Steinbrueck was a member of the Seattle City Council, first elected to the council on November 4, 1997, and immediately sworn in to fill an unfinished term. He was elected to full council terms in 1999 and 2003 and served through 2007. Steinbrueck served as council president during 2002 and 2003. He served as chair of the Housing and Human Services Committee in his first four years on the council, later the Parks, Education, and Libraries Committee, and in his final four years, he chaired the Urban Development and Planning Committee, with a portfolio of the city's long-term comprehensive planning, land use regulation, city design, and development standards. In late 2012, Steinbrueck announced his candidacy for Mayor of Seattle in the 2013 election he came in third in a crowded race, but failed to move past the primary election. On November 7, 2017, Steinbrueck was elected as Seattle Port Commissioner, Position 4.
Educational activities
Steinbrueck has been a visiting instructor at the University of Washington’s College of the Built Environments, and is a frequent speaker, commentator, and writer on the emerging framework for advancing environmental sustainability of cities and regions. In 2009, Steinbrueck was named a Loeb Fellow in the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, where he completed an academic year 2009-10 of independent research focused on the environment, climate change and urban sustainability in the United States. Steinbrueck is a member of the Harvard Center for the Environment's Working Group for Sustainable Cities. In 2007, after leaving his City Council position, Steinbrueck founded his own firm, Steinbrueck Urban Strategies, an urban planning, urban sustainability and urban design consulting practice.
Awards and recognition
The American Institute of Architects recognized Steinbrueck with its Young Architects Award in 1999 for his public and civic contributions affecting affordable housing, homelessness, civic design, historic preservation, and the environment. In 2006, the AIA elevated him to membership in its College of Fellows for his achievements in public office and contributions to the profession and society. In 2002 Steinbrueck received the Public Sector Achievement Award from the National Alliance to End Homelessness for his commitment to reducing and preventing homelessness through systematic change. In 2012, Steinbrueck was recipient of the U.S. Federal Executives Board's Outstanding Public service Award. Other local, state, and national organizations that have honored him including the Seattle Education Association, Seattle Human Services Coalition, Seattle magazine's Most Influential People, Seattle Fire Fighters Local 27, and the Washington State Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation.
