King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn announced his candidacy for reelection next year.

In a statewide letter sent to supporters, he offered an early list of endorsements that include all eight mayors representing the residents of the 9th Council District, including the mayors of Renton, Bellevue, Kent, Maple Valley, Covington, Newcastle, Black Diamond and Enumclaw.

“The elected mayors of King County are the toughest judges of any King County Council member’s job performance,” said Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone in a Nov. 4 media release from Dunn. “Councilmember Dunn has earned the support of every one of them in District 9 because he champions bipartisan solutions to some of our region’s toughest problems.”

Dunn, a former federal prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney, and Justice Department official, is focused on stopping the dramatic rise in homicides and shootings in King County.

“Downtown Seattle politicians have now eliminated our elected sheriff and more than 150 police officers from the police and sheriff departments, and even more officers are on the chopping block stemming from the movement to defund the police,” Dunn said. “Fewer law enforcement officers mean much longer 911 response times and that families in distress across King County may not get help when they need it.

“It is no surprise, then, that we are seeing huge increases in homicides and shootings across the county. As the only member of the King County Council with meaningful criminal justice experience, I feel obligated to run for office to fight these cuts and keep our homes and neighborhoods safe from the exploding crime problem.”

Dunn was first elected to the council in 2005. He defeated Denice Carnahan 66% to 34% in 2017 to earn another four-year term. Next year’s general election is Nov. 2.

In addition to public health and safety, Dunn said he will focus on economic recovery during and after the pandemic by improving our local economy and working with small and large businesses to recover lost jobs. He will also work to ensure the county continues to make direct investments so people can stay in their homes without fear of losing them during difficult times.

“I was proud to be the first elected official in King County government to take meaningful steps to restore jobs lost from the pandemic through my Task Force on Economic Recovery that I launched last summer,” Dunn said. “I will be working to make sure that King County will be the first county in the nation to recover from the effects of COVID-19.”

Dunn said he will continue to tackle the rising tide of the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting solutions like much-needed public assistance to our local and regional medical facilities so they can care for our families.