NEWS RELEASE                                                      For More Information Contact:
For Immediate Release                                                 Kathy Lambert (425) 260-7866

Kathy Lambert Files For Re-election
To King County Council, District 3

County Councilmember Kathy Lambert officially filed today for re-election to the King County Council in the Third District. “King County is facing many challenges and I will continue working to find opportunities and answers to improve county government,” said Lambert.  “These answers must be implemented so we can make county government more accountable to its citizens and taxpayers.”

Lambert regularly receives input from constituents at community events and in neighborhoods.  “As I listen to people, I hear several concerns repeated throughout my district.  People want the excessive regulations of the Critical Area Ordinances replaced with sensible rules that respect property owners as well as balance the important environmental needs that protect our quality of life; they want their confidence restored in the integrity of the elections department; and they want their road taxes spent wisely to reduce overall congestion.”

 The County Council is working to implement many reforms in the election department to restore public confidence.  “I am committed to making the changes necessary so that we will have clean and fair elections,” stated Lambert. “ It has taken some pushing and leadership in hiring national experts to come and audit but now changes are underway that should prevent the problems we saw in the last elections.  I will continue to monitor this crucial process.”

Transportation continues to be a priority for Lambert.  “In our area that means critical road improvements as well as bus service hours.  I have fought to be sure that unincorporated dollars are spent wisely and on the most important projects directly impacting our area.  We were able to save many of the road projects that were to be cut in the budget  reduction last year,” added Lambert.  “I will continue to support projects that reduce congestion and provide effective levels of bus service for our families and small businesses.”

             “As vice-chair of Law and Justice, we have had many successes,” continued Lambert. “We streamlined procedures dealing with domestic violence.  In juvenile court we made changes that have resulted in far fewer children in juvenile detention while far more are getting services to help them deal with their problems.  This has been a very important and rewarding shift.  We continue to do performance evaluations of the court system and will continue to find more ways to implement efficiencies that reduce cost and improve services. These proactive changes help improve peoples’ lives while also favorably impacting the county budget as over 70% of the general fund is spent on the criminal justice system.”

 The Third Council district that Lambert represents was recently expanded to include new areas in Redmond, Sammamish, Issaquah and North Bend due to the reduction of council districts from thirteen to nine. Each district now includes 193,000 voters. Lambert previously served seven years as State Representative for the 45^th Legislative district which covered Redmond, Woodinville, Carnation, Duvall and parts of Kirkland and Sammamish.  She has lived in the Third district for 23 years.  She is married and resides in Redmond.             

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