Claudia M. Balducci (born September 24, 1967) is an American politician from the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. She is the Chair of the King County Council, representing District 6. She previously served as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Bellevue, Washington.

Education

Balducci earned a Bachelor of Arts from

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from Columbia Law School.

Career

After graduating from law school, Balducci worked as a labor negotiator in

Lake Hills, Bellevue Lake Hills is a neighborhood in Bellevue, Washington. It lies to the south of the Crossroads and north of the Eastgate neighborhoods. In the early 1900s, Japanese immigrants farmed the part of Lake Hills between present day Larsen Lake and Phan ...

. She has also worked as a leader in the areas of affordable housing, education, and transportation. Balducci was first elected to the Bellevue

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

in 2004. She served as deputy mayor of Bellevue from 2008 to 2009, and while working as the Director of the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention for King County, was elected mayor of Bellevue in 2014. During her tenure as mayor, Bellevue was selected to participate in a Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative to use data to enhance the distribution of public services. While serving as mayor, Balducci announced her candidacy for King County Council. After endorsements that included U.S. Senators Patty Murray and

Maria Cantwell Maria Ellen Cantwell (; born October 13, 1958) is an American politician and former businesswoman serving as the junior United States senator from Washington since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Washington ...

, Governor

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...

and King County Executive Dow Constantine, Balducci defeated six-term

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Jane Hague in the 2015 election to the King County Council. After her re-election to a second term on the county council, she was unanimously elected to serve as Chair of the council in 2020. She is the first woman to serve as council chair since 2008. During her tenure as Chair of the King County Council, she has addressed the local deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, homelessness and housing issues, and law enforcement reform. In 2020, she proposed the director of the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) not be reappointed, which was successful after a council vote. In 2021, she sponsored a proposal to create a "first-in-the-nation" program to support undocumented immigrants with applications for status and citizenship that was approved by the King County Council. In 2021, in addition to her role as Chair of the King County Council, she was elected president of the Puget Sound Regional Council, after previously serving as vice-president, and she has served as Chair of the Sound Transit System Expansion Committee.

Honors and awards

* 2015 Warren G. Magnuson Elected Official of the Year Award, Washington State Democratic Party

Personal life

In 2009, Balducci and her husband adopted a child from

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balducci, Claudia Living people Washington (state) Democrats People from Bellevue, Washington King County Councillors Mayors of places in Washington (state) Providence College alumni Columbia Law School alumni 1967 births