State Rep. Upthegrove might run for Patterson’s King County Council seat

State Rep. Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines, said Friday he is "seriously considering" running for the King County Council to replace Julia Patterson in District 5.

State Rep. Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines, said Friday he is “seriously considering” running for the King County Council to replace Julia Patterson in District 5.

Patterson announced Friday that she will not seek re-election after 12 years on the council. Her term expires the end of 2013. Candidates must file for the seat by May 17.

District 5 which includes all or portions of Kent, Renton, Tukwila, Burien, SeaTac, Des Moines and Normandy Park.

“I am seriously considering it,” Upthegrove said during a phone interview Friday. “I am going to take the weekend to talk to a few folks and decide next week. I need to look at whether it is the right thing to do.”

Upthegrove represents District 33, which includes part of Kent as well as Des Moines and SeaTac. He is in his seventh term in the House and chairs the House Environment Committee.

He previously worked for seven years on the staff of the Washington State Senate. He also has worked intermittently on the Patterson’s staff.

Patterson represented the 33rd District in the House and the Senate for nearly a decade before she left the Legislature and was elected to the King County Council in 2001 when she defeated Pam Roach with 58 percent of the vote. She was reelected in 2005 and 2009.

 


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