Who (so far) is running for King County Executive

Advertisement

Venice Buhain

by

Venice Buhain • Dec 2, 2024

Dec 2, 2024

Republish Article

You can republish articles in print or online. Simply copy the HTML below, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline, and credit to Cascade PBS. Republishing of the photos or videos embedded in an article can occur only if the photo or video is a copyright of Cascade Public Media ("CPM") and not of a third party. Photos and videos that are a copyright of CPM are not required to appear in the republished article, but if they are used, they must be embedded where they appear in the original article and must include the attribution to the CPM photographer.

You may reprint in any medium
You may edit only for tense and timeliness
If republishing in print you can edit for length if you follow our print republishing guidelines.
You may write your own headline
Include a byline and shirttail with credit and link to Cascade PBS
Include our tracking pixel
Remove if we ask

          <article>
            <header>
              <hgroup>
                <h1>Who (so far) is running for King County Executive</h1>
                <h2><p>King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay announced his candidacy for King County executive Monday, joining fellow County Councilmember Claudia Balducci and County Assessor John Wilson in the 2025 race.

Zahilay, a former business attorney who started a nonprofit in King County, has been on the county council after defeating longtime Councilmember</p></h2>
              </hgroup>
               <p>By <a href="/author/venice-buhain-crosscut-com/">Venice Buhain</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Dec 2, 2024</time></p>
            </header>
            <p>King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay announced his candidacy for King County executive Monday, joining fellow County Councilmember Claudia Balducci and County Assessor John Wilson in the 2025 race.</p><p>Zahilay, a former business attorney who started a nonprofit in King County, has been on the county council after defeating <a href="https://www.cascadepbs.org/2019/08/first-time-candidate-positioned-topple-giant-king-county-council?_gl=1*5mvai4*_gcl_au*MTAzMTI1NDEwOS4xNzI3MTA5ODk1*_ga*NDIzNTMzNTAyLjE3MjU5MjYzNDQ.*_ga_70LNVYDG8V*MTczMzE2NzkzMi4xNzQuMS4xNzMzMTY4Njk3LjQ0LjAuMA..&ref=avalancheghost.one">longtime Councilmember Larry Gossett</a> in 2019 to represent District 2, which includes much of the east portion of Seattle south of the University District as well as Skyway.</p><p>Balducci, a former Bellevue City Councilmember who has represented King County District 6 after her election in 2015, announced her candidacy last month shortly after King County Executive Dow Constantine, who has held the position for 15 years, <a href="https://www.cascadepbs.org/briefs/2024/11/king-county-executive-dow-constantine-wont-run-reelection?ref=avalancheghost.one">announced that he would not run for reelection in 2025</a>. Wilson, a former journalist who was also chief of staff of former King County Executive Ron Sims, followed suit a week later and announced his candidacy. Wilson has been the county assessor after being elected in 2015.</p><p>The county executive position is nonpartisan.</p>
          </article>

King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay announced his candidacy for King County executive Monday, joining fellow County Councilmember Claudia Balducci and County Assessor John Wilson in the 2025 race.

Zahilay, a former business attorney who started a nonprofit in King County, has been on the county council after defeating longtime Councilmember Larry Gossett in 2019 to represent District 2, which includes much of the east portion of Seattle south of the University District as well as Skyway.

Balducci, a former Bellevue City Councilmember who has represented King County District 6 after her election in 2015, announced her candidacy last month shortly after King County Executive Dow Constantine, who has held the position for 15 years, announced that he would not run for reelection in 2025. Wilson, a former journalist who was also chief of staff of former King County Executive Ron Sims, followed suit a week later and announced his candidacy. Wilson has been the county assessor after being elected in 2015.

The county executive position is nonpartisan.

Donation CTA

Our members' donations make local journalism happen.

Support once for $1

Support monthly for $7

Cascade PBS Passport
Mossback members-only newsletter
Print Viewer Guide (opt-in)

Support monthly for $25

Invitation to quarterly news and original programming video conference
Annual in-person meet-up with news & programming teams
Special event perks (reduced price or free tickets, cocktails, etc.)

Venice Buhain

By Venice Buhain

Venice Buhain is Cascade PBS' associate news editor. She previously covered education at Crosscut, and also worked for KING 5, The Seattle Globalist and TVW News. You can follow her on Twitter

Venice Buhain is Cascade PBS' associate news editor. She previously covered education at Crosscut, and also worked for KING 5, The Seattle Globalist and TVW News. You can follow her on Twitter