A generational battle for King County Executive
at 9:53 am
Dow Constantine was, at one time, a grunge-loving college DJ for the alternative UW radio station KCMU (now KEXP). And when he first ran for King County Executive back in 2009, he was endorsed by Pearl Jamâs Eddy Vedder.
Now, heâs being challenged for his seat by a millennial â State Senator Joe Nguyen, who says his favorite music is the âHamilton mix-tapeâ
and not the original soundtrack.
Nguyen actually paged for Constantine in the Washington State House when he was 14 years old, and later volunteered on his first campaign.
âThis is not against Dow, per se, he said.
Updated: 7:53 AM PDT April 27, 2021
SEATTLE State Sen. Joe Nguyen is running for King County executive.
It sets up an unusual challenge from the left of incumbent King County Executive Dow Constantine, who is seeking his fourth term. What we need right now are leaders who will fight with the fierce urgency to actually get these things done. We ve been tackling and talking about problems as it relates to inequities in our society, Nguyen said in an interview with KING 5 before his official announcement. It s time for us to act. What this pandemic has shown is that there is a need, and urgency for change in other ways within our society have been exacerbated.
Dow Constantine has a fight ahead in his bid for a fourth term.
As of today, it’s a battle of two West Seattleites.
This morning, two days after this year’s legislative session wrapped up, State Sen.
Joe Nguyen announced that he’s running for county executive. Nothing personal, he says – saying that he even volunteered for Constantine’s first campaign in 2009 – but Nguyen says it’s time for a change. Without using the exact words, his pitch is that while the incumbent is the past, he is the future – and the person to fight for the future of even the youngest King County residents, his three small children among them.
State Sen. Joe Nguyen to run against Dow Constantine in King County Executive race
Published
State Sen. Joe Nguyen (D-White Center) Photo credit: Sen. Joe Nguyen s Facebook page
WHITE CENTER, Wash. - Three-term incumbent King County Executive Dow Constantine has a serious challenger to his re-election bid this year: State Sen. Joe Nguyen is running for the county s top job.
Nguyen, a West Seattle Democrat, made the announcement in a video release Tuesday. Politics should be about people, not careers, and it’s increasingly clear that governments run by transactional politicians do not serve communities, Nguyen said in a news release. Decisions from the top down are easy but they do not solve real and systemic problems. Engaging communities, being mindful of the people you serve, adjusting systems and behaviors to accommodate the people you work for that’s good governing.
ICYMI, Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler won: This year Kreidler requested a bill from the Legislature that would stop insurers from engaging in the racist practice of using credit scores to set certain insurance rates, which ends up forcing poor people to pay more for car insurance than middle-class and wealthy people with worse records. Sen. Mark Mullet worked with insurance lobbyists to gut the bill. Kreidler called for it to die. It died. After that, he used his emergency powers to issue a rule banning the practice for three years. The insurance companies sued, claiming he tried to do an end-around the state Legislature. Last Friday, a Thurston County Superior Court approved Kreidler s move. Today the Commissioner issued a May 6 deadline for property and casualty insurers to file their plans to meet the rule requirement, which should help protect those who are the most hurt financially by the pandemic from being forced to pay even higher premiums, he said.