King County Council

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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 is the result of a merger of King County and the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle, better known as Metro, which was a federated county-city structure responsible for water quality and public transportation.

1 Councilmembers
2 Meetings
3 Structure
4 Redistricting
5 External link

[edit] Councilmembers

Bob Ferguson (D), District 1
Larry Gossett (D), District 2
Kathy Lambert (R), District 3
Larry Phillips (D), District 4
Julia Patterson (D), District 5
Jane Hague (R), District 6
Pete von Reichbauer (R), District 7
Dow Constantine (D), District 8
Reagan Dunn (R), District 9

[edit] Meetings

The County Council meets weekly at 1:30 p.m. on Mondays (or on Tuesdays following a Monday holiday). Meetings are held in the County Council chambers, Room 1001, on the tenth floor of the King County Courthouse located at 516 Third Avenue between James and Jefferson in downtown Seattle.

[edit] Structure

Nine Councilmembers are elected by district to four-year terms. Councilmembers in even numbered districts are up for election in 2007, while Councilmembers in odd districts are up for election in 2009. Councilmembers are elected on a partisan basis, and must declare their political party unless they file as an Independent(politician). An independent candidate must receive at least 20 percent of the vote in the Primary Election to qualify for the General Election ballot.

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 and representatives from suburban 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.

[edit] 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 in each remaining district rose from 138,000 residents to about 200,000.