Background
The election will be held in 2025, and will be the last King County Executive election to be held in an odd-numbered year. In 2022, a King County charter amendment was passed that moved elections of several offices, including county executive, to even-numbered years. This means that starting after this election, the Executive will be elected in even-numbered years, starting in 2028. Therefore, this election will be to serve out a three year term instead of the normal four year term. [1] [2] [3]
Incumbent Dow Constantine was first elected in 2009 and had served four terms since. He announced on November 12, 2024 that he would not seek re-election. [4] The Central Puget Sound Transit Authority board of directors, of which Constantine was a member, announced his appointment as Chief Executive Officer. He was replaced as County Executive by Deputy Executive Shannon Braddock until the seat could be filled in the regularly scheduled November 2025 General Election. [5]
Primary
Although Constantine announced his intention not to seek re-election in 2024, it was not until 2025 when the public learned that he was a leading candidate in Sound Transit's CEO search. As King County Executive, Constantine was a member of the board and appointed board members over the course of many years, including two current ST board members who announced a run for King County Executive: Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay.
John Arthur Wilson, the King County Assessor since winning office in 2015, was one of the first to declare candidacy just days after Constantine's announcement. [15] Before becoming Assessor, he worked as a journalist and as chief of staff for former King County Executive Ron Sims. The Seattle Times reported in January 2025 that Wilson had a temporary protection order placed against him in May 2024 by his then partner, Lee Keller, who accused him of stalking. However, in the same article, Keller said that she had reconciled with Wilson, writing "We are happily engaged to be married, and we are planning a wedding." [16]
On May 29, 2025, PubliCola reported that Keller had filed for a new temporary restraining order against him, after he continued harassing and stalking her after she "permanently and clearly ended" the relationship on April 15, 2025. [17] [18] Many local elected officials immediately called on Wilson to resign, including: Seattle mayor Bruce Harrell, interim King County Executive Shannon Braddock, King County Councilmembers Girmay Zahilay and Claudia Balducci, and state senator Manka Dhingra. [19] The King County Council unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Wilson and called for him to resign. [20] Wilson refused to resign or drop out of the Executive race. In a motion to dismiss the restraining order, Wilson claimed that he was the victim of abuse by Keller, writing "Unfortunately, as much as I love Lee, her volatility and instability has become a real issue for me both personally and professionally." [21]
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