Interim County Executive Kurt Triplett was unanimously appointed by the Metropolitan King County Council recently to serve as King County Executive. Triplett will serve until the results of the November general election for County Executive are certified.
Triplett was one of two nominees recommended by a Blue-Ribbon Selection Committee co-chaired by former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice and Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke. The Council interviewed Triplett and Royer in depth, along with former County Councilmembers Louise Miller and Steve Hammond.
“As Chair of the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee, I look forward to working with Kurt Triplett in this time of transition and economic uncertainty,” said Councilmember Larry Gossett. “He will draw on his 17 years of experience and leadership in County government to inform the difficult choices before the Executive’s office in the next six months.”
“With the 2010 budget in the process of being written and many other extraordinary challenges confronting us, we need an interim Executive who knows the day-to-day operations of King County,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips. “We need stability now in preparation for the new direction that will come when voters make their decision this November.”
Before his designation as interim County Executive upon the resignation of former County Executive Ron Sims on May 8, Triplett served as the Executive’s Chief of Staff. He has also served as deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources and Parks, and as Senior Legislative Assistant to former County Councilmember Cynthia Sullivan.
The appointment is the culmination of a selection process that began April 6 when the Council adopted legislation to establish the blue-ribbon selection process. Former Executive Ron Sims resigned his office following his swearing-in as Deputy Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Obama Administration.
Triplett serve as County Executive until the results of the November general election are certified in late November.
