Skip to main content

Newsletters

July 2015 newsletter

Stay in the loop on our work to build equity and opportunity, confront climate change, and make King County the best-run government in America.

* Manage your subscriber preferences, or sign up for the Exec's newsletter here.

From the Office of King County Executive Dow Constantine

News from King County Executive Dow Constantine
July 2015 •  Issue 16


Best Starts for Kids - King County
Executive Constantine visited Boston schools in 2014 to learn about their early education models. His 'Best Starts for Kids' initiative will be on the November ballot here in King County.

Executive's 'Best Starts for Kids' initiative on November ballot

Best Starts for Kids is an initiative to improve the health and well-being of King County by investing in prevention and early intervention. The King County Council voted 8-1 to place the initiative on the November 3 ballot.

"We have the means, the shared commitment, and now the opportunity to put every child in King County on a path toward lifelong success," said the Executive following the Council's vote. "Thanks to [this] action by the Councilmembers, voters will have the option to invest earlier in the development of our children and youth, when we have the greatest chance to help them reach their full potential.

"Best Starts for Kids is how we will transform the way we invest in our next generation, to finally provide the upstream solutions that prevent negative outcomes such as mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, and incarceration. By making the latest research and tools available to every parent and caregiver in our community, we will be able to produce the talented, creative, and motivated workforce we need to remain a prosperous region."

The proposed six-year levy rate is 14 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. It would cost the average King County property owner an estimated $56 per year, or about $1 per week.


Juvenile Justice System - King County  

Ending racial disparity in the juvenile justice system

The Executive joined with Superior Court Judge Susan Craighead and members of the County Council to announce a countywide steering committee charged with recommending solutions to a growing racial disparity in the regional juvenile justice system.

"Racial disparity has no place in our justice system, especially not in a system responsible for the well-being of our youth," said the Exec. "Making the system impervious to the mostly unacknowledged, but nevertheless real biases that each of us carries with us is a tall order, and will require the partnership of everyone in our community."

The steering committee represents the largest and most diverse group the County has ever assembled to end racial disparity in the juvenile justice system.

Learn more at the King County Youth Justice blog: http://kcyouthjustice.com.


Arts and culture investment - King County  

Historic $20 million investment in regional cultural facilities

A one-time investment of approximately $20 million will go to building new arts and cultural facilities while expanding, preserving, and improving existing ones.

Executive Constantine announced the partnership between King County and 4Culture called 'Building for Culture' that will support theaters, performing arts centers, museums, and more. The program is made possible by the early retirement this year of bonds that originally financed Kingdome renovations.

"As a region, one measure of our quality of life is the strength of the arts and heritage that catalyze creativity and fuel the imagination---the very qualities that drive our region's booming economy," said the Exec.

Get more info more about applying for new Building for Culture grants.


Patty Hayes, Public Health Director - King County  

Patty Hayes confirmed as Director of Public Health

Executive Constantine and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray thanked the King County and Seattle City Councils for confirming their appointment of Patty Hayes as Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County. She had served as Interim Director since August 2014.

Earlier this year, Hayes received the Cynthia F. Shurtleff Award recognizing extraordinary leadership and dedication to the health and well-being of women, children, and families in Washington state. Executive Constantine selected her as co-leader of the 'Best Starts for Kids' development team.

"How we think about and deliver health improvements in communities is rapidly changing," said Hayes, who was inducted into the UW's Nursing Hall of Fame in 2002. "I look forward to building even stronger partnerships within the health and human services community and across sectors to innovate for everyone's better health."


Executive Constantine in the news

King County Executive
Dow Constantine
Dow constantine portrait

Read the Executive's biography

expand_less