of the Office of Sustainability and Environment, described the office’s convening role and its use of partnerships, grants and technical assistance to advance climate and environmental justice goals. She told council members the office “wields soft power” to bring departments and community partners together and cited built‑in flexibility and support for policies such as the building emissions performance standard.
Council members asked about the office’s role in implementing building emissions rules, tracking progress and partnering with other departments on transportation and food programs. Ayala and OSE staff said the city will publish a new greenhouse‑gas inventory this year, is building a cross‑departmental tracking framework, and anticipates releasing a public draft of the climate action plan for comment this fall.
The committee’s favorable recommendation does not by itself appoint Ayala to the director role; it forwards the nomination to the full City Council for final action on May 5.
What’s next: The committee’s recommendation will be placed on the May 5 City Council agenda for final confirmation action.
