 Photo: King County Roads Division
Many of you have heard about a tax theKing County Transportation District (KCTD) passed this month, and some have written to us about it. Here is some background about our vote to raise the sales tax to fund roads in unincorporated King County.
King County's road network is part of a vital regional system for business, recreation, and mobility, and it has been crumbling under decades of underinvestment because the funding source available has been wholly inadequate to maintain county roads and bridges.
Late last year, this problem hit a tipping point. Some roads that were flooded out in the rains of December were closed indefinitely due to lack of funds to repair them. It became clear that this generational problem needed a solution now.
That’s why on Friday, June 12, the KCTD, which I chair, approved legislation to authorize a new 0.1% sales tax that will generate approximately $100 million annually and which will be used mostly to maintain and repair unincorporated area roads, with 12.5% allocated to support transportation funding in cities.
This is one of the most significant actions King County will take in 2026. By partnering with our cities, we're taking a step that has been needed for decades and acknowledging that infrastructure isn't a city-versus-county issue. It's a regional imperative. Our economy, our safety, and our competitiveness depend on it.
On Tuesday, I joined my colleagues in passing a $431 million supplemental budget that makes key investments in core government functions and vital community services for people throughout King County.
We took important steps to restore public trust and be responsible stewards of public dollars. Recent audits have shown we are not living up to this basic principle and I’m glad this budget improves oversight and ensures our entire contracting process is robust, from preventing misuse in the first place to investigating and stopping fraud when it does occur.
In coordination with the budget process, I was thrilled to make progress towards saving Harbor Island Studios, a unique and vital part of our creative economy and a cornerstone of our region’s film industry. I was prepared to fight for needed funding but was pleased that the Executive’s team is negotiating an agreement that will enable Harbor Island Studios to keep operating during the near future while we work toward a long-term solution.
In addition, I was able to secure key supports to organizations serving District 6, including Project be Free to help domestic violence survivors in Redmond, Friends of the Village Collective to build the Wayfinder Hub to support small businesses and nonprofits in East King County, and MEOW Cat Rescue to site a new location to save cats from across the region.
Last week, I was thrilled to join other leaders at Lake Washington Institute of Technology to celebrate the opening of their new Early Learning Center facilities. After years of planning and collecting funding, including $1 million I was able to secure in the 2024 King County budget, it was so exciting to be there for the grand opening.
This high-quality, on-site early education center for children of enrolled students and employees at LWTech provides children with quality care that sets them up for success and provides families with an affordable childcare option as they pursue a better future through LWTech’s wide range of educational opportunities. When we support families—adults and children—to learn and grow, our entire community benefits!
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