Municipal/Other Questionnaire
Candidate Info
Candidate Name: Girmay Hadish Zahilay
Position Sought: King County Executive
Are you an incumbent for this position? Non-incumbent
Home Legislative District: 11th LD
Are you a Democrat? Yes
Campaign Info
Campaign Manager or Point of Contact: Carly Pena
Website: www.electgirmay.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElectGirmay/
Twitter: https://x.com/girmayzahilay
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 believe my lived experiences and vision for a new era are essential for this time in King County.
Over my time on the County Council, I’ve pushed for bold legislation that positively impacts our resident’s lives including the creation of Crisis Care Centers which are new mental health and addiction treatment centers across King County for residents in need, a raise in the minimum wage for unincorporated King County, my Regional Workforce Housing Initiative to build more housing, and my Extreme Weather Adaptation legislation that created places to escape extreme heat, cold, and wildfire smoke. I’ve learned how to build public-private partnerships and bring in a diverse range of voices to get legislation passed, as well as build a large coalition that connects our party.
I have been endorsed by more Democratic elected leaders in Washington state than any other candidate. I’m proud to have the endorsement of Governor Ferguson, Attorney Nick Brown, Congressman Adam Smith, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, and much more. Their endorsement is a vote of confidence in my ability to take King County into the future and not just keep the status quo.
2. What prompted you to run for this office?
I’m running for King County Executive because I believe that with the right leadership and a bold vision, King County can be a place of safety and opportunity for all, regardless of background or circumstances. This belief is rooted in my life story. When my family fled persecution as refugees, King County embraced us. We were provided affordable public housing, quality schools, and good jobs that allowed my family to rebuild their lives and become rooted in our new community.
Today, the opportunities that helped me succeed are out of reach for too many residents. King County faces a severe shortage of affordable housing, a crushing cost of living and doing business, critical gaps in healthcare and mental health access, and urgent public safety concerns. Families and small businesses are stretched to their economic limits, students fear gun violence in schools, and immigrants and refugees face uncertainty as national policies threaten the values that once welcomed them.
I want to ensure every resident has access to safety, affordable housing, and the opportunity to thrive. I believe the office of County Executive is the most effective platform for improving the daily life of every resident and tackling our region's most significant challenges.
3. What steps are you taking to run a successful campaign?
I plan to win by offering a bold policy platform that will take King County into a new era and that will improve the well-being and safety of every resident. My ultimate message to voters is that I will be a champion for working people and ensure every resident feels safe, has an affordable home, and the opportunity to succeed.
So far in this race, I’ve built incredible momentum. I’ve been #1 in fundraising, cash on hand, endorsements, and more. I’m working hard to continue that work and connect with people across the region. I’ve been introducing myself to our LD Democratic organizations, hosting roundtables, and in January, I threw a kickoff rally that had 300 people in attendance.
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.
Three of my top priorities as King County Executive will be:
1.) An all-hands-on-deck approach to housing that helps us build homes faster and ensure support services meet people where they are. I will take the following steps:
– Increase access to capital for building lots more housing (bonds, housing levy, state and federal grants)
– Cut red tape / making it easier to build / streamlining permitting timelines
– Zoning reforms to allow more density in more urban areas
– Regional planning and coordination
2.) A strong economy with a strong workforce through bold investments in jobs, training, and worker protections:
– Invest in capital projects like infrastructure and transit, creating thousands of good-paying union jobs.
– Expand workforce training and apprenticeship programs in high-demand industries like construction, clean energy, and healthcare.
– Strengthen wage and labor protections to ensure workers are treated fairly and paid living wages.
– Support small businesses and entrepreneurs with access to capital, technical assistance, and streamlined permitting.
– Expand affordable childcare to enable more parents—especially women—to fully participate in the workforce.
– Pursue major economic development opportunities that attract good jobs while ensuring growth benefits all communities, not just the wealthy.
– A comprehensive, data-drive public safety approach that:
– Expands first responder capacity, supports youth intervention programs, and addresses root causes like poverty
– Addresses the root causes of crime and invests in behavioral health and addiction resources
– Fixes the county’s criminal legal system
– Eliminates gun violence from our neighborhoods
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
4. Do you support building a municipally owned and operated broadband system in your city or jurisdiction? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #4
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 the Democratic endorsement because I strongly align with the party’s commitment to economic justice, workers’ rights, housing affordability, climate advocacy, and making progress towards an inclusive democracy. The Democratic Party has been a champion for policies that promote fairness and dignity for all people and these align with my values and policy goals.
2. What public policy reforms do you support to achieve greater equity and inclusion for BIPOC and LBQIA+ individuals in our communities?
In order to increase equity for our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities, I believe we must work to include targeted policy reforms on a number of issues, including but not limited to, public safety, housing, and economic justice.
We need more community-based violence prevention programs and alternative crisis response models that help disrupt the cycle of violence that disproportionately impacts these communities. We need to increase access to affordable housing and homeownership through bold policies like my Regional Workforce Housing Initiative. And we need to strengthen local legislation that supports and promotes worker’s rights and fair hiring practices, especially in light of increasing national rollbacks.
3. What steps do you think need to be taken to improve voter turnout and increase voter trust in our election process?
A transparent, inclusive, and trustworthy electoral system is the basis of a healthy democracy. King County Elections has done incredible work to strengthen election security and build trust with our communities. From providing transparent communication and insights in the ballot process to actively updating security measures to resist tampering and interference, our KC Elections has taken many great steps to build trust. We must continue these practices to maintain this relationship while also improving voter turnout and education.
I have been a supporter of moving King County elections from odd years to even years to increase voter turnout. I also introduced legislation to change King County elections to ranked choice voting because that system would incentivize candidates to campaign to all voters, not just their base. We need pro-voter policies like these to increase awareness of elections and the impact of people’s voices. As for education, King County should invest in civic education, community outreach, and youth engagement initiatives. I’ve created my Build the Bench initiative that hosts free workshops for young people to increase civic education and to learn how to run for elected office. I believe we need innovative workshops like these to encourage participation of young people and those who are most often underrepresented in our politics.
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?
There are so many important issues in our region, but top of mind for me recently has been building a results-oriented and effective King County government. I believe we need transparency, measurable goals, and efficient constituent services. As Executive, I would appoint a seasoned Chief Operating Officer who will hold all county departments accountable to high performance standards and clear metrics. I will also appoint Cabinet-Level Directors representing the South, East, North, and Seattle region so that we can foster strong connections between all our communities and the Executive Office.
Furthermore, I will establish a Department of Constituent Services, Civic Education, and Outreach, to connect residents with resources, promote civic engagement, and support local problem-solving initiatives. This will increase access to County services and develop a deeper understanding and trust in our local government.
5. Please list at least three specific, concrete actions you would support to ease the homelessness crisis.
Homelessness isn’t just a policy issue for me—it’s personal. As a child growing up in South Seattle, my family and I experienced homelessness and lived in a shelter. I know what it’s like to feel unstable, uncertain, and unseen. That experience shaped my lifelong commitment to ensuring that no one in King County has to endure the same hardship. Everyone in King County deserves to be stably housed. The fact that we are so far behind in achieving this goal is a policy failure—and it demands an all-hands-on-deck approach to deliver the results our residents deserve.
I have a detailed comprehensive plan on my campaign website, but the key components are:
– Focusing on outcomes by demanding strong performance metrics, conducting regular external audits, and being willing to change approach if certain strategies are underperforming
– Immediate expansion of shelter and emergency housing including adding 17,000 emergency housing beds county-wide and increasing non-congregate shelters
– Reform the King County Regional Homelessness Authority and enhance regional coordination by rebuilding trust with partner cities, strengthening coordination with nonprofits, faith community, and private sector
– Prioritize unsheltered homelessness by sharpening the focus of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority to focus on reducing unsheltered homelessness and conducting targeted outreach to connect unsheltered individuals to housing and resources
– Set SMART goals by learning from the success of reducing veteran homelessness in King County and replicating those strategies to other disproportionately impacts groups with Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals
– Create a robust behavioral health system by building on the work we’ve accomplished with my Crisis Care Centers Initiative which will build new mental health and addiction treatment facilities across King County. As Executive, I will investing crisis lines, mobile responders, and crisis care centers as well as a broader continuum of care with long-term recovery and housing solutions
– Dramatically increasing our housing supply by increasing access to capital for building, accelerating permitting, reforming zoning for more density, and fostering a pro-housing culture throughout county departments
– Prevent homelessness through rental assistance, economic opportunities, and community support
6. What safety, law, or justice issues are currently facing your jurisdiction, and how will you address them?
As a King County Councilmember, the top issue I hear about from communities across the region is public safety. Whether it’s students fearing gun violence at their schools, business owners burdened by constant break-ins, bus drivers and transit riders facing assaults, or families worried about crime in their neighborhoods, people across King County feel less safe.
I have a safety plan available online that goes into more detail about the actions I will take, but a comprehensive summary is:
– Appoint a Cabinet-level Public Safety Director to coordinate safety efforts across all departments. Every department will be required to submit a public safety plan and the Public Safety Director will coordinate Neighborhood Safety Workgroups to implement targeted strategies in key neighborhoods.
– Strengthen our First Responder Systems and Outreach Professionals so that we have a fast, effective emergency responders who can respond to all crisis situations. We need to also couple that with Outreach Specialists like JustCARE and REACH to make connections and build trust.
– Fix and reform the criminal legal system without sacrificing accountability. We need fully staffed and modernized courts, prosecution, and public defense systems. We need to hold violent offenders accountable and invest in diversion programs for nonviolent offenders, especially when they have overlapping medical issues.
– Invest in robust mental health and addiction recovery by building on my work with the Crisis Care Centers initiative that builds new mental health and addiction treatment centers across King County for residents in need to access care. I will expand our recovery infrastructure by establishing a crisis response system that includes a dedicated crisis line for people in distress, mobile crisis responders, and fully integrated recovery centers that connect individuals to long term behavioral health support and permanent supportive housing.
– Focus on improving lives before they commit crimes. A key component of public safety is about preventing crime before it happens. I will invest in safe and affordable housing and childcare, create economic opportunities, and expand community-based support systems and after-school programs to give youth and families positive opportunities that can deter involvement in crime.
– Eliminate gun violence from our neighborhoods which is one of the most urgent public safety threats in our region. I’ve proposed a five-pronged strategy that focuses on prevention, intervention, and accountability.
– Invest in youth outreach and intervention to keep young people on a path toward success and away from crime. As Executive, I will expand youth mentorship and job programs, invest in effective diversion programs, and support community-based intervention teams to help at-risk youth before they enter the criminal justice system.
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?
King County faces a few transportation challenges that will impact our region’s long term mobility and prosperity. I believe whether you live in an urban, rural, or unincorporated part of King County, you deserve a transit system that gets you where you need to go.
One of the biggest threats to the mobility of our residents is King County Metro’s financial cliff which could come as early as the 2030’s. With the threat of climate change and the pressure of a growing population, we need secure funding for our buses and to ramp up their service. I will pursue new revenue sources through a transportation benefit district, ensuring that service hours can keep pace with rising demand and Metro can scale up to meet the needs of a growing region.
Keeping the Sound Transit light real expansions on track and in budget is also critical to our transportation network. The cost increases of ST3 are troubling and we must direct Sound Transit staff to do everything in their power to bring the pricetags down. I supported the Sound Transit Board resolution that directed the CEO to develop a workplan for the West Seattle light rail that would identify cost-saving strategies such as accelerating grant revenues, pursuing additional and lower cost federal loans, improving cost efficiencies, strategic property acquisition, partnerships, and value capture programs. I believe this kind of detailed planning will be necessary to carry out all ST3 projects and, as Executive, I would direct Sound Transit staff to begin this planning as early as possible in project planning.
To align transit with King County’s environmental goals, I will push for electric buses and greener technologies for our transit systems. I’m committed to a sustainable, efficient, and safe public transit system that serves every community.
By typing my name below, I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct.
Printed Name: Girmay Zahilay
Date (mm/dd/yy): 03/04/2025
