First up, the office of
King County Executive.
The county executive
manages the delivery
of such regional services
as criminal justice,
metro transit,
and wastewater treatment.
In 2020, the voters of
King County amended the charter
so that the sheriff became
an appointed position.
Beginning in 2022,
the sheriff will be appointed
by the executive
and confirmed
by the county council.
The executive also directs
the local services provided to
those in the unincorporated
areas outside of cities.
This is a nonpartisan position
and is elected
for a four-year term.
All voters in King County
can vote for county executive.
When COVID arrived here,
the first place in the country
impacted by this deadly virus,
I took swift, decisive action.
We led with science and reason
and saved thousands of lives
and reduced our infection rate
to among the lowest in the nation.
The New York Times reported
that had the rest of America
followed our lead,
the nation could have avoided
more than 300,000 deaths.
As we emerge from the pandemic,
I'm bringing that same clarity
and resolve to the toughest challenges
and uniting our region
for an economic recovery
where everyone can thrive.
We're taking bold action
on homelessness,
moving thousands off the streets
and into housing
with services to restore lives.
And through my
Best Starts for Kids initiative,
we've kept 10,000 children
and families safely housed.
This housing crisis,
made worse by the pandemic,
requires both compassion
and the proven ability to drive real change.
We're improving public safety and public trust
by investing in gun violence prevention
and aid to victims of domestic violence and other crimes,
and collaborating with communities
to create real safety.
I've asked community leaders to work with me
as we appoint a new sheriff who is accountable to me,
the council, and the people.
We're helping kids stay in school,
graduate, and avoid the criminal legal system,
and I've succeeded in driving down
the youth detention rate nearly tenfold.
And I'm taking urgent action on climate,
leading the fight for regional light rail,
and converting metro to an all-electric fleet.
And there's more exciting progress to come.
I'm grateful for the endorsements
of Govs. Inslee, Gregoire, and Locke.
Over 40 Democratic legislators,
the MLK Labor Council,
health care workers, firefighters,
building trades,
the Washington Conservation Voters,
and the Alliance for Gun Responsibility.
My commitment to public service was instilled in me
by my parents, retired public school teachers.
Today, Shirley and I are raising our daughter
in the same West Seattle neighborhood where I grew up.
Let's keep working together to help
all King County families thrive.
Thank you.
After 12 years of current leadership
failing to solve our biggest problems like homelessness,
it's time for change.
And as we recover from this pandemic,
we need an executive who understands how hard
working families in King County have struggled
to make ends meet even before this crisis.
I'm the son of refugees from White Center
and worked as a janitor at my own high school,
and despite great adversity,
I built a successful career in the private sector
and now I represent my community in the state Senate.
We can build a brighter future
for every family in King County.
We can build a community
where everyone has a safe place to call home.
Every senior can age in place with dignity,
and every parent can provide for their kids.
We can achieve all of this if we had an executive
who will act with the urgency needed,
to actually solve problems.
For years, the communities I grew up in
haven't gotten the same investments
to support working people
that made my success possible.
And as a result, residents of South King County
got sick and died from COVID-19
at twice the rates
of those in other parts of the county.
Those deaths were preventable
if the county had prioritized every community's safety.
The pandemic wasn't the first crisis
where our current leadership neglected working families
who've been pushed out of their neighborhoods.
The status quo has given us
12 years of unaffordable housing,
longer commutes, inaction on climate change,
and worsening gun violence in our communities.
We need bold solutions
implemented with transparency and accountability.
And I have the private and public sector experience
to get things done. Let's get to work.