Eight people, including two current King County Council members, are vying to become the next King County Executive. The seat is open for the first time in more than a decade after former King County Executive Dow Constantine’s announcement last year that he would not run for reelection.
Earlier this year, Constantine vacated his position before the end of his term to become the new head of Sound Transit. The remainder of his term is being carried out by current King County Executive Shannon Braddock, whom the Council appointed temporarily to fill the seat. At the time of her appointment, Braddock told reporters she would not seek election.
The position is nonpartisan. Top fundraisers in the race so far are Girmay Zahilay ($698,379.27), Claudia Balducci ($552,720.29), John Wilson ($65,214.50) and Amiya Ingram ($6,028.51). Here’s what else to know about the slate of candidates who’ve filed to run.
Claudia Balducci
Balducci sits on the King County Council and has represented District 6 since she was elected in 2015. District 6 includes Bellevue, Kirkland, Mercer Island, the Points Communities and Redmond. Balducci announced her candidacy shortly after Constantine announced he would not run for reelection. Balducci formerly served on the Bellevue City Council and is one of two vice chairs of the Sound Transit board.
Derek Chartrand
Derek Chartrand is a Redmond resident who has worked for Rentar Environmental Solutions, a Florida company that develops technology to help companies save fuel costs and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Chartrand has challenged U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene twice, in 2024 and 2022, running as a Republican.
Bill Hirt
Bill Hirt is a familiar name on area ballots. The Bellevue resident has run for office at least a dozen times, including for governor in 2024, U.S. Senator in 2022, county executive in 2017 and more. This year, he says he will use his statement in the voter guide to bring attention to his criticisms of Sound Transit.
Amiya Ingram
Amiya Ingram is an AI policy strategist at Microsoft. Billing herself as a member of the next generation of leadership, Ingram lists housing, safety, education and small businesses as her campaign priorities.
Don L. Rivers
Don Rivers ran for governor as a Democrat in 2020 and 2024. Rivers has said he has advised elected officials, law enforcement agencies and others and has been a union worker for 50 years.
Rebecca Williamson
Rebecca Williamson is a previous candidate for Seattle City Council. Williamson lists Socialist newspaper The Militant as her campaign website.
John Wilson
Wilson is the King County assessor. He was first elected to that position in 2015. A former journalist who also served as chief of staff under former King County Executive Ron Sims, Wilson said he is prioritizing crime and public safety in his campaign.
Girmay Zahilay
Zahilay, a business attorney who also worked in President Barack Obama’s administration, has served on the County Council since 2020, after defeating longtime Councilmember Larry Gossett. Zahilay ran to the left of Gossett, an influential Seattle civil rights leader. Zahilay, who was born in a refugee settlement in Sudan and grew up in Seattle, represents District 2, which includes much of the eastern portion of Seattle south of the University District as well as Skyway.
The primary this year is Aug. 5.
Also up for election this year are five of the nine King County Councilmember positions, including the seat vacated by newly elected Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove.
Those who have filed to run for County Council are:
District No. 1
- Rod Dembowski
District No. 3
- Sarah Perry
- Rob Wotton
District No. 5
- Ahmad Corner
- Steffanie Fain
- Angela Henderson
- Peter Kwon
- Ryan McIrvin
- Kim-Khanh Van
District No. 7
- Pahaliyah Brown
- Maya Vengadasalam
- Pete von Reichbauer
District No. 9
- Jude Anthony
- Reagan Dunn
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