Newly elected King County Executive Dow Constantine will be the guest speaker at the Southwest King County Chamber's January Membership Luncheon on Friday, Jan. 8.

The luncheon will be held from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at Cedarbrook Lodge, 18525 36th Ave. S, SeaTac. The cost is $20 pre-paid by Jan. 7th or $25 at the door.

It is sponsored by Puget Sound Energy. Register by contacting the Chamber at 206-575-1633 or e-mail staff@swkcc.org.

Constantine was sworn in as King County Executive on Nov. 24. He has served King County for seven years, most recently as chair of the county council and has held elected office in Washington state for 13 years.

As Executive, Constatntine said his goal is to make county government more efficient and performance-based -- giving citizens maximum value for each tax dollar.

Constantine is a member of both the Sound Transit and RTID (Regional Transportation Investment District) boards of directors.

As chair of the Capital Budget Committee and a four-year member of the council's budget leadership team, he noted he worked to help the county maintain service levels in the face of shrinking revenues and increasing health care costs.

On the council, Constantine said he worked to slow the growth of county jail expenditures through such innovations as drug court, mental health court and driver re-licensing programs.

Constantine will address issues important to business and the King County budget.