Claudia Balducci
Claudia Balducci | |
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Chair of the King County Council | |
Assumed office January 8, 2020 | |
Preceded by | Rod Dembowski |
Member of the King County Council from the 6th district | |
Assumed office January 1, 2016 | |
Preceded by | Jane Hague |
Mayor of Bellevue, Washington | |
In office January 7, 2014 – January 1, 2016 | |
Preceded by | Conrad Lee |
Succeeded by | John Stokes |
Personal details | |
Born | September 24, 1967 |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Jim Balducci |
Education | Providence College (BA) Columbia University (JD) |
Occupation |
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Website | www |
Claudia M. Balducci (born September 24, 1967) is an American politician from the state of Washington. She is the Chair of the King County Council,[1] representing District 6. She previously served as the mayor of Bellevue, Washington.[2]
Education
Balducci earned a Bachelor of Arts from Providence College and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School.[3]
Career
After graduating from law school, Balducci worked as a labor negotiator in
After endorsements that included U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Governor Jay Inslee and King County Executive Dow Constantine,[5] Balducci defeated six-term incumbent Jane Hague in the 2015 election to the King County Council.[9][10] After her re-election to a second term on the county council, she was unanimously elected to serve as Chair of the council in 2020.[11] She is the first woman to serve as council chair since 2008.[12]
During her tenure as Chair of the King County Council, she has addressed the local deployment of COVID-19 vaccines,[13] homelessness and housing issues,[14] and law enforcement reform.[15] In 2020, she proposed the director of the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) not be reappointed,[16] which was successful after a council vote.[17] In 2021, she sponsored a proposal to create a "first-in-the-nation" program to support undocumented immigrants with applications for status and citizenship that was approved by the King County Council.[18]
In 2021, in addition to her role as Chair of the King County Council, she was elected president of the Puget Sound Regional Council,[19] after previously serving as vice-president, and she has served as Chair of the Sound Transit System Expansion Committee.[11]
Honors and awards
- 2015 Warren G. Magnuson Elected Official of the Year Award, Washington State Democratic Party[20]
Personal life
In 2009, Balducci and her husband adopted a child from Kazakhstan.[21]
References
- ^ "Council Chair Claudia Balducci". King County. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ "Council Roundup: Balducci chosen mayor". City of Bellevue. January 7, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ^ a b KING Staff (January 7, 2014). "Claudia Balducci elected mayor of Bellevue". King5. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ "Claudia Balducci - Bellevue Pos. 5". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
- ^ a b McNerthney, Casey (November 3, 2015). "Longtime KC Councilwoman Jane Hague trails Bellevue mayor". KIRO7. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ Macz, Brandon (April 22, 2014). "Mayor says vision forming for Bellevue". Bellevue Reporter. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ Grande, Alison (December 10, 2015). "Bellevue to post data with hopes of innovation". KIRO7. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ Vaughn, Alexa (February 25, 2015). "Bellevue mayor to challenge Hague for County Council job". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ "Balducci defeats 6-term incumbent Hague for King County Council". The Seattle Times. November 3, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
- ^ Murray, Ryan (November 5, 2015). "Balducci pulls upset in King County race". Bellevue Reporter. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
- ^ a b "King County Council elects Claudia Balducci as chair in 2020". Kent Reporter. January 8, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ "Girmay Zahilay Begins Work on King County Council as Larry Gossett Era Ends". The Seattle Times. January 8, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ Horne, Deborah (February 6, 2021). "King County Council chair calls for more transparency on availability of vaccines". KIRO7. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ Ronco, Ed (February 24, 2021). "King Co. Council chair: 'Start and lead with the humanity' in addressing homelessness". KNKX. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ Ronco, Ed (February 25, 2021). "Law enforcement needs 'culture change,' says King Co. Council chair". KNKX. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ Carter, Mike (August 17, 2020). "King County Council poised to oust director of law enforcement oversight office". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ Kiefer, Paul; Barnett, Erica C. (September 1, 2020). "In Narrow Vote, County Council Ousts Police Accountability Director". Publicola. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ Sheppard, Cameron (June 26, 2021). "King County leaders propose funding to support immigrants in the region". The Courier-Herald. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ "Claudia Balducci and Becky Erickson elected to lead PSRC". www.psrc.org. April 29, 2021. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ "Bellevue Mayor Claudia Balducci Wins Warren G. Magnuson Elected Official of the Year Award". Washington State Democrats. September 21, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ Larin, Lindsay (March 26, 2009). "Bellevue Deputy Mayor Claudia Balducci gets the best Valentine's Day present: her new son". Bellevue Reporter. Retrieved July 6, 2020.