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.

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.
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.

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. 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. This changed upon the passage of Charter Amendment 8 by voters in 2008, which made all elections for county offices nonpartisan.
The Council uses its committee structure to consider the legislation before it. Ordinances and motions 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.

History

King County Commission

In December 1852, King County was formed from a piece of Oregon Territory's Pierce County. Washington Territory was established in March 1853 via a federal organic act, allowing Washington to define how counties would be governed. The territory decided that each county should elect three-member Boards of Commissioners, who passed county laws in the form of resolutions and discussed policy via proceedings.
In 1948 Washington State passed a law allowing for counties to change their governance structures. This allowed King County citizens to vote to change their commissioners board into the nine-member King County Council in 1968. Voters passed the King County Home Rule Charter in an attempt to reform their government in reaction to political scandals. They were the first county in Washington to adopt a home rule charter. The same vote also established the position of King County Executive. The final three commissioners were John Spellman, Ed Munro, and John O'Brien.

King County Council

80 people ran for the new King County Council, and three of the candidates were women. The first King County Council was sworn in on May 1, 1969. The new council passed laws via ordinances and set policy via motions.
Of the nine original councilmembers, Bernice Stern became the first woman on the King County Council. In 1974, Ruby Chow became the first Asian American and second woman elected to the Council. In 1986, Ron Sims became the first African American elected to the council.

Redistricting

The council was expanded from nine to thirteen members in 1993. 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.

Past councilmembers

DistrictCouncilmemberPolitical partyTerm startTerm end
1Tracy OwenRepublican19691981
2Bob DunnRepublican19691979
3Bill ReamsRepublican19691989
4Bernice SternDemocratic19691980
5John O'BrienRepublican19691973
6Tom ForsytheRepublican19691975
7Ed MunroDemocratic19691973
8Ed HeaveyDemocratic19691975
9Dave MooneyDemocratic19691976
5Ruby ChowDemocratic19741985
7Paul BardenRepublican19741993
6Mike LowryDemocratic19761979
8Bob GreiveDemocratic19761987
9Bob GainesDemocratic19771977
9Gary GrantDemocratic19781990
6Pat ThorpeDemocratic19791979
2Scott BlairRepublican19801983
4Lois NorthRepublican19801992
6Bruce LaingRepublican19801996
1Audrey GrugerDemocratic19821993
2Cynthia SullivanDemocratic19842003
5Ron SimsDemocratic19861997
8Greg NickelsDemocratic19882001
3Brian DerdowskiRepublican19901999
9Kent PullenRepublican19902003
4Larry PhillipsDemocratic19922015
1Maggi FimiaDemocratic19942001
3Louise MillerRepublican19942001
10Larry GossettDemocratic19942019
11Jane HagueRepublican19942015
13Chris VanceRepublican19942001
6Rob McKennaRepublican19962005
5Dwight PelzDemocratic19972005
12David IronsRepublican20002005
13Les ThomasRepublican20012001
1Carolyn EdmondsDemocratic20022005
3Kathy LambertRepublican20022021
13Julia PattersonDemocratic20022013
8Dow ConstantineDemocratic20022009
9Steve HammondRepublican20032005
2Bob FergusonDemocratic20042013
8Jan DragoDemocratic20102010
8Joe McDermottDemocratic20112024
4Jeanne Kohl-WellesDemocratic20162024
5Dave UpthegroveDemocratic20142025
2Girmay ZahilayDemocratic20202025
5De'Sean QuinnDemocratic20252025