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 About Dow Constantine Dow Constantine is a life-long local resident and a proven advocate for local families. Throughout his service in the Legislature, and now as our King County Councilmember, Dow has consistently fought for transportation solutions, resource conservation, public safety, and government accountability. Dow was appointed to the King County Council in January 2002, and has been elected three times by the voters - in November of 2002, 2003 and 2005. He is proud to represent the communities of District Eight - including West Seattle, White Center, Burien and Vashon Island - on the Metropolitan King County Council. Raised in West Seattle, Dow graduated from West Seattle High School in 1980. While at the University of Washington he worked nights, weekends and summers - everything from bartending to fish processing, stocking shelves to teaching skiing. He was a D.J. for several years at the college radio station, KCMU (now KEXP), and served as a legislative intern to 34th District State Sen. Phil Talmadge before graduating with a degree in political science. Born of a long line of devoted Huskies (his grandfather and great uncle played on Washington's famed Rose Bowl teams of the 1920s), Dow continued his studies at UW, earning his law degree in 1989 and a masters degree in urban planning in 1992. An attorney for 15 years, Dow practiced law and worked on a number of community projects in the early 1990s. While helping with efforts to preserve open space, he first worked with a young County Councilmember Greg Nickels. Dow later went to work for Nickels and District Eight as a senior legislative aide in the mid-1990s. In 1996 Dow won election to Washington's House of Representatives where he served as co-chair of the Judiciary Committee. He was re-elected in 1998, and moved up to the State Senate in 2000 when Senator Mike Heavey was elected judge. In the Senate, Dow served as vice-chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee and vice-chair of the Judiciary Committee. As a King County Councilmember, Dow has worked for efficient, performance-based government - getting the most value for each tax dollar. A strong supporter of the environment, he has taken a leadership role on the tough issues of growth management and salmon recovery. Dow is a major backer of waterborne transportation alternatives, including the West Seattle water taxi. As vice-chair of the Budget Committee and a three-year member of the budget leadership team, he worked to help the county maintain service levels in the face of shrinking revenues and increasing health care costs. He has worked with his council colleagues to stem ever-increasing jail expenditures through such innovations as drug court, mental health court and driver re-licensing programs. Like many West Seattle kids, Dow makes his home in the neighborhood that raised him. His parents Lois and John - both retired teachers - still live across the street in the house where Dow and his younger brother (Blair) grew up, and are familiar faces around the community in their own right. Dow's father John, a noted artist, continues to paint and show his works. Dow and his partner Shirley are slowly but surely - but mostly slowly - restoring an eighty-year-old house and the wooded hillside next to it. Dow’s Election History
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