Washington State recently held a general election that included close races for several local positions, which will impact Seattle residents for the next several years. While the mayoral election may have drawn the most attention, another essential and lesser-known position was on the ballot as well: the role of King County Executive. 

In Washington, each county has its own government, some of which are headed by an elected executive. The county executive is a position with duties similar to those of a city mayor, including managing the county budget, appointing department leaders and leading policies and initiatives.

Nov. 7, Girmay Zahilay won the position after Claudia Balducci conceded. Both Zahilay and Balducci currently serve on the King County Council, a legislative body for the county. Zahilay, a resident of South Seattle, ran on his experience as an immigrant refugee who has experienced homelessness, emphasizing his personal commitment to fixing the issues facing the county. His platform focuses on affordability, safety, and government accountability.

Sarah Cate, associate professor of political science, stressed the importance of the King County Executive when it comes to making sure that social services operate effectively.

“A lot of our students, particularly commuters but faculty as well, rely on public transportation to get to class and do all the things that are necessary to have a functioning university. And so, if the city is not supporting that infrastructure adequately, then that would harm our university,” Cate said. 

He plans to prioritize efforts to address homelessness by focusing on locally and nationally proven plans, including expanding emergency housing options like tiny house villages, increasing the housing supply through zoning reforms and a billion-dollar regional workforce housing initiative to create rent-restricted housing.

Zahilay also campaigned on government accountability and expanding protections for people’s rights. He advocated for an Office of Internal Audit, which would serve to create performance metrics for all county programs to ensure that tax dollars are spent in ways that they are meant to. Zahilay promised to protect King County residents from federal overreach, including protecting reproductive freedoms, LGBTQ+ rights and immigrant rights.

This race had a low turnout. As of Wednesday, Nov. 12, 45.21% percent of eligible voters had cast a ballot. This was approximately eight percentage points lower than the turnout for the 2021 race, and signals a possible lack of interest or engagement. Luca Dennes, a second-year computer science major at Seattle U, initially expressed uncertainty about what the King County Executive role is, then remarked that he voted due to his desire to see Seattle public schools receive more care.

“I voted for the guy,” Dennes said. “I saw that he was accredited by a lot of sources. Looking at the pamphlet, I didn’t do the most research, but I saw that a lot of people backed him up.” 

This feeling of uncertainty and lack of information about the position was a sentiment shared by other students. Derek Nguyen, a second-year computer science major at Seattle U, also felt unengaged by the campaigns. 

“I didn’t even know there was an election,” Nguyen said. 

He later remarked that if he had known there was an election, he would have voted. 

On the Seattle U campus, there were attempts to inform and mobilize student voters. The university hosted a mayoral debate, but the student leaders in the Political Science club and professors in the Political Science department made the most notable voter mobilization efforts. 

“We took some space in our classes to talk about elections when they rolled around. I would hope that makes them feel more confident about voting,” Cate said. “I would imagine other departments take some time talking about the political system when it comes around, though I do think that hosting the mayoral debate was a really great way of including [the] Seattle U community into the political process.”

Zahilay will be sworn in Nov. 25 after the election results are certified. Zahilay has appointed a transition committee of 100 people to assist with his preparation for the role. He plans to spend his first few months focusing on homelessness, affordability, and creating a better government.