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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This week, the Committee of the Whole heard my proposal to establish a pathway to quickly re-hire King County employees who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Now that the pandemic is over and the vaccination requirement has been lifted for King County employees, I firmly believe it's imperative that the County does everything it can to bring back those employees that were separated due to their vaccination status—especially our deputies and corrections officers, who the County has invested significant taxpayer funds into training.
Though I was a strong proponent of the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic, the reality is that the vaccine mandate caused King County to lose many valuable employees at a time when we couldn't afford to. Today, the King County Sheriff's Office and Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention remain very understaffed. Our Sheriff’s Office still has over 100 open positions that they haven’t been able to fill. Meanwhile, violent crime—including murder, rape, assault, and gun violence—is the highest it’s been in 15 years.
Not only is it fair to our first responders to offer them their jobs back, including seniority and benefits, but it's also in the best interest of the public who depend on them for public safety. I will continue to work to bring back our invaluable employees so the County can meet the safety needs of our communities. If you want to learn more about my legislation, check out this MyNorthwest article here.
All my best,
 Reagan Dunn
King County Councilmember
District 9
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