James Dow Constantine (born November 15, 1961) is an American politician, lawyer, and urban planner in 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 o ...

who is serving his third term as

King County Executive The King County Executive is the highest elected official representing the government of King County, Washington. The post was established with the implementation of the Home Rule Charter for King County on November 5, 1968. Previously the powers o ...

, an office he has held since November 2009. He was in the state legislature and on the

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 i ...

, chairing the latter before his election as Executive. Constantine is a self-identified

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, though the executive's office is officially nonpartisan. He considered running for

Governor of Washington The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either a ...

in the 2020 election but decided against it when incumbent

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 ...

decided to seek a third term.

Early life and education

The son of John and Lois Constantine, he was born and raised in

West Seattle West Seattle is a conglomeration of neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the thirteen districts, Delridge and Southwest, and encompasses all of Seattle west of the Duwamish River. It was incorporated as an i ...

. In 1980, he graduated from

West Seattle High School West Seattle High School (known to students as "Westside") is a comprehensive public high school in Seattle's West Seattle neighborhood that serves grades nine through twelve as part of the Seattle Public Schools. History and facilities The s ...

, where he was student body president and an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

. He attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

(UW), receiving a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in political science and graduated as a member of the

Phi Kappa Sigma Phi Kappa Sigma () is an international all-male college secret society and social fraternities and sororities, fraternity. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are Skulls, Skullhous ...

fraternity. Constantine also served an internship with Washington's 34th Legislative District representative

Phil Talmadge Phil Talmadge (born c. 1952) is an American politician, attorney, and jurist, who is currently a partner at the Seattle, Washington law firm Talmadge/Fitzpatrick. Talmadge graduated from Yale University and received a J.D. from the University of ...

. While attending law school, Constantine worked as a disk jockey for the college radio station KCMU. In 1989, Constantine earned a J.D. degree from the

University of Washington School of Law The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington. The 2023 '' U.S. News & World Report'' law school rankings place Washingt ...

.Yuki Nakajima
"Constantine vs. Phillips"
''Northwest Asian Weekly'', Community News, News, Vol 28 No 31 , 7/25 – 7/31, July 23, 2009 Constantine later returned to obtain a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

from UW in 1992.

Career

Constantine opened a private law practice in 1990.Laura Onstot
"Dow, But Not Out"
''Seattle Weekly'', September 22, 2009 He served as chair of the 34th District Democrats organization and worked as an aide for King County Council member

Greg Nickels Gregory J. Nickels (born August 7, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 51st mayor of Seattle, Washington. He took office on January 1, 2002 and was reelected to a second term in 2005. In August 2009, Nickels finished third in the p ...

. Constantine was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1996.Keith Ervin
"Constantine trimmed budgets, yet some blame him for rise in spending"
, ''Seattle Times'', October 18, 2009 He won re-election in 1998. In 2001, he became a Washington State Senator. He left the state senate in 2002 after being appointed to the

to replace Nickels, who had been elected Seattle mayor. Constantine was a King County Council member from 2002 to 2009, representing the eighth district, which includes

, parts of Southeast Seattle, North Highline, Burien,

Vashon Island Vashon is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon–Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. The population was 10,6 ...

Maury Island Maury Island is a tied island in Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is connected to Vashon Island by an isthmus built by local homeowners in 1913. Before construction of the isthmus, the island was connected to Vashon only durin ...

, Normandy Park, and parts of both SeaTac and Tukwila.http://www.kingcounty.gov/Constantine.aspx In 2009, he served as council Chair.

King County Executive

Constantine announced his candidacy for

on February 16, 2009 to replace

Ron Sims Ronald Cordell Sims (born July 5, 1948) is the former Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, having served in the position from May 8, 2009 to July 2011. He is also the former King County Executive. Sims ...

who was appointed the United States

Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The deputy secretary of housing and urban development, in the United States government, is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The current deputy secretary is Adrianne Todman, who was swor ...

. 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 ...

, Constantine received 22% of the votes to advance to a run off against candidate Susan Hutchison, who received 37%. Described as "perhaps the most contentious race on the November

009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...

ballot" by Seattle

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

outlet KPLU, the campaign has been characterized by

negative campaigning Negative campaigning is the process of deliberately spreading negative information about someone or something to worsen the public relations, public image of the described. A colloquial, and somewhat more derogatory, term for the practice is mud ...

, including "mudslinging" ads paid for by the candidates' supporters. Constantine received press attention for stressing the conservative affiliations of Hutchison, pointing to her involvement with the Discovery Institute and contributions to Republican candidates such as President Bush in 2004 and Mike Huckabee in 2008.Keith Ervin
"Constantine runs as 'most progressive' of county-exec hopefuls"
, ''Seattle Times'', July 27, 2009 Hutchison downplayed any perceived partisanship and criticized Constantine as a political insider with close ties to labor unions. In October 2009, the

Washington State Public Disclosure Commission The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) is an agency of the Washington state government that regulates candidates, campaigns and lobbyists. It enforces the state's disclosure and campaign finances laws, and provides public access to ...

(PDC) investigated allegations that the Constantine's campaign illegally coordinated with an independent campaign on anti-Hutchison ads. The PDC concluded there was no coordination and dismissed the complaint. The PDC also investigated complaints regarding Hutchison's campaign on allegations that campaign contributions exceeded single election limits and that expenditures by the campaign were not properly documented. The PDC imposed a $100 fine against Hutchison for exceeding campaign limits and dismissed the failure-to-report allegations. Dow Constantine County Exec inaugural 03B

Dow Constantine County Exec inaugural 03B

Constantine was endorsed by Governor

Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again ...

, Seattle Mayor

, US Senators

Patty Murray Patricia Lynn Murray (; born October 11, 1950) is an American politician and educator who is the senior United States senator from Washington since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray was in the Washington State Senate from 1988 to ...

Keith Ervin
"Executive candidates Dow Constantine and Susan Hutchison will debate"
''Seattle Times'', August 27, 2009 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 ...

, Washington State Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown as well as state Senators Ed Murray,

Ken Jacobsen Ken Jacobsen (born May 2, 1945) is an American former politician who served as a Democratic member of the Washington State Senate. He was first elected to the Washington State Legislature in 1982 and he served through 2010. Political history ...

, Joe McDermott, and

Karen Keiser Karen Lynne Keiser (born September 29, 1947) is an American journalist and politician of the Democratic Party. She represents the 33rd Legislative District in the Washington State Senate, which contains parts of Burien, Normandy Park, SeaTac, ...

. Organizations that endorsed Constantine included NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

, the

Cascade Bicycle Club The Cascade Bicycle Club is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) 91-2165219 community organization based in Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a ...

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is an AFL–CIO/ CLC trade union representing approx. 646,933 workers as of 2006 in more than 200 industries with most of its membership in the United States and Canada. Or ...

and the

UFCW The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hosp ...

. On election night, November 3, the initial batch of election results had Constantine winning the election over Hutchison, at that time receiving 57% of the votes to her 43%. He was expected to replace interim Executive Kurt Triplett on November 24 following the certification of election results by the King County Elections' Canvassing Board. Constantine was ultimately declared the winner, and was inaugurated November 24, 2009.

Potential gubernatorial campaign

In early 2019, Constantine was frequently mentioned as a possible candidate for

in the 2020 election. Two-term incumbent

was constitutionally eligible for to run for a third term but had opted to mount a campaign for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

in the 2020 election instead, leaving the Governor's Office open. Several Democrats expressed interest in running should it be an open election but did not want to challenge Inslee should he change his mind. Facing poor polling numbers, Inslee decided to suspend his presidential campaign on August 21 and announced the next day he would indeed seek a third term as governor. Constantine, along with several other potential candidates, released a statement that he would not be running in 2020 and would instead focus on his own 2021 reelection campaign.

Personal life

Constantine married his long-time partner Shirley Carlson in a private ceremony on October 31, 2013.Emily Heffter,
"County Executive Dow Constantine marries in private ceremony"
''Seattle Times'', November 14, 2013 The couple met while working at the University of Washington radio station. They live in North Admiral, Seattle.

References

External links

Official King County homepageCampaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine, Dow King County Councillors Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators Living people 1961 births Politicians from Seattle University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Washington School of Law alumni West Seattle High School alumni