Municipal/Other Questionnaire
Candidate Info
Candidate Name: Claudia Balducci
Position Sought: King County Executive
Are you an incumbent for this position? Non-incumbent
Home Legislative District: 41st LD
Are you a Democrat? Yes
Campaign Info
Campaign Manager or Point of Contact: Rebecca Rego
Website: https://www.claudiabalducci.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElectClaudiaBalducci#
Twitter: https://bsky.app/profile/claudiaforkcexec.bsky.social
Part I – Candidate Background
1. Please briefly describe your qualifications, education, employment, community and civic activity, union affiliation, prior political activity, and other relevant experience. Beyond your qualifications, what makes you the best candidate for this position or office? Please describe any specific background or unique perspective you offer and how those will help you accomplish your goals for the position sought. If possible, give practical examples.
I was raised in a family of public servants and was particularly inspired by my mom, who worked as an elementary school teacher. She taught me to work hard and never be deterred by the patriarchal attitudes which too often prevented women from reaching and breaking glass ceilings.
After putting myself through college and law school, I started my legal career interning with the Northwest Women’s Law Center (now Legal Voice), and went on to work as a labor lawyer fighting for worker wages, protections, and safety.
I moved to East Bellevue when it was still a place where housing was affordable for young people starting out. I started my political advocacy fighting for more housing and economic opportunity in my neighborhood. I went on to serve three terms on the Bellevue City Council, including one term as Mayor, where I took on powerful interests to win support for light rail, affordable housing and emergency shelters.
Later I defeated a long-term Republican incumbent for County Council, where I am the leading voice for regional housing affordability and transit investments.
Throughout my career, I’ve stood up to special interests and led transformational change for healthy communities, housing affordability, opportunity for all, reliable transit, and urgent climate action.
Now more than ever, we need proven and effective leaders who can do just that – deliver on their promises and make life better, more affordable, and more secure for working people and vulnerable communities.
As our next Executive, I’ll bring an unmatched ability to envision and create a brighter future for every King County neighbor. I’m excited to put my experience, perseverance, and proven record to work and would be honored to have your support.
2. What prompted you to run for this office?
I ran for Bellevue City Council after fighting for more housing and density in my neighborhood– overcoming serious opposition. I served three terms on the city council (one term as Mayor) where I successfully fought for light rail, affordable housing, and emergency shelters for people in need – over stiff opposition funded by some of our major business interests. Later, I defeated a long-term Republican incumbent for County Council, where I am the leading voice for regional housing affordability, transit investments, and climate action.
Throughout my career, I’ve been standing up to special interests and leading transformational change on what matters most for people: safe and healthy communities, housing affordability, economic opportunity for all, reliable transit options, and urgent climate action.
Now more than ever, we need proven and effective leaders who can deliver on their promises for working people and vulnerable communities.
As our next Executive, I’ll bring an unmatched ability to envision and create a brighter future for every King County neighbor. I’m excited to put my experience, perseverance, and proven record to work and would be honored to have your support.
3. What steps are you taking to run a successful campaign?
I ran successfully for Bellevue City Council three times, including overcoming strong opposition and well-funded negative independent expenditures by conservative interests. In 2015, I ran for King County Council, taking on a powerful 20+ year Republican incumbent who many said couldn’t be beat. Despite being outspent by a factor of between 2 and 3X, I won that race, as I have won all my races, by working hard, building broad coalitions of support, raising the resources required to be competitive, and connecting with voters on the issues that matter most to them.
In this race, there is every reason to believe there will be two Democrats in the General Election and I am well positioned – thanks to a strong base of support on the Eastside, fundraising, and a broad and growing coalition of support – to be in the General Election.
I believe that my consistent leadership on public safety, as well as my proven record making progress on affordability, infrastructure, and healthy communities, I am well-positioned to win in November.
4. What are your campaign’s most important themes, issues, or priorities (three to five)? Share issues or priorities specific to the office that you’re running for.
Our families, and our future, demand urgent, purposeful action right now, centered on the people and communities that make this region – and this nation –- strong. We need leadership that prioritizes affordability, sustainability, and safety. That’s the foundation of my vision for King County.
For that reason, affordability is at the heart of my vision. From child care to housing, we need to make this region livable for all families. I’m proud of my work expanding access to affordable child care through the Best Starts for Kids Levy—and partnering with labor and community leaders to stabilize the critical workforce that cares for and educates our children.
Housing, too, must be within reach for working families and young people. We've built thousands of homes—because public, private, and nonprofit sectors came together to make it happen. That’s how we get results—not through empty promises, but through partnership, strategy, and perseverance.
We need to stay vigilant. Federal threats to housing and behavioral health programs put tens of thousands of our neighbors at risk. Now more than ever, we need a County Executive who understands the complexity of these challenges—and has a track record of building durable, inclusive solutions.
On sustainability, we’ve made incredible strides in transforming mobility across the region. Whether it’s getting to work, school, or cultural events, our shared investment in transit is about more than convenience—it’s a cornerstone of our climate strategy.
This weekend, we’ll open two new stations of light rail, and in a few months connect Seattle to the east to Bellevue and Redmond, and to the South through Kent and Federal Way. These are projects I have championed from day one—and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve accomplished together. But we can’t stop there. We must finish the job, and expand a transportation system throughout our region, and have a complete system that connects people to work, school, social activities and economic opportunity.
When it comes to the climate crisis, our work is just beginning. As we face federal rollbacks on clean energy, we must lead locally—with bold strategies to decrease emissions, investments in green jobs and infrastructure, a focus on resilience starting with frontline communities that are most impacted and implementing policies that prioritize environmental justice. As a Councilmember and regional leader, I have pushed hard for us to be more honest and transparent about whether our efforts are meeting our goals. As Executive, I will insist that we do so — and that we adjust our efforts accordingly to make sure we do better.
And finally—safety. For too long, political slogans have taken the place of real dialogue. But here in King County, we’ve been doing the hard work—investing in behavioral health services and prevention; rebuilding an expert, well-trained, community-focused public safety workforce; expanding our co-response capabilities; and building trust across communities.
As a former public safety official, I know what it means to lead in this space. We will continue to face tough challenges—whether it’s gun violence, fentanyl, or attacks on immigrant communities. But I will not back down. I will lead with clarity, compassion, and conviction.
We won’t turn back the clock. We’ll move forward—protecting youth from harm, supporting survivors and crime victims, and helping those struggling to rejoin and thrive in our communities.
Part II – Yes/No Questions, please qualify your answer if necessary
1. Do you support steps to build a fairer economy through tax reform and progressive taxes as wealth increases? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #1
2. Do you support robust investment in publicly owned housing/subsidized housing for elderly and low-income individuals/families, and zoning changes to support such housing? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #2
3. Developer impact fees are allowed under the Growth Management Act. Should they be increased to help pay for needed improvements to our roads, parks, and schools? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #3 Yes – with an eye to ensuring that in our understandable desire to raise progressive revenue for critical local infrastructure and services, we don’t unintentionally drive up housing prices more and more. These kinds of policies have been applied in the past in ways that “put housing costs last.” We must be careful that our policies, fees and taxes do not have unintended consequences.
4. Do you support building a municipally owned and operated broadband system in your city or jurisdiction? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #4 Yes. I actually tried to pilot municipal fiber along the county-owned Eastrail in my district, but we were unable to get it off the ground due to planning timelines and cost. I would love to try again.
5. Do you support local investments to address climate change where applicable? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #5
6. Do you support women’s unrestricted access to reproductive healthcare? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #6
7. Do you support laws regulating the purchase, ownership, and carrying of firearms? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #7
8. Do you support the right of workers to unionize and bargain, including public employees? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #8
Part III – Free Response (Please answer at least four fully, and consider the additional three optional)
1. Why are you requesting Democratic endorsement? What aspects of the Democratic platform most resonate with you?
I am seeking your endorsement because I share the core values that define our party: equity, justice, sustainability, and the belief that government should be a force for good in people’s lives.
Throughout my public service—from the Bellevue City Council to the King County Council—I’ve championed policies rooted in Democratic principles. I’ve fought for affordable housing, expanded access to public transit, stood up for workers, and pushed for urgent climate action grounded in racial and economic justice. I have fought for rights, supports and protections for women, survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, people of every sexual orientation and gender identity, immigrants and refugees. As Chair of the Affordable Housing Committee, I’ve worked to address our region’s housing crisis by advancing bold, collaborative solutions—knowing that housing is not just a human right, but also critical to reducing our carbon footprint and ensuring opportunity for all.
What resonates most with me in the Democratic platform is our commitment to tackling structural inequality. Whether it’s through equitable transit-oriented development, investing in mental health and public health infrastructure, or ensuring every community—especially those historically excluded—has a voice in shaping policy, I believe we must use every tool of government to build a more just and inclusive society.
Now more than ever, we need Democratic leadership at the local level to safeguard our values and move forward with courage and compassion. I would be honored to have your endorsement as I continue this work.
2. What public policy reforms do you support to achieve greater equity and inclusion for BIPOC and LBQIA+ individuals in our communities?
Throughout my time in government and as an elected leader, I have rooted myself and my decisions in understanding and inclusion. Over the decades I have served at King County, our government has been a national leader in identifying and detailing the ways in which race and place determine life outcomes at every stage, from infant mortality to life expectancy. These findings started the County on its own path to becoming anti-racist. I have been and remain fully committed to this work.
I have also worked to respond to and reduce harm, and going beyond that to invest in and lift up BIPOC people and communities to build capacity, fairness, and prosperity. Our external-focused work has included programs dedicated to capacity-building in communities of color and historically disadvantaged communities, e.g., through voter-funded initiatives like Best Starts for Kids (see, for example, the Communities of Opportunity program) and Veterans Seniors & Human Services (including a groundbreaking pilot program to improve wages for child care workers). I am particularly proud of the “PSTAA” program which I took the lead in developing – and which included an initiative to direct funding specifically aimed at undoing historic, systemic racism – a first in King County that I was proud to cosponsor with the leadership of then Council member Larry Gossett.
Transit, housing, and other plans are now routinely developed with broad outreach in the communities served and impacted, and in partnership with an equity cabinet or equity advisory group to make sure that the perspectives and voices of our diverse communities are engaged in a more long-term, continuous way. As a councilmember, I have supported all of these programs. As Executive, I will look to expand and deepen government-community partnerships to reduce inequities and build equity-focused systems.
As Chair of the King County Council, I implemented our first formalized DEI effort in the legislative branch. We hired a leader and staff, implemented internal training programs, supported affinity groups, and more. I also advocated to include racial equity analysis in our legislative work.
Part of advancing equity means standing up when we see examples of bias, racism and discrimination. While I was chair of the County Council, one of our council members put out harmful, racist campaign communications. As chair, I led the Council in responding by taking available and appropriate actions. I used my authority to remove the offending member from committee/leadership positions, joined my colleagues in speaking out against their actions, and personally worked with staff to address the harms caused within our organization.
As President of the Puget Sound Regional Council (2021-2023), I implemented the Regional Council’s first equity cabinet, establishing a team and empowering them to direct major funding decisions on transportation projects. This work directly reverses the historical pattern of transportation projects being funded and implemented in ways that ignored and actively harmed communities of color. Now we are working to fund projects that support those communities, with direct input from them. This work recently won a Governor’s award.
Under my leadership at Sound Transit, we hired and empowered managers who are now pursuing more equitable contracting, including leading the region in signing on to the “Equity in Infrastructure Project”. This is a nation-wide initiative which supports BIPOC-led smaller contractors and subcontractors to become prime contractors, dramatically increasing their economic viability and opportunity, building generational wealth, and reducing the racial wealth gap, while making effective use of taxpayer dollars.
As Executive, I will firmly stand up for equity and justice, including commitments to all of our people regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation, immigration status, housing status or other characteristics. I will oppose any federal efforts to tear down or undermine these efforts including in our public schools and colleges. I will publicly and actively support staff and faculty fighting to maintain inclusive curriculum, hiring, and programming. I will work with school and college leaders to resist funding threats, advocate for local and state support to fill any gaps, and use the platform of King County to defend the values of equity, inclusion, and safety for all students and staff.
3. What steps do you think need to be taken to improve voter turnout and increase voter trust in our election process?
I use my position and my work to engage people differently in democracy. For example, when I was approached by a grassroots group advocating for more accessible elections, I sponsored an initiative to change our charter so that county races are moved to even-year elections. This change, in one stroke, will increase voter turnout by 10-20% and the increase will disproportionately bring in voters who are younger, who rent their home and who are people of color. Changing who selects our leadership is one path to expanding the diversity of our electorate.
I believe that streamlining our election processes, by making elections only happen on even years is a strong way to help voters understand when they are expected to vote and in turn increasing voter turnout. Furthermore, if voters see that they are being represented in government they will be more likely to vote. For that reason, giving a voice and direct representation to our different communities to inspire more of King County to vote is a priority for me.
4. What important local issues have you worked on (or taken an interest in) that you feel aren’t getting enough attention from elected leaders and the local media?
I don’t think there can ever be too much focus on the urgent action required on climate change, along with the need to balance a variety of important goals that are rooted in reality and an achievable timeline to invest in and implement. This is especially urgent now that our federal government is going beyond disavowing responsibility to doing active harm and actually encouraging activities that will accelerate the climate crisis.
I have fought for and passed policies that push the Puget Sound Regional Council to be transparent and accountable to climate goals. I also led the passage and sponsorship of legislation in which 70% of voters approved the 2020-25 King County Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Levy, investing in regional trails including the Green River Trail, Interurban Trail South, and the Lake to Sound Trail, expanding access to safe biking and walking routes. Additionally, I co-sponsored and passed legislation to update King County’s green building code for county-owned, leased, and financed buildings, as well as infrastructure like county roads, ensuring that our public investments align with our sustainability goals. I have pushed King County to partners more actively with local jurisdictions to drive climate action and results – for example successfully proposing legislation that created a “Climate Toolkit” that cities can use to build their own climate action plans, and currently advocating and legislating to create outcome-based planning and reporting to show how our efforts are or are not leading to results.
As a lifelong transit advocate, I was proud to help bring light rail to the Eastside and to serve on the Sound Transit Board, where my leadership has shaped a more connected and accessible transit system for hundreds of thousands of riders. During the development of the ST3 plan, I amended the plan to ensure parking revenues would be directed to fund transit access and walking and biking investments. For my long time work championing the expansion of our high capacity transit system, I was honored to be inducted into the Transportation Choices Hall of Fame.
As Executive, I will continue to ensure that bikes are an essential component of our response to meeting aggressive climate goals and that our planning and growth thoughtfully incorporates safe and efficient active transportation.
5. Please list at least three specific, concrete actions you would support to ease the homelessness crisis.
It has been well established that the lack of an ample supply of housing that people can afford is the factor most correlated with homelessness in our country. Homelessness truly is a housing problem. I have supported and will continue to support broad based strategies to make housing more available and attainable. As Founder and Chair of the Regional Affordable Housing Committee, I have brought together cities, employers, housing non-profits, and communities to develop transparent and accountable housing affordability plans. I have also been a champion at Sound Transit and the Puget Sound Regional Council to make housing a priority in our region. These efforts have already resulted in thousands of new affordable homes and will drive hundreds of thousands more, putting roofs over the heads of the hard-working people and families of King County. You can learn more about my work to tackle homelessness and increase the supply of affordable housing here: https://www.claudiabalducci.com/accomplishments/. As Executive, I will double down on these efforts to dramatically expand needed housing.
To address homelessness, I will also continue to implement emergency housing and supportive services to provide shelter, temporary and ultimately stable permanent housing. As Mayor of Bellevue and later King County Council member, I spearheaded the effort to create the first-ever permanent emergency shelters in East King County for young adults, women and families and men. I was also instrumental in siting and opening the first permanent supportive housing facilities in East King County. Together, these projects are housing hundreds of people each night, helping people to stabilize and move on to permanent housing. We need much more shelter. I am the only candidate in this race with experience actually creating new shelter, overcoming virulent local opposition and not backing down from it, but rather working with our communities to meet our stated values of providing shelter for those in need.
I was proud to support and pass the Harborview bond, Health through Housing measure, and Crisis Care Center levy. These types of facilities and services for mental, physical, and behavioral health supports are essential for people to stabilize in housing. All of them require additional work to meet their full promise and as Executive, I have the commitment, the drive and the knowledge to make sure we accelerate and effectively implement these combined capital and operational projects for the benefit of people in need in our County.
6. What safety, law, or justice issues are currently facing your jurisdiction, and how will you address them?
I believe the biggest problem we are facing is that for too long public safety has become a wedge issue rather than something we come together to address with common sense solutions to protect the health and safety of every neighbor.
As a public safety professional and elected official, I have prioritized proven solutions within the criminal justice system that are effective, efficient, and human. I believe in a “yes and” approach, from crime prevention and response, to behavioral health supports, to make King County communities safe and healthy.
7. What are the transportation/transit challenges which face your jurisdiction and how would you address them? What role does green energy play in your proposed solutions?
I am a regular transit rider and lifelong advocate for better, safer, more accessible transit.
We have a lot of work to do to continue to build more affordable, sustainable, and safe transportation options in our region. It’s why I successfully fought to create and pass ST3, at the time the largest transit expansion in the country. It’s why I took the lead in 2019 to develop a Metro Transit measure (which was derailed due to COVID), and it’s why I’ve worked hard to raise and invest millions in regional trails, including the development of the Eastrail bike-ped corridor in East King County. In the face of budget cuts during COVID, I successfully advocated to restart work to build Metro’s RapidRide K and R Lines and am continuing to champion the expansion of Metro’s RapidRide system, which is the workhorse of our bus network, carrying tens of thousands people to all the places they need to go every day, especially serving those who are most dependent on our transit network.
Now as Metro Transit is completing its recovery from the pandemic, it’s time to look forward to expanding. I’m working to start those conversations this year as chair of the King County Transportation Benefit District, building toward the next major Metro funding package proposal, likely within the term of the next County Executive. As chair of the Eastrail Regional Advisory Committee, I’m working with our regional partners to expand bike-ped infrastructure on the Eastside, and look forward to championing more trail investments in this year’s King County Parks Levy renewal, especially to make important connections currently lacking in South King County. Additionally, I will continue to build on my strong record at the Puget Sound Regional Council to ensure that our federal funds support expanding transit, bicycle, and pedestrian investments to help people get around our region affordably. Finally, as the architect of the current capital delivery reform efforts at Sound Transit, I am committed to pursuing new ways to accelerate expanding light rail and regional buses.
These transit advances are also climate strategies in that they provide alternatives to driving in internal-combustion-engine vehicles. We must continue to evolve our energy sources, expanding green energy, as well as upgrading our power grid to provide the level of reliable power that these new transportation options require. I am a supporter of the work to electrify our Metro and ST bus system as that is a part of the solution. I am also interested to balance this kind of market-leading capital investment with investments in expanded transit service so that we reach a net positive climate impact through the totality of our investments in transit.
It must be noted in all of this that the federal government has been a major partner in many of our major transit funding efforts. The state has been less of a partner, but through the leadership of Senator Liias and Representative Fey, we have seen that start to change. We will need our federal partnerships to continue and the state partnership to grow to meet our goals. In my current role, and as County Executive, I have been and will continue to actively work on federal and state strategies to try to preserve this funding so as to not go backwards on our sustainable transportation priorities.
By typing my name below, I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct.
Printed Name: Claudia Balducci
Date (mm/dd/yy): 05/07/2025
