King County Executive candidates stack cash

Plus more political money goodness and some recommended reading

The sweet executive suite in the King County courthouse is the plum job on the ballot this year, and cash is flowing accordingly. King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay has raised more than $700K in his bid for the office, including $88K in April alone. Zahilay has high-profile endorsers, including Gov. Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown. His donor list is a progressive who’s-who, including Ben Haggerty, aka the rapper Macklemore. 

His rival and council colleague, Claudia Balducci, isn’t that far behind. The former Bellevue mayor who represents that city and environs on the council has raised more than $550K. She’s endorsed by a variety of elected officials from East King County. Her donors include some prominent players in recent years, including John Stanton, the majority owner of the Seattle Mariners, and property developers George Rowley, who owns a big chunk of downtown Issaquah and helped bankroll the Mullet-for-governor experiment last year, and George Petrie of Seattle, who hasn’t been shy about giving in the city’s elections. 

King County Councilmembers Girmay Zahilay and Claudia Balduccci (Photos courtesy of the Zahilay and Balducci campaigns.)