Peter Kwon and Steffanie Fain lead the six-candidate primary race for King County Council District No. 5 with Kim-Khanh Van closed behind.
Kwon has 27.9% (5,422 votes), according to results released Tuesday night, Aug. 5 by King County Elections. Fain is next with 24.6% (4,777 votes) followed by Van with 20.8% (4,035 votes).
The rest of the results are Ryan McIrvin with 12.4% (2,407 votes), Angela Henderson with 7.9% (1,528 votes) and Ahmad Corner with 5.7% (1,095 votes).
The two candidates with the most votes advance to the Nov. 4 general election. King County Elections releases results each weekday. The election will be certified Aug. 19.
The election is to replace Dave Upthegrove, of Des Moines, who resigned in January after his election as state lands commissioner. De’Sean Quinn was appointed to fill in the rest of year for Upthegrove but didn’t run for the seat.
The district includes parts of Kent, Tukwila, Renton, Burien and the cities of Des Moines, Normandy Park and SeaTac.
Fain, of Normandy Park, has raised $182,366 and spent $141,725 to lead all candidates, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission website on Aug. 5. The next highest were Van with $67,706 raised and $56,263 spent followed by Kwon with $54,548 raised and $65,230 spent, more money than he has raised.
Kwon is a member of the SeaTac City Council. Van and McIrvin are members of the Renton City Council.
King County Executive
For the primary race narrowing the competition for King County Executive, the two expected front-runners have made it through.
Girmay Zahilay received 40.39% of the vote and Claudia Balducci received 30.2% of the vote.
Other candidates included Derek Chartrand, Bill Hirt, Amiya Ingram, Don L. Rivers, Rebecca Williamson.
John Wilson was still listed on the ballot as a candidate, but ended his campaign after being arrested due to an investigation into stalking and harassing his former domestic partner.
King County Parks Levy (Prop. 1)
Early results show voters approving the King County Parks Levy at 70.09%.
The King County Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Levy is a not a new tax, but a replacement for the expiring parks levy. Voters first approved the levy in 2008, and have renewed it every eight years.
The new tax rate would be 23 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value for six years. For the average King County homeowner with $844,000 in assessed property value, the annual bill comes out to $194, or about $16 a month.
The proposed tax rate is higher than the levy voters approved in 2019, which was a little more than 18 cents per $1,000 assessed property value. Supporters note that the cost difference is about $3.50 a month.
King County expects to collect more than $1.45 billion over the six years of the levy to support more than 250 parks, 185 miles of regional trails, 215 miles of backcountry trails, and 32,000 acres of open space. Levy revenue makes up about 85% of the department’s budget.
FYI
Voters can track their ballot to see if it has been counted yet, check their voter registration and more by going to https://info.kingcounty.gov/kcelections/vote/myvoterinfo/.
See all King County primary election results here: https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/elections/results/2025/august-primary-election
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