Background on Larry Phillips - candidate for King County Executive

From Larry Phillips, submitted by Christina Gebreab

I was born and raised in King County and I am proud to call it home. I grew up hiking in the Cascades, earning my Eagle Scout medal, swimming in Lake Washington and playing varsity basketball for my high school.

After earning a B.A. from the University of Washington in Political Science, and a law degree from Willamette University, I went to work as a legislative aide for U.S. Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson. While working for Scoop, I earned a Masters degree in labor law from George Washington University.

In 1981, I returned home to manage Randy Revelle’s successful Democratic campaign for King County Executive and then became an integral member of his Executive Office staff, working as his Chief of Staff, serving in that capacity until 1986. In 1988, I was elected by the voters of the 36th legislative district to represent them in the Washington State House of Representatives.

As a legislator, I successfully fought for lower class sizes and better funding for education. I also was a prime sponsor of the state’s Growth Management Act to rein in urban sprawl.
After winning two terms in the legislature, the voters of King County Council District Four elected me to serve them on the Metropolitan King County Council.

As a councilmember, I have championed open space and natural resource protection, expanded local and regional parks and trails, led salmon recovery efforts, and fought for mass transit implementation and expansion.

In 2003, I was elected Chair of the King County Council and served three years in this leadership role. In 2008, I served as the chair of the council’s budget committee. I have served as the chair of the council’s budget committee four times, and despite intense budget pressures, I have made funding for human services, public health and public safety services top priorities each time.

I serve on many local boards, including Sound Transit, the Woodland Park Zoo, the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council and the Cedar River Council. I am the National Co-Chair to Climate Communities, a national alliance of locally elected officials who work to secure federal funding for climate change initiatives.

My executive and management experience in both the public and private sectors and my vision for King County’s future make me the best qualified candidate to lead our region through these difficult times. I know what initiatives in King County work, how to hire and motivate people to support them, and how to successfully implement them once adopted. But I also know what needs to change, and am the only candidate with significant knowledge of county government and our region to make the changes King County needs.

As King County Executive, I will lead King County to create more family-wage jobs through development of regional infrastructure projects, to protect basic, core services like public health, public safety, transit, and human services despite our tough budget circumstances, and to protect our environment and natural resources.

--Excerpts from larryphillips.com and KCDCC questionnaire, submitted by Christina Gebreab

This is for informational purposes only and not to be construed as an endorsement. The candidate pool for King County Executive is large. I am posting background information from other candidates, as received.

I will post background information on any of those King County Executive Candidates submitting information to redmondblog@gmail.com