Preceded by Ron Sims Name Kurt Triplett Nationality American Party Democratic Party | Political party Democratic Party Succeeded by Dow Constantine Spouse(s) Heather Triplett | |
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Children Matthew Triplett
Daniel Triplett
Meredith Triplett Alma mater Stanford University
Harvard University Residence Crown Hill, Seattle, Washington, United States Education Stanford University, Harvard University | ||
King County Exec Chief of Staff (now former Executive) Kurt Triplett, CCF Round 3, 2 of 4
Kurt Triplett was the seventh King County Executive in Washington, United States and currently serves as the city manager of Kirkland.
Contents
- King County Exec Chief of Staff now former Executive Kurt Triplett CCF Round 3 2 of 4
- Political history
- Personal
- References
Political history
After Ron Sims was nominated by Barack Obama to serve as Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on February 2, 2009, Sims issued a standing executive order to have his Chief of Staff, Kurt Triplett, fill in for him as King County Executive until the King County Council could choose a replacement. Less than three weeks later, Pete von Reichbauer, a Council member, introduced the idea that Triplett should serve as the interim County Executive in a caretaker role until after the November 2009 election, saying that "as long as [Triplett] commits to not wanting to run for office, then he can focus on the county budget, not the campaign." Sims and then-Council Chairman Dow Constantine agreed the caretaker role should serve a limited term and not stand as a candidate for the November 2009 election.
Sims resigned as King County Executive on May 8, 2009, the day he was sworn in as deputy secretary of HUD, opening the interim replacement candidate evaluation process. A 16-member Blue Ribbon Selection Committee was appointed by the King County Council and co-chaired by former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice and Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke to evaluate four potential candidates: former Seattle Mayor Charles Royer, Triplett, former Council member Louise Miller, and former Council member Steve Hammond. The potential interim Executives were not drawn from the six candidates vying for that office in the August 18, 2009 nonpartisan Executive primary: Dow Constantine, Larry Phillips, Susan Hutchison, Ross Hunter, Fred Jarrett, and Alan Lobdell.
In the initial round of evaluations, Royer received votes from ten of the sixteen Blue Ribbon Selection Committee members; Triplett received votes from five, and Miller received a single vote. The Metropolitan King County Council appointed Triplett as the Interim County Executive in a 6–3 vote on May 18, 2009, with dissenting votes from Councilmembers Bob Ferguson, Jane Hague, and Kathy Lambert. Miller stated that Royer should be appointed after having received a "supermajority" of votes from the Blue Ribbon panel.
Triplett was appointed to the position after making a commitment not to run for election for the upcoming full term.
In the November 3, 2009 Executive election, Dow Constantine defeated Susan Hutchison and was elected to succeed Triplett. Constantine was sworn in when the results were certified on November 24, 2009.
Since June 2010, Triplett has been city manager of Kirkland, Washington.
Personal
Kurt Triplett was born and raised in Cheney, Washington, where he graduated from Cheney High School in 1985 after serving as Associated Student Body President his senior year.