The Metropolitan King

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

, the legislative body of

King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the ...

, 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 King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. It is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in t ...

, better known as Metro, which was a federated county-city structure responsible for

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

and

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

ation.

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 Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

; that being said, all current council members have made their party affiliations a matter of public record. *District 1: Rod Dembowski (D) took office 2013 *District 2: Girmay Zahilay (D) took office 2020 *District 3: Sarah Perry (D) took office 2022 *District 4: Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D) took office 2016 *District 5: Dave Upthegrove (D) took office 2014 *District 6: Claudia Balducci (D) took office 2016 *District 7: Pete von Reichbauer (R) took office 1994 *District 8: Joe McDermott (D) took office 2010 *District 9: Reagan Dunn (R) took office 2005 Claudia Balducci was elected as the Council Chair in the first meeting of 2020 and will serve the one-year term alongside Vice Chairs Reagan Dunn and Joe McDermott.

Meetings

The County Council meets weekly at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays. Meetings are held in the County Council chambers, Room 1001, on the tenth floor of the

King County Courthouse The King County Courthouse is the administrative building housing the judicial branch of King County, Washington's government. It is located in downtown Seattle, just north of Pioneer Square. The 1916 structure houses the King County Prosecuting ...

located at 516 Third Avenue between James and Jefferson in downtown

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

Structure

Nine Councilmembers are elected by district to four-year terms. 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 Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

. An independent candidate had to receive at least 20 percent of the vote in the

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

to qualify for the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

ballot. This changed upon the passage of Charter Amendment 8 by voters in 2008, which made all elections for county offices

. 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 The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-la ...

and representatives from

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

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.

Past Councilmembers

Notes

References

External links

King County Council
{{King County Council *

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

King County, Washington County government in Washington (state)