About Dow

King County Council Chair Dow Constantine is a life-long local resident and a proven advocate for local families. Throughout his service in the Legislature and on the King County Council, 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 four times by the voters - in November of 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007. He has always represented a diverse district spanning rural, suburban, and urban constituencies.

Raised in West Seattle, Dow spent childhood summers at his grandparents’ home on Snohomish County’s Port Susan Bay. When the threat of the construction of a major oil port facility on the bay galvanized the community to successful action, Dow was introduced to the power of grassroots politics and the law – lessons that would guide his future work.

Dow graduated in 1980 from West Seattle High School, where he remains an active volunteer. 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 DJ for several years at the college radio station, KCMU (now KEXP), where he first met Shirley. After serving as a legislative intern to 34th District State Sen. Phil Talmadge, he graduated 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 master’s degree in urban planning in 1992.

An attorney for 19 years, Dow practiced law and worked on a number of community projects in the early 1990s. While helping activist Charlie Chong with efforts to preserve open space, he first worked with a young County Councilmember Greg Nickels. Dow went on to serve as a Council legislative aide in the mid-1990s.

In 1996 Dow won election to Washington's House of Representatives where he became 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, salmon recovery, and expanding transit mobility. On January 12, 2009, Dow’s colleagues unanimously elected him Chair of the Council.

Dow, Shirley and two somewhat spoiled shelter cats live in the West Seattle neighborhood where Dow was raised.