In anticipation of 36th District State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles' resignation from the Legislature to serve on the King County Council, the King County Democrats tonight selected State Representative Reuven Carlyle, Belltown community organizer Liz Campell, and small business owner David Kaplan as its nominees to fill the forthcoming vacancy that Kohl-Welles' departure will create.

The party also drew up a list of nominees to take Carlyle's place in the event the Metropolitan King County Council selects Carlyle to fill the Senate vacancy. The list consists of former Progressive Majority Executive Director Noel Frame, 36th District Democratic Chair Jeff Manson, and Assistant Attorney General Sarah Reyneveld.

The six names were chosen by a special nominating caucus of the King County Democrats, consisting of the elected and appointed Democratic PCOs of the 36th District. One hundred and ninety-two of the two hundred and nineteen Democratic PCOs in the 36th showed up in person to participate in the nominating caucus.

Carlyle was overwhelmingly chosen as the first name on the list of three for the Senate vacancy in a single round of balloting. For the potential House vacancy, the results of the three rounds of balloting were as follows:

Noel Frame received the votes of ninety-nine PCOs in the final runoff, and was ranked first.
Jeff Manson came in second in the final runoff, receiving the votes of ninety-one PCOs, and was ranked second.

Sarah Reyneveld received the votes of fifty-four PCOs in the semifinal round of voting, and was ranked third.
Economic Opportunity Institute Executive Director John Burbank and Children's Campaign Fund Chair Rene Murry were eliminated following the first round of voting. Burbank received thirty-one votes; Murry received fourteen.

Following the adjournment of the caucus, the King County Democratic Central Committee's executive board met briefly to ratify the results of the special nominating caucus for transmission to the Metropolitan King County Council, in accordance with the procedures for filling legislative vacancies specified in Article II, Section 15 of the Washington State Constitution. The executive board voted unanimously to forward the names of Reuven Carlyle, Liz Campbell, and David Kaplan for the looming Senate vacancy, and the names of Noel Frame, Jeff Manson, and Sarah Reyneveld for the expected House vacancy.

King County Democratic Chair Rich Erwin applauded the high turnout and thanked all the candidates for stepping forward to seek the possible appointments.

"It's an indication of the strength of the Democratic Party in King County that we had so many capable candidates willing to step forward to serve in the Washington State Legislature," said Erwin. "We are confident that any of the hardworking Democrats nominated tonight would make excellent lawmakers, and ably represent us in the challenging 2016 legislative session."

"Tonight, we heard a serious and thoughtful discussion of the issues facing our state. Our candidates talked about the need to fully fund our public schools in compliance with the Supreme Court's McCleary decision, reform our upside down tax code, protect our air and water, combat the climate crisis, ensure women have the freedom to make their own reproductive health decisions, and take decisive, meaningful action to address the epidemic of gun violence plaguing our region and country."

"Democrats in King County are committed to building a better future for Washington and the Pacific Northwest, and we look forward to fielding a strong team of candidates for the state Legislature all across Martin Luther King Jr. County next year."