Ron Sims

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Ron Sims, born in 1948, is currently the King County, Washington Executive. He has twice run unsuccessfully for higher office: United States Senator in 1994 and Governor of Washington in 2004.

He was appointed to the position in 1996 after the previous holder of the office, Gary Locke, was elected governor of Washington. He was elected by wide margins to the position in 1997, 2001 and 2005. Before becoming the county executive, he sat on the King County Council from 1985 to 1996.

Sims was born in Spokane, Washington to Reverend James C. Sims Sr. and Lydia T. Sims. He graduated from Lewis and Clark High School and attended Central Washington University in Ellensburg, where he earned a B.A. in psychology. Between graduation and his election to the King County Council he worked in the office of the Washington State Attorney General, for the Federal Trade Commission, for the juvenile offenders program of the city of Seattle, and as an aide in the state senate. He is an ordained Baptist minister.

In 1994, he ran against Slade Gorton for the United States Senate and lost.

Nine years later, on July 29, 2003, he announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for Washington state governor in the 2004 elections. Sims made news in the campaign when he proposed replacing the state sales tax and business and occupation tax with a progressively graduated income tax. In the primary election held on September 14, 2004, Sims lost to state Attorney General Christine Gregoire.

Sims has been outspoken in his support of legalizing same-sex marriage in Washington State, although he refused to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples in King County, stating that it was not the business of state officials to practice civil disobedience.

In 2005, Sims earned the ire of rural and suburban residents of King County by backing the Critical Areas Ordinance plan [1], attempting to locate a Tent City on a publicly owned wetlands [[2]], and his plan to shut down a local tourist attraction to build a trail [[3]].

Sims serves as president of the National Democratic County Officials.

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