King County Council seat candidates narrowed to 3

King County Executive Dow Constantine has chosen three candidates to fill the open seat on the Metropolitan King County Council.

The District 5 seat, representing all or parts of SeaTac, Des Moines, Kent, Tukwila and Renton, opened up last week when former Councilmember Dave Upthegrove took office as state lands commissioner. Upthegrove was elected to the state office in November.

Constantine chose two former legislators and one current one as candidates to fill the vacancy: Karen Keiser, a former longtime state senator from Des Moines; Julia Patterson, a former County Council member and state legislator from SeaTac; and De’Sean Quinn, a current Tukwila City Council member.

Constantine, in a prepared statement, said each of his choices is an experienced elected official, prepared to step into office in an interim role.

The eight current members of the County Council will choose one of the three to fill the vacancy. The council will hold a hearing and publicly interview the candidates in the coming weeks, before making a choice. They have 60 days from Jan. 15, the date of the vacancy, to make the final appointment.

The person chosen will serve through this year’s November elections, when voters will choose a candidate to serve a full term.

Keiser served in the Legislature for 30 years, including 20 years in the state Senate. She retired last year in the middle of a four-year term.

Patterson served in the state House of Representatives from 1993 through 1997, when she was appointed to the state Senate. She served there until 2001, when she was elected to the County Council. She served on the County Council through 2013, when she opted not to seek a fourth term and was replaced by Upthegrove.

Quinn, an assistant general manager with King County Metro, has served on the Tukwila City Council since 2008. He has previously worked as a community relations manager for both Constantine and former King County Executive Ron Sims.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the number of terms served by Julia Patterson.