KING COUNTY, Wash. — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
King County Executive Dow Constantine has announced he is not seeking re-election in 2025.
He held the position for 15 years ago after a stint on the county council — the longest anyone has been executive in King County since 1968. He made the announcement at a birthday gathering dubbed the “25th Annual 39th Birthday Party.”
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“I am grateful for the progress we have made, striving for a better government and a fairer, more just society,” Constantine said in a statement obtained by The West Seattle Blog. “The work is constantly challenging and often daunting, but it is also extraordinarily rewarding to be able to help others. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role, but it’s time to let a new leader take the reins and build on the work we have done, and so I will not be seeking re-election.”
Constantine, 62, has been in public office since 1996 when he was elected to the state House of Representatives. He served five years in the House and Senate before he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the King County Council in 2002. Once then-Executive Ron Sims left his post to join the Obama administration, Constantine won an eight-person race for county executive in 2009.
Seattle has had six different mayors since Constantine became executive of King County.
As county executive, Constantine has focused on transportation, climate action, behavioral health, affordable housing and homelessness, among other issues. For transportation, he was the Chair of the Sound Transit Board and ushered in new levels of light rail expansion, adding new tracks, stations, bus routes, garages and service stations all throughout the county.
According to The Seattle Times, the county is on pace to spend $148 billion over 30 years on public transit expansion.
Metropolitan King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay praised Constantine for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“Dow’s commitment to public health and safety during those early, uncertain days of the pandemic was instrumental in setting an example for the nation,” Zahilay said in a prepared statement, according to The Seattle Times.
Constantine’s next venture is unclear as of this reporting, but he promised at the birthday gathering that he wouldn’t simply fade away into retirement.
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.
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