About Councilmember Rod Dembowski

As a member of the King County Council representing District 1, Rod Dembowski is working to improve transportation, protect the environment, ensure equal opportunities, and reform County government.

Rod has represented District 1 on the County Council since February 2013, and since that time has not missed a single vote. Rod has focused his work on:

• Investing in young people by creating the King County Youth Action Plan to ensure every kid has an opportunity to succeed
• Improving access to transportation by preventing proposed reductions of nearly 400,000 annual service hours to Metro Transit
• Protecting the environment by working to save critical open space, passing oil train safety legislation, and investing in energy efficiency and other practices to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from operations
• Combating income inequality and growing the middle class by requiring a living wage be paid to county employees
• Fighting for parents and families by authoring legislation that would guarantee paid parental leave for King County employees

Born in King County, Rod and his brother Dave were raised by their father, Al Dembowski, a Korean War veteran and small business owner. Rod graduated from Oliver M. Hazen High School in Renton in 1990, and worked his way through Georgetown University, graduating in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, with a minor concentration in Government.

After graduating from Georgetown, he returned to King County and worked as a policy analyst for then King County Executive Gary Locke and later as a Marketing & Operations and Credit Analyst for PACCAR Financial in Bellevue.

Rod attended the University Of Washington School Of Law, graduating in 2001. After graduation, he was hired by Foster Pepper, where he focused on real estate, land use, municipal and business matters, as well as advising government and private clients on ethics laws, open public meetings act and public records act requirements.

District 1 includes the communities of Bothell, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, North Seattle, and Shoreline.

Selected professional experience

Equity Partner, Foster Pepper PLLC

• Special Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
• King County Superior Court Judges, worked as pro bono counsel

Policy Analyst, King County Executive’s Office

Marketing & Operations and Credit Analyst, PACCAR Financial

Selected community involvement

• King County Performance Measurement Oversight Committee
• King County Districting Committee
• Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee
• CityClub Board of Directors
• University of Washington Law School Alumni Board of Directors,
• President of the Georgetown Club of Western Washington
• Finance Advisory Board for the Asian Pacific Islander Women & Family Safety Center
• Children and Family Justice Center Campaign