Dow Constantine | |
---|---|
8th Executive of King County | |
Assumed office November 24, 2009 | |
Preceded by | Kurt Triplett (acting) |
Chair of the King County Council | |
In office January 12,2009 –November 24,2009 | |
Preceded by | Julia Patterson |
Succeeded by | Bob Ferguson |
Member of the King County Council from the 8th district | |
In office January 7,2002 –November 24,2009 | |
Preceded by | Greg Nickels |
Succeeded by | Jan Drago |
Member of the Washington Senate from the 34th district | |
In office November 26,2000 –January 7,2002 | |
Preceded by | Michael J. Heavey |
Succeeded by | Erik Poulsen |
Member of the WashingtonHouseofRepresentatives from the 34th district | |
In office January 13,1997 –November 26,2000 | |
Preceded by | Georgette Valle |
Succeeded by | Joe McDermott |
Personal details | |
Born | James Dow Constantine November 15,1961 Seattle,Washington,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Shirley Carlson |
Children | 1 |
Education | University of Washington (BA,JD,MUP) |
Website | Campaign website |
James Dow Constantine (born November 15,1961) is an American lawyer,urban planner,and politician who is the county executive of King County,Washington,since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, [a] Constantine served on the King County Council from 2002 to 2009,and in the Washington State Legislature from 1997 to 2002.
The son of John and Lois Constantine,he was born and raised in West Seattle. In 1980,he graduated from West Seattle High School,where he was student body president and an Eagle Scout. He attended the University of Washington (UW),receiving a Bachelor of Arts in political science and graduated as a member of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. [1] Constantine also served an internship with Washington's 34th Legislative District representative Phil Talmadge. [2] While attending law school,Constantine worked as a disk jockey for the college radio station KCMU. [3] In 1989,Constantine earned a J.D. degree from the University of Washington School of Law. [2] Constantine later returned to obtain a Master's degree in urban planning from UW in 1992. [2]
Constantine opened a private law practice in 1990. [4] He served as chair of the 34th District Democrats organization and worked as an aide for King County Council member Greg Nickels. Constantine was elected to the state house of representatives in 1996. [5] He won re-election in 1998. [6] In 2001,he became a Washington state senator. He left the state senate in 2002 after being appointed to the King County Council to replace Nickels,who had been elected Seattle mayor. [5] Constantine was a King County Council member from 2002 to 2009,representing the eighth district,which includes West Seattle,parts of Southeast Seattle,North Highline,Burien,Vashon Island,Maury Island,Normandy Park,and parts of both SeaTac and Tukwila. [6] In 2009,he served as council chair.
Constantine announced his candidacy for King County Executive on February 16,2009,to replace Ron Sims who was appointed the United States Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. [7] In the primary election,Constantine received 22% of the votes to advance to a run off against candidate Susan Hutchison,who received 37%. [8] Described as "perhaps the most contentious race on the November [2009] ballot" by Seattle NPR outlet KPLU, [9] the campaign was characterized as negative campaigning,including "mudslinging" ads paid for by the candidates' supporters. [10] [11] [12]
Constantine received press attention for stressing the conservative affiliations of Hutchison,pointing to her involvement with the Discovery Institute and contributions to Republican candidates such as President Bush in 2004 and Mike Huckabee in 2008. [13] [14] [15] Hutchison downplayed any perceived partisanship and criticized Constantine as a political insider with close ties to labor unions. [4]
In October 2009,the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) investigated allegations that the Constantine's campaign illegally coordinated with an independent campaign on anti-Hutchison ads. [16] The PDC concluded there was no coordination and dismissed the complaint. [17] The PDC also investigated complaints regarding Hutchison's campaign on allegations that campaign contributions exceeded single election limits and that expenditures by the campaign were not properly documented. [18] The PDC imposed a $100 fine against Hutchison for exceeding campaign limits and dismissed the failure-to-report allegations. [19]
Constantine was endorsed by Governor Christine Gregoire, [20] Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels,US Senators Patty Murray [21] and Maria Cantwell, [21] Washington State Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown as well as state Senators Ed Murray,Ken Jacobsen,Joe McDermott,and Karen Keiser. [22] Organizations that endorsed Constantine included NARAL Pro-Choice Washington,the Sierra Club,the Cascade Bicycle Club,International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the UFCW.
On election night,November 3,the initial batch of election results had Constantine winning the election over Hutchison,at that time receiving 57% to her 43%. [23] He was expected to replace interim Executive Kurt Triplett on November 24 following the certification of election results by the King County Elections' Canvassing Board. [24] Constantine was ultimately declared the winner,and was inaugurated November 24,2009.
In early 2019, Constantine was mentioned as a possible candidate for governor of Washington in the 2020 election. Two-term incumbent Jay Inslee was constitutionally eligible for to run for a third term but had opted to mount a campaign for president of the United States in the 2020 election instead, leaving the governor's office open. [25] [26] Several Democrats expressed interest in running should it be an open election but did not want to challenge Inslee. [27] Facing poor polling numbers, Inslee decided to suspend his presidential campaign on August 21 and announced the next day he would indeed seek a third term as governor. Constantine, along with several other potential candidates, released a statement that he would not be running in 2020 and would instead focus on his own 2021 reelection campaign. [28]
Constantine is the longest-serving county executive in King County history. During his tenure, he was also a member of the Sound Transit Board and chaired the board during the development of the Sound Transit 3 ballot initiative, which passed in 2016. [29] Constantine was re-elected to a fourth term in 2021 with 55% of the vote against general-election opponent Joe Nguyen, a state senator. [30] [31] Constantine announced in November 2024 that he would not run for re-election as King County Executive once his term expires in 2025. [29]
Constantine married Shirley Carlson on October 31, 2013. [32] The couple met while working at the University of Washington radio station. [13] They live in North Admiral, Seattle. [33] [34]
Jay Robert Inslee is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012, and was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. He is the longest-serving current governor in the United States.
Jan Drago is an American politician and educator from Seattle who has served on the Seattle City Council and King County Council.
Robert Watson Ferguson is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 18th attorney general of Washington since 2013. He is the governor-elect of Washington, and is a member of the Democratic Party. In addition, he served as a member of the King County Council from 2004 to 2013 and the council's chair from 2009 to 2013.
Fred Jarrett is a member of the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission. His appointment to the commission, announced in April 2019 by Washington Governor Jay Inslee, noted that he had recently retired as Senior Deputy of the King County Executive, which he joined with the incoming administration of Dow Constantine in 2010. Jarrett was elected in 2008 as a Democratic member of the Washington State Senate, and represented the 41st district from January 2009 to the time he joined Constantine's administration. He announced that he would run for the State Senate in December 2007 after switching his political party affiliation. Prior to that election, he served in the Washington House of Representatives as a Republican for four terms, starting in 2001. His switch in political party affiliation at the time was noted as an example of "[t]he loss of GOP power in the affluent suburbs [that] has been one of the state’s major post-millennial political trends." Earlier in his political career, Jarrett was a member of the Mercer Island City Council, which he joined in 1978, serving as mayor for two terms in the 1980s.
Susan Hutchison is an American television news journalist, educator, and politician. She served as chair of the Washington State Republican Party from 2013 to 2018 and was a candidate for the United States Senate in 2018.
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The Washington Secretary of State election, 2016, was held on November 8, 2016. Incumbent Republican Kim Wyman won reelection over Democratic nominee Tina Podlodowski, the two having received the most votes in an August 2016 primary election.
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Joseph-Thanh Nguyen is an American politician who is a member of the Washington State Senate from the 34th district. Nguyen, a second-generation Vietnamese American, was raised with his three siblings in White Center, Washington, by his mother. He was a candidate for King County Executive in 2021 but was defeated by Dow Constantine 56 percent to 44 percent.
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