Kent Mayor Dana Ralph to seek third four-year term

Mayor Dana Ralph says she wants to keep Kent moving forward as she seeks a third four-year term in office.

“When Kent residents first elected me as mayor of Kent in 2017, I promised to be a hands-on leader with a strong vision for our community,” Ralph said in an emailed reelection campaign announcement. “I haven’t forgotten that commitment. From the moment I took my oath of office—I’ve never stopped fighting for Kent families and fighting for what’s right.”

Voters elected Ralph as mayor in 2017 over Jim Berrios. She was reelected in 2021 over Dawn Bennett. Ralph served on the Kent City Council from 2012 to 2017.

“I was humbled that Kent residents put their trust in me once more in 2021, sending me back to City Hall with 71% of the vote and a clear mandate to continue addressing the issues that matter most to our community,” Ralph said. “From making important investments to improve public safety and bring good jobs to Kent, to building up our infrastructure and our parks, to expanding housing options, improving city services and more—we’ve made a lot of progress these past eight years.”

Nobody has announced yet to challenge Ralph. She grew up in Kent and graduated in 1989 from Kent-Meridian High School. She and her husband, Shawn Ralph, raised two sons in town.

“As mayor, I’ve worked alongside the community I know and love, and I’ve guided our city through some tough times with grit and determination,” Ralph said. “I’ve worked hard to create lasting partnerships and have led the council to implement key initiatives and policies that directly support Kent residents.”

Ralph said during this time of economic and political uncertainty, and as South County cities like Kent face real challenges, she believes that we need common sense leadership and stability to guide us forward.

“I’m proud of the work we have been able to accomplish together,” she said. “With your continued support, we can build on that progress and keep delivering real results for the Kent community.”

Ralph’s endorsements include Kent Firefighters Local 1747; Kent Police Officers Association; Washington Realtors; U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Bellevue; state lands commissioner Dave Upthegrove; state Sens. Claudia Kauffman, D-Kent and Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines; state Rep. Chris Stearns, D-Auburn; King County Council members Reagan Dunn, Claudia Balducci, Pete von Reichbauer and Rod Dembowski.

Kent City Council members Bill Boyce, Satwinder Kaur, Toni Troutner, Zandria Michaud and John Boyd; Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus; Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell; Renton Mayor Amondo Pavone; Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell; and the mayors of Maple Valley, Des Moines, Everett, Algona, Tukwila, Issaquah, Normandy Park and Milton.