Pete von Reichbauer

Pete von Reichbauer
Member of King County Council from the 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office 1994
Website	http://www.kingcounty.gov/vonreichbauer.aspx

Pete von Reichbauer is a member of the King County Council, representing District 7, a 124-square-mile (320 km²) region of South King County which includes all or part of the cities of Algona, Auburn, Black Diamond, Covington, Federal Way, Kent, Maple Valley, Milton, Pacific and large unincorporated areas. Prior to his election to the Council, von Reichbauer served as a Washington State Senator to the 30th Legislative District (South King County, North Pierce County) between 1973 and 1993.

As a member of the King County Council, von Reichbauer is best known to many for his leading role in preventing the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks from moving to Los Angeles in 1996 and helping broker the sale of the franchise from Ken Behring to current owner Paul Allen.

Some of his notable achievements on the King County Council include forging public/private partnerships to protect the Hylebos Wetlands (a near shore salmon breeding habitat), helping fund the construction of the South King County Baseball fields, blocking the development of Sexual Predator Housing in residential areas of South King County, and securing the acquisition of Bingamon Pond as a County Park. In addition, von Reichbauer helped fund and rebuild Redondo Beach Drive, facilitated the construction of the Federal Way Transit Center and the 317th HOV ramps on Interstate 5, and worked with state and federal authorities to help construct the I-5 Triangle interchange in Federal Way.

Early history

Pete von Reichbauer grew up in Lakewood, Washington and was the second son of Ludwig and Marian von Reichbauer. He went to public and private secondary schools, and graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in History. After college he joined the US Army through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). In the course of his military service Pete was stationed at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana and Ft. Benning, Georgia as well as overseas in Japan. After serving on active duty, the U.S. Army Reserve, and the Washington Army National Guard, he retired at the rank of Major.

Early political career

Upon returning to the Puget Sound area, von Reichbauer was approached by friend and then-State Senator Booth Gardner about running for public office. In a special election held in 1973 von Reichbauer ran a campaign that narrowly defeated 30th District Republican incumbent Mike Mattingly. The victory made von Reichbauer the youngest member of the Washington State Senate and the fourth youngest senator in Washington history. In the ensuing years he went on to chair the Parks and Recreation Committee, the Education Committee (K-12), the Transportation Committee, and the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee of the Washington State Senate where he focused on consumer protection, consolidation of agencies and the reform of outdated regulations. He also worked to fund the newly formed and controversial Public Disclosure Commission. After opposing a number of party line positions as a Democrat, von Reichbauer shook up Washington State politics on February 13, 1981 when he switched from a Democrat to a Republican and delivered the senate’s tenuous 25-24 majority into the hands of the Republican Party. Von Reichbauer then went on to defeat a recall effort, and served in the Senate until he left his seat in midterm to run for the King County Council.

Election to council

In 1992, the voters approved a merger of the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (Metro) into King County government, and the King County Council was expanded to thirteen members. In 1993 von Reichbauer defeated State Representative Jean Marie Brough in the Republican primary election and defeated Federal Way mayor Bob Stead (by a 60-40 margin) in the general election to become the District 7 King County Councilmember.

Professional sports

Jim Zorn, Steve Largent and Pete von Reichbauer after climbing Mount Rainier

One of the most pivotal moments in von Reichbauer’s career came in 1996 when Ken Behring, owner of the Seattle Seahawks, announced he was moving the team to Los Angeles. After other negotiators and civic leaders failed to convince Behring to sell the team and he left the bargaining table, von Reichbauer entered the process. He soon found himself one of the last people standing on behalf of local government and the Seahawks fans. At a meeting that featured many of Paul Allen’s closest business advisors, von Reichbauer was able to convince the group of the merits of saving professional football for the Puget Sound region. Sometime later, Paul Allen agreed to purchase the team and von Reichbauer was hailed by many, including King County Executive Ron Sims, as one the most important public figures in the fight to save the Seahawks. (cite: The News Tribune, Monday, June 23, 1997).

King County Council

In 1994 von Reichbauer was named chair of the Council’s Budget and Fiscal Management Committee. As chair, von Reichbauer presided over an often contentious budget process in which he drew praise for guiding the Budget Committee for an unprecedented three years in a row, demonstrating yet another clear example of his ability to work across party lines and put the public’s needs ahead of politics. The Budget Committee unanimously passed the budget in 1994 and 1996, and overwhelmingly passed the budget in 1995 by a vote of 12 to 1.

In 2000 and 2001 von Reichbauer was elected by his peers to serve as Chair of the King County Council. In recognition of his even-handed leadership as Chair of the Council, he was elected Vice-Chair by his colleagues when the Metropolitan King County Council changed party control in 2003 (becoming the first minority party member to serve in Council leadership). Currently, von Reichbauer serves on the Metropolitan King County Council as Chair of the Regional Policy Committee, as well as Vice-Chair of the Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee. He also serves on the Committee of the Whole, the Government Accountability and Oversight Committee and sits on the Board of Directors for Sound Transit. He formerly served as Chair of the Regional Transit Committee.

In 2008, von Reichbauer spearheaded a movement to make the King County Council, the County Executive, and the Assessor nonpartisan offices. On November 4, 2008, voters supported the measure, and all elective offices of King County became nonpartisan.

Philosophy

Pete von Reichbauer is known for his high level of community engagement. In addition to his positions in public office, von Reichbauer served as a founding board member the Boys and Girls Club of Federal Way, a board member of St. Francis Hospital, and President of the Kiwanis Club.

Von Reichbauer has lived by the mantra, “listening is the beginning of understanding.” As Chair of the Metropolitan King County Council, von Reichbauer held an unprecedented amount of town hall meetings throughout the county. If given the opportunity to meet with community members or legislate from afar, von Reichbauer has always preferred the former.

References

• http://www.kingcounty.gov/vonReichbauer/Biography.aspx
• http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-04-21/sports/9604210295_1_ken-behring-king-county-councilman-peter-option
• http://www.highlinetimes.com/2008/02/04/news/twenty-two-acres-hylebos-creek-habitat-gains-permanent-protection
• http://your.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/1999/061699.htm
• http://www.valleyrecord.com/news/30181124.html?period=W&mpStartDate=04-02-2011
• http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940901&slug=1928277
• http://www.soundtransit.org/About-Sound-Transit/News-and-events/News-releases/News-release-archive/Federal-Way-TOD.xml
• http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/news/101033719.html
• http://www.enotes.com/topic/Pete_von_Reichbauer
• http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=723380
• http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=299229
• http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=16581
• http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7905
• http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/archive.aspx
• http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=184x17665
• http://your.kingcounty.gov/elections/pamphlet/pamphlet.aspx?cid=33594&eid=1232