Dow Constantine to run for King County executive

A second Metropolitan King County Council member, Dow Constantine, of West Seattle, is entering the race to replace Ron Sims as county executive.

"It's a momentous time in American history, a time of great change in the country, and Ron's nomination to federal government gives us the opportunity to make a dramatic change in King County," Constantine said Sunday. "I believe I am the best person to bring that change."

So far he faces only one competitor, fellow Councilmember Larry Phillips from Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood.

Constantine said he would send a statement announcing his candidacy today and his campaign plans to hold a kickoff event in a few weeks.

Sims is being nominated by the Obama administration as deputy secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sims won't resign as executive until the HUD appointment is confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

November's race for county executive would be the first open race since then-executive Gary Locke was elected governor in 1996. Sims, who was appointed to serve out the rest of Locke's term, has been re-elected executive each term since.

The executive's job will become a nonpartisan office this year according to a county charter change voters passed in November. Both Constantine and Phillips are Democrats.

At least two other Metropolitan King County Council members have also expressed interest in running for the position, including Kathy Lambert, a Republican from Redmond, and Bob Ferguson, a Democrat from Seattle. Neither could be reached for comment Sunday.

Constantine, a former attorney, was appointed to the council in 2002 and has since been elected three times. He earlier served as a state legislator and state senator and is now council chairman.

On Sunday he criticized the county's "fossilized institutions and inefficiency," and said he had worked to introduce performance measures to county agencies when he first took office as a council member.

"We can't ask taxpayers for more until we prove dollars are being used to deliver the best services," he said. Last year, the council cut $93 million in the 2009 budget.

"We can't be afraid to end programs that aren't working any more just because they're not working any more," he said. For instance, Constantine said, the county should get out of the business of running animal shelters. Shelter conditions have drawn intense criticism.

As a council member representing downtown Seattle, West Seattle, Burien and Vashon Island, Constantine has fought expansion of a gravel mine on Maury Island, pushed for a county ferry district and sought to save the historic First United Methodist Church in downtown Seattle.

Phillips, who has served on the council since 1991, has already raised $97,498 in his campaign.

Constantine acknowledges he needs to catch up, but said, "I'm in the best position to bring the change that this county needs and enact serious reforms that challenge the status quo that the county has maintained over the past few decades."

Phillips could not be reached for comment Sunday.

To fill the job between Sims' resignation and the November election, Constantine says he wants to appoint a temporary caretaker to serve as executive. Phillips has said he would seek that interim appointment.

Fellow Councilmember Julia Patterson, D-SeaTac, said Sunday she supports appointing a temporary caretaker. Patterson said she is not interested in the executive's job.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com