Welcome

On Tuesday, June 3, the King County Council appointed Rep. Victoria Hunt to fill the seat that state Sen. Bill Ramos held before his untimely death. Our district elected Hunt last year to the state House, where she served as vice chair for the Energy and Environment committee and joined the Local Government and Transportation committees. She also works as the chief data officer for Crosswalk Labs.

To fill the newly vacated House seat, the council then interviewed three candidates whom precinct committee officers nominated on Saturday, May 31, in case Hunt was chosen. From that pool of applicants, the council unanimously selected Issaquah City Councilmember Zach Hall. Hall was elected to the Issaquah City Council in 2019, where he led efforts to expand funding for affordable housing, crisis response, homelessness outreach, climate action, and transportation infrastructure.

The meeting was serious and somber as many reflected on the circumstances for these appointments, namely Ramos’ sudden passing on April 19. The sadness was shared by members of the 5th Dems who participated along with the council itself, out of respect for their colleague (and Ramos’ widow), Councilmember Sarah Perry.

Hunt and Hall both stated they were honored to follow in the footsteps of their friend, Bill, and will strive to uphold his legacy. Sen. Hunt and Rep. Hall join state Rep. Lisa Callan to complete the 5th District delegation; all of them are Democrats who will represent us well in Olympia!

See King County Council’s appointment statement.