King County Council

The Metropolitan King County Council, the legislative body of King County, Washington, consists of nine members elected by district. The Council adopts laws, sets policy, and holds final approval over the budget. Its current name and structure is the result of a merger of King County and the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle, better known as Metro, which was a federated county-city structure responsible for water quality and public transportation.

Metropolitan King County Council
King County, Washington
Type
Type	County Council of the King County, WA
Leadership
Chairperson	Claudia Balducci (D)
Vice Chair	Dave Upthegrove (D)
Vice Chair	Girmay Zahilay (D)
Structure
Seats	9
Political groups	Officially nonpartisan Democratic Party (7) Republican Party (2)
Committees	List of Committees Budget and Fiscal Management Committee of the Whole Government Accountability and Oversight Employment and Administration Health, Housing and Human Services Law and Justice Transportation, Economy and Environment Regional Policy Regional Transit Regional Water Quality
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Last election	November 7, 2023
Meeting place
1200 King County Courthouse 516 Third Avenue Seattle, Washington 98104
Website
King County Council

Councilmembers

As a result of a County Charter amendment passed by voters in the November 2008 elections, all elective offices of King County are officially nonpartisan; that being said, all current council members have made their party affiliations a matter of public record.^{[1][better source needed]}

• District 1: Rod Dembowski (D),^[1] took office 2013
• District 2: Girmay Zahilay (D),^[1] took office 2020
• District 3: Sarah Perry (D),^[2] took office 2022
• District 4: Jorge Barón (D), took office on January 9, 2024^[3]
• District 5: Dave Upthegrove (D),^[1] took office 2014
• District 6: Claudia Balducci (D),^[1] took office 2016
• District 7: Pete von Reichbauer (R),^[4] took office 1994
• District 8: Teresa Mosqueda (D), took office on January 9, 2024^[3]
• District 9: Reagan Dunn (R),^[5][6] took office 2005

Meetings

The full county council meets weekly on Thursdays, except for the fifth Thursday in a month. Public comments are permitted at the fourth meeting of the month. Meetings are held in the County Council chambers, Room 1001, on the tenth floor of the King County Courthouse in Downtown Seattle.^[7]

Structure

The nine members of the council are elected by their district to four-year terms in nonpartisan contests. Councilmembers in even numbered districts are up for election in 2023, while Councilmembers in odd districts are up for election in 2025.^[8] Prior to 2009, councilmembers were elected on a partisan basis, and had to declare their political party unless they filed as an Independent. An independent candidate had to receive at least 20 percent of the vote in the primary election to qualify for the general election ballot.^{[citation needed]} This changed upon the passage of Charter Amendment 8 by voters in 2008, which made all elections for county offices nonpartisan.^[9]

The Council uses its committee structure to consider the legislation before it. Ordinances and motions (policy statements) are assigned to a King County Council committee for consideration, and then are recommended to the full Council for action. Each year, the Council reorganizes and elects a Chair and Vice Chair. In addition, the Council decides yearly on its committee structure and makeup. Currently there are nine standing policy committees and three regional committees. Members of the Seattle City Council and representatives from suburban cities and local sewer districts are also members of the regional committees. In addition, all nine members of the Council meet as a Committee of the Whole to discuss broad-reaching legislation and issues.

The King County Executive is not a member of the Council, and is a separately elected official. The Executive submits legislation to the Council for consideration. Each year in October, the Executive submits a proposed budget to the County Council for the operation of County government for the coming year. The Executive has veto power over ordinances passed by the Council.

Redistricting

In the 2004 general election voters approved a charter amendment to reduce the size of the council from thirteen to nine, which went into effect January 1, 2006. With four fewer districts, the number of constituents per district rose from 138,000 residents to about 193,000.^[10]

Past councilmembers

As of 2024^[11]

District	Councilmember	Political party[a]	Term start	Term end
1	Tracy Owen	Republican	1969	1981
2	Bob Dunn	Republican	1969	1979
3	Bill Reams	Republican	1969	1989
4	Bernice Stern	Democratic	1969	1980
5	John O'Brien	Republican	1969	1973
6	Tom Forsythe	Republican	1969	1975
7	Ed Munro	Democratic	1969	1973
8	Ed Heavey	Democratic	1969	1975
9	Dave Mooney	Democratic	1969	1976
5	Ruby Chow	Democratic	1974	1985
7	Paul Barden	Republican	1974	1993
6	Mike Lowry	Democratic	1976	1979
8	Bob Greive	Democratic	1976	1987
9	Bob Gaines	Democratic	1977	1977
6	Pat Thorpe	Democratic	1979	1979
2	Scott Blair	Republican	1980	1983
4	Lois North	Republican	1980	1992
6	Bruce Laing	Republican	1980	1996
1	Audrey Gruger	Democratic	1982	1993
2	Cynthia Sullivan	Democratic	1984	2003
5	Ron Sims	Democratic	1986	1997
8	Greg Nickels	Democratic	1988	2001
3	Brian Derdowski	Republican	1990	1999
9	Kent Pullen	Republican	1990	2003
4	Larry Phillips	Democratic	1992	2015
1	Maggie Fimia	Democratic	1994	2001
3	Louise Miller	Republican	1994	2001
10	Larry Gossett	Democratic	1994	2019
11	Jane Hague	Republican	1994	2015
13	Chris Vance	Republican	1994	2001
6	Rob McKenna	Republican	1996	2005
5	Dwight Pelz	Democratic	1997	2005
12	David Irons	Republican	2000	2005
13	Les Thomas	Republican	2001	2001
1	Carolyn Edmonds	Democratic	2002	2005
3	Kathy Lambert	Republican	2002	2021
13	Julia Patterson	Democratic	2002	2013
8	Dow Constantine	Democratic	2002	2009
9	Steve Hammond	Republican	2003	2005
2	Bob Ferguson	Democratic	2004	2013
8	Jan Drago	Democratic	2010	2010
8	Joe McDermott	Democratic	2011	2024
4	Jeanne Kohl-Welles	Democratic	2016	2024

Notes

1. Although county offices in King County were made officially nonpartisan in 2008, all councillors have made their party affiliations a matter of public record.^[1]

References

1. Board, SW Editorial (October 4, 2017). "Even in King County, the Republican Party Is One Big Gun Silencer". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
2. "Sarah Perry wins King County Council seat, ending Kathy Lambert's two-decade hold". November 4, 2021.
3. Gutman, David (January 9, 2024). "Barón, Mosqueda become King County Council's first Latino members". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
4. "Von Reichbauer favors nonpartisan county elections". Seattle Times.
5. "Councilmember Reagan Dunn – Biography". Retrieved March 5, 2021.
6. "Attorney general's race: Republican Dunn carves his own path". Seattle Times. October 11, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
7. "Full Council Meetings". King County Council. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
8. Gutman, David (October 10, 2022). "Voters to decide whether to move King County elections to even years". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
9. Ervin, Keith (November 5, 2008). "Initiative to make top posts nonpartisan leading handily". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
10. Downing, Jim (January 4, 2005). "Four plans surface to shrink County Council". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
11. Nickels, Greg (February 14, 2017). "King County Councilmembers, 1969-present". Historylink. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

External links

• King County Council