Ballard resident Kurt Triplett has been appointed King County Executive, replacing Ron Sims, who accepted a position with the Obama Administration this spring.

Triplett had been serving as Interim County Executive in Sims’ absence and had been Sims' chief of staff for five years as part of his 17 years working for the county.

“The reason why I was chosen was I’ve been with King County in various levels of senior management,” Triplett said. “But, I think in particular I’ve been the number two guy for the executive for the past five years, and it’s a natural selection by being there every step of the way.”

Triplett was a Sunset Hill resident for 10 years and now lives in Crown Hill. He said he hopes to help Ballard specifically by finding a way to sustain the RapidRide transit system coming into the area.

With the increase of condos and people in Ballard, Triplett said it would be a major benefit and a focus of his tenure as executive.

Triplett said he realizes that there are real challenges for the government as far as the budget right now.

“We have another $43 million gap in our general fund that needs to be closed," he said. "In the next six months there is no time to bring someone up to speed, and the council members saw that and saw me as the appropriate person.”

Triplett said he is honored to be appointed by the council and appreciates their support for the humbling experience of following in Ron Sims' footsteps.

“It’s a great honor to follow him and finish out his term,” he said. “I will do everything in my power to make him proud in the next six months in leading the government the way he would.”

Triplett said he is planning to stay on track with Sims' decision-making and ideas. There will be no major changes while he holds office until this November’s elections, he said.

With no plans to run in November, Triplett said his job is not to focus on what is next for King County, but to deliver the next executive a functioning government and sound budget.

“I will produce a balanced budget that retains our AAA credit rating, and solve Metro Transit prices in a way that I hope won’t create a regional civil war in our transit service,” he said. “The challenge of the transit system is that everyone needs more not less.”