About Larry

Larry Phillips is running to be our King County Executive.

Larry was born and raised in King County and is proud to call it home. He grew up hiking in the Cascades, earning his Eagle Scout medal, swimming in Lake Washington and playing varsity basketball for his high school.

After graduating from the University of Washington and earning a law degree, Larry went to work in Washington D.C. as a legislative aid for Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson. In his free time, Larry went to school and earned a Masters degree in labor law. After several years, he returned home to manage Randy Revelle’s campaign for King County Executive and then became an integral member of his staff.

Following his time in the Revelle administration, Larry served as the executive director of a local law firm. He was later elected by the voters in the 36th district to serve in the Washington State House of Representatives.

As a legislator, he successfully fought for lower class sizes and better funding for education. He also was an architect of the Growth Management Act, which was put in place to rein in urban sprawl.

After two terms in the legislature, the voters of King County Council District Four elected Larry to the council. As a councilmember, he has expanded local parks, championed salmon recovery and supported mass transit.

In 2003, he was elected Chair of the King County Council and served three years in the leadership role.

In 2008, Larry served as the chair of the council’s budget committee. Despite intense budget pressures, he made funding public health and public safety services a top priority.

Larry serves on many local boards, including Sound Transit, the Woodland Park Zoo, the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council and the Cedar River Council. He is the National Co-Chair to Climate Communities, a national alliance of locally elected officials who work to secure federal funding for climate change initiatives.

Larry now lives in Seattle with his wife Gail, son Brett and their golden retriever, Chase.

Larry's Interests