King County braces for leadership change as Constantine announces exit

KING COUNTY, Wash. — After 15 years as the head of King County leadership, Executive Dow Constantine has announced he’s stepping down at the end of his term next year.

At least two King County council members have expressed interest in running for his seat.

It’s unclear what’s next for Constantine as he hasn’t publicly announced his plans, but those who’ve worked with him for years said he steered the county toward major improvements to the region’s transportation, environment, and early youth development initiatives.

“He has led King County through some of the most trying times in our history, first through the great recession after 2008, then through the global pandemic in 2020, and I've seen him set a standard for the rest of the nation,” King County Council Vice Chair Girmay Zahilay said.

RELATED: King County Executive Dow Constantine decides not to run for reelection in 2025

“I think his biggest accomplishment is he created a significant amount of stability within county government,” King County Council Vice Chair Reagan Dunn said. “Whether you agree or disagree with his policy choices, he was there, and he was active.”

Under Constantine’s leadership as Sound Transit board chair, there was the major expansion of the light rail, which opened extensions to the east side and Lynnwood this year, with extensions to Redmond and Federal Way to open within the next two years plus expansion plans underway for West Seattle and beyond.

“He was front and center helping to push for ST3 (Sound Transit 3), and it was the biggest at the time transit expansion in all of the nation, it was very ambitious,” King County Council Member Claudia Balducci said. “It wouldn't have happened without him, I don't believe. He was a really strong leader at the right place at the right time for that initiative.”

But Constantine has also faced criticism and pushback on some of his initiatives, including his plan for zero youth detention initially aimed for 2025.

“I think that was one error that maybe the executive made was to try and close the youth jail, and it is no longer going to close,” Dunn said. “There was a unanimous vote by the King County Council that I sponsored and championed, that is going to keep that facility open in perpetuity there at its current location.”

Now the search is on for Constantine’s replacement, who will have many challenges in front of them in tackling the county’s crime and drug issues, leading the county into a new era in the wake of Constantine’s legacy.

“The next county executive will have significant challenges in front of them,” Dunn said. “There has been a significant increase in crime, both youth and adult crime in our community.”

“While the rest of the country is going down, there's obviously a huge spike in overdose deaths from fentanyl and other drugs,” Dunn added. “Youth crime is up, and we've got a lot of lagging in the infrastructure improvements that we're going to need to work on to keep pace with other great cities in the United States.”

Balducci has announced she is running for the executive seat. If elected, she would be the first woman in the county’s history to serve in the role.

Meanwhile, Zahilay said he is also strongly considering a run for the seat. The election for King County executive is slated for next November.