Dear Friend,

Earlier this month I was honored to be elected unanimously by my colleagues to serve as Chair of the King County Council. As I take on this new role, I look back on a year full of highlights as well as challenges which will carry forward to 2008. I am excited about the new initiatives we will embark on to expand transportation choices, provide more recreational opportunities and step up our efforts to protect open space across King County.

In 2007, thanks to the support of county voters, we implemented additional bus service to give people frequent and reliable options to driving alone. King County Metro was the fastest growing transit operator in the Nation in 2007 – carrying over 100 million people to home, work and school. We also laid the groundwork for a significant partnership between King County and the Port of Seattle to preserve the BNSF eastside corridor for future rail and trail use. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to preserve this unique corridor and prevent it from being sold off in pieces to the highest bidders. And for the first time our 2007 Environmental Benchmark Report showed that people in King County were recycling more waste than what was being deposited in our landfill.

2007 brought challenges as well. Last November, with the defeat of Proposition One, we faced a set back in our efforts to improve our region’s transportation problem and expand light rail. Roads and Transit was by all accounts a bold, ambitious and comprehensive plan designed to erase decades of neglect of our transportation system. While voters rejected the ballot measure, they didn’t reject a desire to improve safety on our region’s roads and expand high capacity transit. When it comes to our natural environment, we all know that despite some positive news from our 2007 Environmental Benchmark Report, we still face significant challenges in improving air quality, salmon runs and water quality in many small lakes as well as in Lake Union and Lake Washington.

As we head into the New Year, we will embark on an ambitious and exciting agenda to carry out the will of the voters of King County, who have generously supported new investments that will maintain and enhance our quality of life, protect our environment and give us all new opportunities to get outside and enjoy our wonderful county.

Recently, King County voters have overwhelmingly supported continuation of our top flight Medic One services, new investments in regional parks and trails, and expansion of nationally recognized bus service. King County has also recently taken significant steps to improve public safety by embarking on a major flood levee repair program to keep us safe in major storms, begun efforts to reform our mental health system to cut costs in our criminal justice system, and improve and reorganize how we provide critical public health services. Citizens have expressed strong support for these initiatives and expect results and progress as we begin the New Year.

In 2008, the King County Council will consider a major update to our county’s comprehensive plan. Your active participation and involvement is essential to our efforts to maintain the integrity of the urban growth boundary, strengthen policies that protect open space, rural areas and natural resources and also incorporate strategies to combat climate change.

This year I will also serve as Chair of the King County Ferry District, a separate government from the County Council, charged with operating passenger ferry service in King County. This is an exciting effort to bring the Mosquito Fleet back to our region and expand the opportunities people have to get around our beautiful county without a car.

Whether we live in one of King County’s 39 cities or are one of the 360,000 residents who reside in unincorporated King County, we all share a common desire for better parks, more transportation choices, more recreation opportunities, a strong criminal justice system, a clean environment, quality public health services and a safety net to provide for our most vulnerable. These issues transcend city borders and party label and require cooperation among many governments and leaders in the environmental, labor and business community.

Before being elected to the County Council in 2001, I was fortunate to have served as a founding member of the SeaTac City Council and as a State Representative and State Senator. Through that experience I’ve come to learn that for King County government to be successful in protecting our environment and natural resources and preserving open space, we need to maintain collaborative relationships with city, port, state and federal elected leaders. The environmental and transportation challenges that we face, from cleaning up the Puget Sound to expanding our transit system, are too complex for any one government to solve on their own.

2008 promises to be a wonderful year full of environmental victories. I look forward to continuing to work with you to keep King County a wonderful place to live, work and play. Please don’t hesitate to contact me either by phone (206.296.1005) or by email Julia.Patterson@kingcounty.gov.

Sincerely,

Julia Patterson
Chair, King County Council

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