Dow Constantine turns attention to suburbs

Dow Constantine, seeking to build support among suburban and rural voters in his bid for King County executive, officially opened his Bellevue campaign headquarters Thursday and announced a "reform agenda" that emphasizes cooperation between the county and cities.

"This is Ground Zero for our countywide campaign to win King County," Constantine said, as suburban and rural elected officials stood behind him in his storefront office just east of downtown Bellevue.

Reaching out to the suburbs is important to Constantine's chances in the Nov. 3 election. His rival, former TV news anchor Susan Hutchison, was the top vote-getter in most suburban and rural precincts in the eight-way primary. Constantine won most Seattle precincts.

Hutchison is currently executive director of the Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences.

Constantine's agenda unveiled Thursday was a mix of new ideas and others he has already floated.

If elected, Constantine, chairman of the Metropolitan King County Council, said he would immediately reduce the size of the executive staff even while appointing a "senior coordinator" to work with suburban and rural cities, the Port of Seattle and smaller special-purpose districts.

To reduce duplicative research and planning costs, he said the county and cities should rely more on the Puget Sound Regional Council, a four-county agency that focuses on transportation and growth issues.

"The prior administration fell into the pattern of too often issuing orders and making demands, as opposed to working in an open, collaborative manner" with municipal, state and federal officials, Constantine said in a statement. "That problem will end the day I take office."

Hutchison's campaign manager, Jordan McCarren, said Constantine's plan "is identical to things Susan has been saying since she entered the race months ago" — repair relationships with the cities, streamline government, improve the business climate and give citizens easier access to the budget.

One difference between the candidates: "King County doesn't need another $100,000-a-year staff person to work with smaller cities. King County needs an executive who will do that," McCarren said.

Joining Constantine in Bellevue Thursday were state Sen. Fred Jarrett, D-Mercer Island; Bellevue Deputy Mayor Claudia Balducci; Enumclaw Mayor John Wise; Normandy Park Mayor Shawn McEvoy; and other officials.

A news release said Constantine's reform plan was written with input from Jarrett and state Rep. Ross Hunter, both of whom ran for executive in the primary.

In recent weeks Constantine has received endorsements from Mayors Grant Degginger, of Bellevue, Ava Frisinger, of Issaquah, and Jim Lauinger, of Kirkland.

"We are going to cut costs but we are not going to pull officers off our streets," Constantine said of his plan to balance next year's budget. His reform plan said "everything must be on the table" in renegotiating employee benefits.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com