Municipal/Other Questionnaire – 2026 Revision
Candidate Info
Candidate Name: Rob Foxcurran
Position Sought: King County Assessor
Are you an incumbent for this position? Non-incumbent
Home Legislative District: 37th LD
Are you a Democrat? Yes
Have you ever been a member of another party?
Campaign Info
Campaign Manager or Point of Contact: Rob Foxcurran
List social media sites: IG: RobFox206
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. What makes you the best candidate for this position or office? If possible, give practical examples.
I am a fifth-generation Seattleite, a graduate of Seattle Public Schools, and a University of Washington alumnus. I live on Beacon Hill with my wife and daughter, and my commitment to this county is rooted in a lifetime of watching our neighborhoods evolve.
Professionally, I bring over a decade of high-level technical experience as a certified general real estate appraiser. I currently serve as the City of Seattle’s Senior Appraiser, where I navigate the most complex valuation issues in our region. Crucially, for the past three years, I served as a Hearing Examiner on the King County Board of Appeals and Equalization. This role gave me a front-row seat to the systemic inequities in our tax system: I watched corporate landowners arrive with teams of high-priced consultants to win tax breaks, while everyday homeowners and small business owners arrived unrepresented, struggling to understand a "stacked deck" that ultimately shifts the tax burden onto them. I've been both sides of this system, as the appraiser setting values and the hearing examiner adjudicating appeals. None of the other candidates running for this office have that 360° view.
I am also a proud member and shop steward with PROTEC17. My labor background informs my management philosophy: I believe in collective bargaining, workplace fairness, and the idea that a well-supported, professionalized public workforce is the only way to deliver the accurate, transparent government King County deserves.
2. What prompted you to run for this office?
I am running because the Assessor’s Office should be a shield for working families, not a source of anxiety. I watched members of my own family get priced out of the neighborhood they called home for decades, a story that has become far too common. My motivation is to "unstack the deck" for the people who need help most.
My time as a Hearing Examiner made clear that the system as currently administered too often advantages wealthy corporate interests over ordinary residents. I have the technical expertise to change that, and I believe this moment demands someone who will bring both professional competence and a genuine commitment to equity to this office.
3. What are your campaign’s most important priorities (three to five)? How do your priorities align with this position?
My top three priorities are accuracy, transparency, and affordability, and each is directly within the Assessor's authority to advance.
Equity through Accuracy: We must ensure large commercial interests are assessed as rigorously as residential properties. When corporations successfully appeal their way out of their obligations, the bill doesn't disappear, it gets sent to regular homeowners and renters. I will bring the technical expertise to defend fair, high-stakes commercial assessments.
Radical Transparency: The Assessor’s Office shouldn't be a "black box." I will replace jargon with plain-language guides and create digital tools that allow every resident to see exactly how their value was determined and how it compares to their neighbors.
Aggressive Policy Advocacy: I will use the "bully pulpit" of this office to advocate for state-level reforms, specifically a meaningful homestead exemption and "circuit breaker" programs that cap property taxes based on household income.
4. What steps are you taking to run a successful campaign?
I am building a broad, people-first coalition across King County that includes labor organizations, housing advocates, community leaders, and volunteers who care deeply about affordability and fairness in our public systems. Labor endorsements are a central priority, rooted in my background as a PROTEC17 shop steward and my longstanding relationships with organized labor.
I am actively engaging with Legislative District organizations, pursuing endorsements from progressive elected officials and community organizations, and participating in forums and candidate questionnaires to introduce myself to Democratic voters across the county. My campaign is focused on digital and text outreach to reach voters where they are, with a message centered on people over property and fairness over the status quo.
5. What is the code of conduct for your campaign?
My campaign is committed to running a positive, issues-focused race grounded in honesty, respect, and integrity. We will not engage in personal attacks on opponents and will focus our contrast on policy differences and qualifications. We are committed to transparency in our fundraising and operations, and to treating every voter, volunteer, and community member with dignity.
I believe how you run reflects how you will govern. My campaign will model the values I intend to bring to the Assessor's Office: fairness, accountability, and a genuine commitment to the people of King County.
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
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
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
Developer impact fees are an important tool for ensuring that growth pays for itself rather than shifting the burden onto existing residents and taxpayers. That said, I recognize that poorly structured fees can increase the cost of housing production, and I believe any increase should be carefully calibrated to fund needed infrastructure without creating unintended barriers to the housing supply our region desperately needs.
4. Do you support building a municipally owned and operated broadband system in your city or jurisdiction?
Choose Not To Answer
5. Do you support local investments to address climate change where applicable?
Yes
6. Do you support women’s unrestricted access to reproductive healthcare?
Yes
7. Do you support laws regulating the purchase, ownership, and carrying of firearms?
Yes
8. Do you support the right of workers to unionize and bargain, including public employees and excluding the military?
Yes
9. Do you support due process for everyone including undocumented immigrants?
Yes
10. Do you support accountability for ICE activities?
Yes
11. Do you support Keep Washington Working Act?
Yes
Part III – Free Response – Please answer the following questions.
1. Why are you requesting Democratic endorsement? What aspects of the Democratic platform most resonate with you?
While the Assessor's Office is fundamentally a technical and administrative role, the values I bring to this race are deeply aligned with the Democratic Party's vision for a more equitable and progressive America. I believe in an America where working families are supported by good union jobs, where housing is a human right, and where government works for everyone, not just those who can afford high-priced consultants and lawyers.
The Democratic commitment to economic fairness, workers' rights, and expanding opportunity resonates deeply with me as a PROTEC17 shop steward and as someone who currently works in public service. The Assessor's Office may not set policy, but it can either reinforce or challenge the systems that determine whether King County remains a place where working families can afford to stay. I intend to lead an office that reflects Democratic values: transparent, accountable, and unambiguously on the side of the people it serves.
2. What public policy reforms do you support to achieve greater equity and inclusion for BIPOC and LBQIA+ individuals in our communities?
I am unequivocally committed to LGBTQIA+ rights and BIPOC equity. Within the Assessor's Office specifically, I will work to ensure that assessment policies are fair, transparent, and do not contribute to the displacement of communities of color that have already been harmed by decades of exclusionary housing policy and inequitable tax administration.
I plan to partner directly with organizations like the Black Home Initiative, House Our Neighbors, Africa Town, tribal nations, and other community and advocacy organizations representing historically marginalized communities to ensure the office is responsive to the communities most impacted by assessment inequities. That means proactive outreach, culturally competent communication, and making sure that exemption programs reach the people who need them most rather than those with the resources to navigate a complex system.
Equity is not an add-on. It is core to what a well-run Assessor's Office should deliver.
3. What steps do you think need to be taken to improve voter turnout and increase voter trust in our election process?
While this falls outside the direct authority of the Assessor's Office, I believe voter turnout increases when people trust that government works for them. My commitment to transparency, accessibility, and equity in the Assessor's Office is itself a contribution to that trust. More broadly, I support continued investment in voter education, multilingual outreach, and removing barriers to participation for all King County residents.
4. Please list at least three specific, concrete actions you would support to ease the homelessness crisis.
As the book title says, homelessness is a housing problem. While the Assessor's Office does not directly address homelessness, it plays an underappreciated role in the conditions that drive displacement and housing instability. Here are three concrete actions I would take:
First, ensure rigorous and accurate assessment of large commercial and vacant land holdings. When wealthy landowners successfully appeal their valuations downward, the tax burden shifts onto homeowners and renters, accelerating displacement and reducing housing stability for the most vulnerable residents.
Second, aggressively expand outreach for senior, veteran, and low-income exemption programs. Too many people who qualify for property tax relief do not know it exists. Keeping people in their homes is one of the most direct tools we have to prevent homelessness.
Third, use the bully pulpit of the Assessor's Office to advocate at the state level for progressive property tax reforms, including circuit breaker programs and a homestead exemption, that protect low-income homeowners and renters from tax-driven displacement.
5. What safety, law, or justice issues are currently facing your jurisdiction, and how will you address them?
Public safety and justice are critically important issues in King County, but they fall largely outside the direct authority of the Assessor's Office. What I can speak to is the connection between economic stability and community safety. When working families are displaced by rising costs, when seniors lose their homes because they did not know a tax exemption existed, and when the property tax system advantages wealthy corporate interests over everyday residents, the resulting instability has real consequences for our communities.
A fair, transparent, and equitable Assessor's Office is a small but meaningful part of the broader effort to keep King County a place where people can afford to live, put down roots, and build stable lives. That foundation matters for the health and safety of our communities.
6. 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?
Transportation and transit policy falls outside the direct authority of the Assessor's Office, but I want to be clear about where I stand personally. I am a strong supporter of mass transit and I put my money where my mouth is by commuting via light rail. I support expanded light rail access and bus rapid transit investment across King County, and I have backed that commitment through my service on the board of a high-speed rail advocacy organization.
I believe green energy is not just an environmental priority but an economic and infrastructure one as well. Transitioning our transportation systems toward clean energy is essential to our region's long-term health, affordability, and competitiveness. The connection to the Assessor's Office is indirect but real: stable, affordable, and accessible transit reduces the pressure on households to own and operate multiple vehicles, which in turn supports the kind of housing density and affordability that keeps King County livable for working families.
By typing my name below, I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct.
Printed Name: Rob Foxcurran
Date: 03/03/2026
