November 4 is the Washington General Election, and there’s a position in King County that hasn’t been on the ballot for more than a decade.
The King County Executive is one of the highest-ranking elected offices in the county, guiding policy and budget.
It marks the first time since 2009 that the position is on the ballot. Current CEO of Sound Transit, Dow Constantine, held the King County Executive seat for fifteen years before stepping down on March 27 to become the public transit company’s chief executive.
During the primary, seven candidates were vying for a chance at the chair. That race has been narrowed to two candidates: Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay.
Zahilay took a sizeable lead in August’s primary election. He earned 202,007 votes—accounting for 44.0% of the votes. Balducci held 136,479 votes, accounting for about 29.8% of the vote.
However – according to a Civic Heartbeat Survey commissioned by the Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI), Balducci has about a 2% lead over Zahilay.
Both candidates currently serve on the King County Council. Zahilay worked in corporate law and at the Obama White House before serving on the council— something he’s been doing for six years now.
Balducci has worked as a lawyer for the Northwest Women’s Law Center, was the director of King County’s Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention, served on the Bellevue City Council and the King County Council for more than a decade each, and was even the mayor of Bellevue for two years.
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