King County Council 2023 reorganization

King County Council

King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove was on Tuesday selected by his peers to become the new Chair of the Council as members approved their annual reorganization for leadership roles.

“My priority will be to support and strengthen our democratic institutions and demonstrate that democracy can work,” Upthegrove said. “Our guiding value will be respect. This means respect for one another, for our exceptional staff, and for the people we serve.”

Upthegrove, 51, has represented South King County (District 5) on the King County Council since 2014. Upthegrove takes over from Councilmember Claudia Balducci, who held the position for the past three years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of the reorganization motion, Councilmembers Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Reagan Dunn were selected as Vice Chairs for Council.

Rod Dembowski, who represents Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, northeast Seattle, and parts of Bothell and Kirkland is chair of the Transportation committee and vice chair of Budget and Fiscal Management. 

Other committee leadership assignments include:

• Committee of the Whole: Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Chair; Claudia Balducci, Vice Chair
• Budget and Fiscal Management: Joe McDermott, Chair; Rod Dembowski, Vice Chair
• Law, Justice, Health and Human Services: Girmay Zahilay, Chair; Sarah Perry, Vice Chair
• Transportation, Economy and Environment: Rod Dembowski, Chair; Pete von Reichbauer, Vice Chair
• Local Services and Land Use: Sarah Perry, Chair; Girmay Zahilay, Vice Chair
• Government Accountability and Oversight: Pete von Reichbauer, Chair; Joe McDermott, Vice Chair
• Employment and Administration: Dave Upthegrove, Chair; Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Vice Chair
• Regional Policy Committee: Pete von Reichbauer, Chair
• Regional Transportation Committee: Sarah Perry, Chair
• Regional Water Quality Committee: Claudia Balducci, Chair

New leadership positions are effective January 1.