Jim Ferrell | |
---|---|
2nd Mayor of Federal Way, Washington | |
Assumed office January 1, 2014 | |
Preceded by | Skip Priest |
Federal Way City Council,Position No. 1 | |
In office January 1, 2004 –December 31, 2013 | |
Preceded by | Mary Gates |
Succeeded by | Lydia Assefa-Dawson |
Personal details | |
Born | James Allen Ferrell September 15,1966 Federal Way,Washington,U.S. |
Spouse | Wendy Caroline (Killian) Ferrell |
Children | 1 |
Residence | Federal Way,Washington |
Alma mater | University of Washington (BA) Gonzaga University School of Law (JD) |
Profession | Lawyer Mayor |
Website | |
James Allen Ferrell (born September 15,1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving in his third term as the Mayor of Federal Way,Washington since 2014. The Mayor is a non-partisan office holder. Ferrell previously served ten years on the Federal Way City Council and was the prime mover behind the city's transition from a Council–Manager form of city government to a Mayor-Council or "Strong Mayor" government. [1] Federal Way is currently the 9th largest city in the state of Washington. [2] with a population of 101,300 residents. In the 2022 general election,Ferrell ran for the King County Prosecuting Attorney position losing to Leesa Manion,the first woman and Korean American King County Prosecutor.
Jim Ferrell grew up in Federal Way until the age of nine when his father died. [3] After his father's passing,he,his mother,his twin brother,Jeff Ferrell (news anchor and reporter for KSLA 12 in Shreveport,LA) and his older brother and sister moved to Yelm,Washington. Jim Ferrell graduated from Yelm High School in 1985 as a multi-sport athlete and student body president. After high school,Ferrell attended the University of Washington and walked on,as an outside linebacker,to the Washington Huskies football team,then led by Hall of Fame head coach Don James. Ferrell spent four seasons (1985–88) on the team,receiving the 1986 Brian Stapp Memorial Award for the most inspirational non-letterman,earning the 1988 Bob Jarvis Award for most inspirational walk-on player,and was chosen by his fellow players in 1988 to win the prestigious Guy Flaherty Medal for the team's most inspirational player,despite being primarily a scout team player for all four seasons. [4] After graduating in 1989 from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in political science,Ferrell attended the Gonzaga University School of Law and graduated with a Juris Doctor degree (J.D.) in 1993.
Jim Ferrell lives in Federal Way with his wife,Wendy,and their son.
While in law school,Ferrell was a White House intern during the presidency of George H. W. Bush and worked as a legislative assistant for State Senators Pete von Reichbauer and Ray Schow;both of whom represented Washington's 30th legislative district,which includes the entirety of Federal Way. [5] During this period,Jim Ferrell was nearly appointed to the Washington State Senate,finishing second behind Schow to fill the seat left vacant after von Reichbauer's election to the King County Council. [6]
After receiving his J.D.,Ferrell began his career as a prosecutor for the City of Renton,Washington before moving onto the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office in 1998. That same year Ferrell won an award from the King County Sheriff's Office for performing life-saving CPR on a fellow prosecutor and,in 2003,won an award for chasing down on foot and apprehending a defendant who had fled a courtroom. In 2000,Ferrell became the supervisor of King County's newly created domestic violence court [7] and later (2005–07) served two terms as the president of the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Union. Similar to his near appointment to the State Senate,Ferrell in 2007 finished second behind Dan Satterberg to be appointed as King County Prosecuting Attorney to fill the position following the death of Norm Maleng. [8] Jim Ferrell had risen to the position of King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney before resigning on December 31,2013 to take the position of mayor of Federal Way. [9]
In 2002,Jim Ferrell challenged the 30th Legislative District's (then) two-term incumbent socially conservative Democratic Washington State Representative Mark Miloscia. [10] Miloscia ended up winning the election by more than 11 percentage points. [11] The following year,Ferrell took on incumbent Federal Way City Councilmember Mary Gates,who had been a city councilmember since Federal Way was incorporated in 1990. [12] Ultimately,Ferrell defeated Gates by nearly 5 percentage points. [13] In his two subsequent city council reelection races in 2007 and 2011,Ferrell did not face any opposition. [14] [15]
One of Ferrell's prime initiatives while on the city council was a successful transition to making Federal Way Municipal Court judges elected,instead of appointed. [16] Analogous to this interest in having public accountability for officials,Jim Ferrell supported the February 2008 ballot initiative to transition from a Council–Manager form of city government to a Mayor-Council or "Strong Mayor" government. [17] The initiative failed by about 10 percentage points. [18] The following year,Ferrell spearheaded a second effort to make the same transition in city government. [19] This initiative,on its second attempt,passed by about 3 percentage points on the 2009 General Election ballot. [20]
During the campaign to change the city's form of government,Ferrell made clear that he would run for the office of mayor if the initiative proved successful. [21] Later,State Representative Skip Priest,City Councilmember Mike Park,and City Councilmember (and future State Representative) Linda Kochmar also joined the race to become the city's first elected mayor. [22] His campaign focused on opposition to the proposed skyscraper development in the city's downtown, [23] [ failed verification ] skepticism of the proposed performing arts center,and a focus on public safety [ citation needed ]. In the primary election,Ferrell and Priest finished as the top-two vote-getters meaning they would face-off in the general election. [24] Ultimately,Skip Priest won the general election by about 4 percentage points. [25] The proposed skyscraper plan,which was a major talking point during the campaign,died three months after the election when the developers could not pay an initial $100,000 to the city on the proposed $350 million project. [26]
In April 2012,five months following Ferrell's election to a third term to the Federal City Council,he announced that he would be switching parties;from the Republican party to the Democratic party. [27] In his column explaining his decision,Ferrell said it was motivated by what he saw as a move by the Republican party to more far-right tone and reactionary policies. Chief among his concerns were that the Republican party appeared to him to take neither global climate change nor a 21st-century approach to energy policy seriously. Also concerning Ferrell was what he saw as the Republican party's continued preference toward tax cuts for the rich instead of policies to mitigate the jobs lost and lives upended following the Great Recession of 2008.
On May 6,2013,Jim Ferrell announced his candidacy for Federal Way's mayor in the 2013 election,in what turned out to be a rematch of the 2010 contest between himself and (then) Mayor Skip Priest. [28] In addition to similar themes heard during the 2010 election,Ferrell was also critical of Priest's cuts in the city's workforce,particularly its police force,during his term in office,as well as his advocacy for legislation that would have dismantled Sound Transit. [29] Public safety was of particular interest during the election due to the 2013 mass shooting at Federal Way's Pinewood Village apartment complex that left five dead, [30] in addition to a 24% increase in burglaries and a 12% increase in auto thefts in the city in 2012. [31] The rematch of the 2010 election resulted in the unseating of the incumbent mayor with Ferrell prevailing with more than 55% of the vote. [32]
Jim Ferrell took office as Federal Way's second elected mayor on January 1, 2014. He was re-elected in 2017 and 2021, becoming the first Mayor in Federal Way to serve consecutive terms of office.
His key accomplishments include:
On January 7, 2022, the day that King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg announced his retirement, Ferrell filed paperwork to run for the office. [33] He formally launched a campaign (www.jimferrell.org) for the office on January 27. [34] He lost the general election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Jim Ferrell (Incumbent) | 9,244 | 61.82 | ||
Nonpartisan | Susan Honda | 5,709 | 38.18 | ||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Jim Ferrell | 8,299 | 55.15 | +7.17 | |
Nonpartisan | Skip Priest (Incumbent) | 6,749 | 44.85 | -7.17 | |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Jim Ferrell (Incumbent) | 13,097 | 100.00 | 0.00 | |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Skip Priest | 12,315 | 52.02 | ||
Nonpartisan | Jim Ferrell | 11,360 | 47.98 | ||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Skip Priest | 5,110 | 35.70 | ||
Nonpartisan | Jim Ferrell | 3,991 | 27.89 | ||
Nonpartisan | Linda Kochmar | 2,650 | 18.52 | ||
Nonpartisan | Mike Park | 2,561 | 17.89 | ||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Jim Ferrell (Incumbent) | 11,049 | 100.00 | +47.63 | |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Jim Ferrell | 5,988 | 52.37 | ||
Nonpartisan | Mary Gates (Incumbent) | 5,445 | 47.63 | -52.37 | |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark Miloscia (Incumbent) | 15,870 | 55.91 | -1.82 | |
Republican | Jim Ferrell | 12,513 | 44.09 | ||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark Miloscia (Incumbent) | 8,622 | 54.52 | ||
Republican | Jim Ferrell | 7,193 | 45.48 | ||
King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the state's most populous city.
Richard Conlin is a former member of the Seattle City Council, first elected to council in 1997 and reelected in 2001, 2005, and 2009. He was elected, unanimously, by the council to be its president on January 7, 2008 and was unanimously reelected on January 4, 2010.
Toby Nixon is an American politician in Washington. Nixon is serving as a member of the Kirkland City Council from Position 4 since 2012. Nixon is a former Republican member of Washington House of Representatives, representing the 45th district from 2002 to 2007.
Peter G. von Reichbauer is an American businessman and politician serving as a member of the nonpartisan King County Council, representing District 7, a 124-square-mile (320 km2) region of South King County which includes all of the cities of Algona and Federal Way, the entire King County portions of Auburn, Milton, and Pacific and large unincorporated areas. Prior to his election to the council, von Reichbauer served as a Washington State Senator for the 30th Legislative District between 1973 and 1994.
Sanford "Sandy" Brown is a travel writer, tour guide, and United Methodist minister from the Seattle, Washington area. He has been a leader in advocacy against homelessness and gun violence and in favor of marriage equality.
Daniel Todd Satterberg is an American attorney and politician who served as the prosecuting attorney of King County, Washington, from 2007 to 2023.
Timothy L. Burgess is an American journalist and politician from Seattle, Washington. He was a member of the Seattle City Council from 2007 to 2017, and served as Mayor of Seattle for 71 days in late 2017. Prior to his political career, Burgess was a radio journalist and Seattle Police Department (SPD) officer.
Sally G. Bagshaw is an American politician and former member of the Seattle City Council. She was first elected in 2009 after winning in the nonpartisan primary election and defeating David Bloom in the general election with 69 percent of the vote. Prior her election, she had been the chief civil deputy prosecutor in the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for eight years under Norm Maleng.
Music Works Northwest is the non-profit community music school located in Bellevue, Washington, USA. Music Works Northwest is one of the largest non-profit community music schools in the Pacific Northwest. It is a member of the Washington Music Educators Association, the Eastside Arts Coalition, and the Bellevue Arts Commission. The school also has partnerships with Northwest Pianos, 4Culture of King County, United Way of King County, the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County.
Michael J. O'Brien is an American politician and former member of the Seattle City Council who represented District 6 in northwest Seattle. He was first elected in 2009 to a different, city-wide council seat. He was the leading proponent of the opt-out list for the Yellow Pages. He was the only opponent of the proposed deep bore tunnel under downtown Seattle on the city council. He was chair of the local chapter of the Sierra Club before running for office. In this capacity, he was one of the leading opponents of the 2007 Roads and Transit ballot measure.
Mark Anthony Miloscia is an American politician and former public school teacher who served in the Washington State Senate from 2015 to 2019. A Democrat for more than twenty years, in 2014 he switched to the Republican Party and ran for election to represent the 30th Legislative District in the state senate - winning by more than ten percentage points. In 2016, Miloscia ran for state auditor as a Republican, he lost the general election to Democrat Pat McCarthy by 5 percentage points. He represented the 30th legislative district for seven terms, from 1999 to 2013, in the Washington House of Representatives. He was endorsed by The Seattle Times newspaper for re-election in 2018.
Fuse Washington is a progressive advocacy organization in Washington state. It is a member of the ProgressNow network. Fuse, a 501(c)(4) organization, along with its sister organization the Fuse Innovation Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, claims to be the state's largest progressive organization because of its email list of more than 100,000 people.
Joseph Frederick Fain is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as a member of the Washington State Senate for the 47th district from 2011 to 2019. Fain was elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. Fain served as the Senate minority floor leader during the 2018 legislative session.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 to elect the ten U.S. representatives from the state of Washington, one from each of the state's 10 congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, other elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The state certified the results on December 4. The nonpartisan blanket primary election was held on August 5, with the top two candidates for each position advancing to the general election.
Arthur L. Haywood III is an American lawyer and politician currently serving as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from the 4th district since 2015. A Democrat, he is also the current president of the advocacy group Americans for Democratic Action.
Carol Jean Gregory is an American educator and politician of the Democratic Party. Gregory was appointed to the Washington House of Representatives by Governor Jay Inslee on January 8, 2015 to the vacant state representative seat in the 30th Legislative District left after the death of Representative Roger Freeman on October 29, 2014. She was appointed on January 8, 2015 and sworn in on January 12, 2015.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the 10 U.S. representatives from the state of Washington, one from each of the state's 10 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on August 2.
Maria Lorena González is an American lawyer and former politician who was a member of the Seattle City Council from position 9. She was the first Latino elected to the council. She was a candidate for mayor of Seattle in 2021 but was defeated by Bruce Harrell 59 percent to 41 percent.
The 2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the lieutenant governor of Washington concurrently with the 2020 Washington elections. The top-two primary was held on August 4, and Democrats Denny Heck and Marko Liias advanced to the general election, which Heck won.
The 2021 Seattle City Attorney election was held on November 2, 2021. Incumbent City Attorney Pete Holmes sought reelection to a fourth term in office, but came third place in the officially nonpartisan August 3 primary election and failed to advance to the general election, with both Nicole Thomas-Kennedy and Ann Davison finishing ahead of Holmes in the primary. Davison defeated Thomas-Kennedy in the general election.