Dunn to Chair Law, Justice, Health and Human Services Committee

January 19, 2010

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Metropolitan King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn was elected unanimously to serve as Chair of the Council’s Law, Justice, Health and Human Services Committee. Dunn’s appointment was announced today as part of the Council’s annual reorganization of committees.

“Public safety is job one for the King County Council,” Dunn said. “With crime on the rise, this will be a very important assignment.”

Dunn will chair the committee that oversees policy for the Sheriff, the Prosecuting Attorney, the Courts, and the County Jail System. It is also responsible for oversight on all aspects of human services including policy related to the Veterans and Human Services Levy and the Mental Illness and Drug Dependency sales tax.

Councilmember Dunn has significant experience in the criminal justice field. As a presidential appointee to the U.S. Justice Department, Dunn worked as a Senior Counsel and the first national coordinator of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Bush administration’s national program to reduce gun violence. Dunn has also worked as a special prosecutor in Miami and Washington, D.C. and he also has served as Assistant U.S. Attorney in Seattle where he worked in the Elite Terrorism and Violent Crime Unit.
“My skills fit very well with this position and it will be a pleasure to be back working in this arena again,” Dunn said.

Criminal justice programs make up over three-quarters of King County’s general fund budget. With the ongoing fiscal crisis, criminal justice programs are potentially threatened by huge budget cuts. Also, during bad economic times more people in our communities need the help and support of King County’s human service network.

“The bad economy presents a number of challenges for King County government. Criminal justice and human services is where the rubber meets the road. It’s where government interacts with the people we serve. I want to continue to improve the services we provide and make them more accessible to our citizens,” Dunn said.

King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn represents the communities of Bellevue, Newcastle, Renton, Kent, Covington, Maple Valley, Black Diamond, Enumclaw and a significant portion of unincorporated King County.