About Claudia

Claudia Balducci is a housing and transportation champion, a lifelong public servant, and a mom. For more than two decades, she has driven transformative change in the region—expanding opportunity, standing up for the most vulnerable, and delivering on the issues that matter most.

GROUNDED IN PUBLIC SERVICE

FROM NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZER TO MAYOR

LEADING THE COUNTY THROUGH CRISIS —AND BEYOND

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES

TRANSFORMING TRANSIT AND INFRASTRUCTURE

A VISION FOR INCLUSIVE, VIBRANT COMMUNITIES

ROOTED IN THE COMMUNITY

GROUNDED IN PUBLIC SERVICE

Claudia’s commitment to public service runs deep. Raised in a family of dedicated workers—her mother a teacher, her brother a firefighter, and her stepfather a court officer—Claudia learned early the value of community and local government. She put herself through college and law school with scholarships, loans, and side jobs. She also studied abroad at Oxford University where she played on the Oxford women’s basketball team.

Her legal career began at the Northwest Women’s Law Center (now Legal Voice), where she fought discrimination against women and LGBTQ+ people, defended reproductive rights, and supported survivors of domestic violence. She continued her advocacy as a labor lawyer and volunteered with organizations like the Refugee Women’s Alliance, always standing up for working families and vulnerable communities.

FROM NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZER TO MAYOR

Claudia’s political journey began in East Bellevue, where she advocated for expanding housing and economic opportunity in her own neighborhood, ultimately founding her local neighborhood association. That grassroots leadership led her to serve three terms on the Bellevue City Council, including a term as Mayor.

As Mayor, she stood up to entrenched interests and won tough battles to bring light rail to Bellevue, open the city’s first emergency shelters, and expand affordable housing. She is credited with helping create the first-ever permanent supportive housing and men’s shelter on the Eastside.

LEADING THE COUNTY THROUGH CRISIS —AND BEYOND

In 2015, Claudia was elected to the King County Council after defeating a long-term Republican incumbent. Her reputation for driving policy, building coalitions, and getting results led her peers to elect her Chair of the Council in 2020—just before King County became ground zero for the pandemic. Under her leadership for the first three years of COVID, the Council maintained critical services, protected public health, and supported communities through an unprecedented crisis.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES

As Founder and Chair of the Regional Affordable Housing Committee and a former Governing Board Member of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, Claudia has been a driving force in addressing housing affordability. Her efforts have already resulted in thousands of new affordable homes, with plans to develop hundreds of thousands more, ensuring that King County remains a place where people of all backgrounds—including students, working families, seniors, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color—can find a home.

TRANSFORMING TRANSIT AND INFRASTRUCTURE

A lifelong transit rider known as a “transit die-hard,” Claudia is one of the most effective transportation leaders in the region. She’s widely credited with delivering light rail to East King County—first fighting to route it through Bellevue and later leading the push to open the 2 Line early.

As Vice Chair of the Sound Transit Board and former Chair of the System Expansion Committee, Claudia has led multibillion-dollar transit expansion across the region, while also advocating for bus rapid transit, pedestrian safety, and infrastructure improvements like Eastrail, a 42-mile regional trail that will connect the Eastside from Renton to Woodinville. She is the leading voice at Sound Transit for reform to deliver regional mass transit faster and more efficiently.

A VISION FOR INCLUSIVE, VIBRANT COMMUNITIES

Claudia believes King County should be a place where everyone—students, workers, families, and seniors—can live, thrive, and belong. As Director of the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention, she led major reforms to improve the treatment of inmates in our County’s main jail, including physical and mental health services.

Her unwavering support for programs like Best Starts for Kids and the Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account (PSTAA) has helped create more equitable educational opportunities for youth and families across King County. Claudia also spearheaded initiatives that elevate arts, culture, science, and heritage, including the “Doors Open” program, which is expanding access to cultural resources countywide.

ROOTED IN THE COMMUNITY

Claudia lives in Bellevue with her husband Jim, their kid Victor, and their dog Angel. She continues to be an active community member and brings an open-door, collaborative approach to government. With every role she’s taken—from jails director to mayor to council chair—Claudia has brought people together, built coalitions, and delivered real results.

About Claudia

GROUNDED IN PUBLIC SERVICE

FROM NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZER TO MAYOR

LEADING THE COUNTY THROUGH CRISIS —AND BEYOND

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES

TRANSFORMING TRANSIT AND INFRASTRUCTURE

A VISION FOR INCLUSIVE, VIBRANT COMMUNITIES

ROOTED IN THE COMMUNITY

GROUNDED IN PUBLIC SERVICE

FROM NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZER TO MAYOR

LEADING THE COUNTY THROUGH CRISIS —AND BEYOND

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES

TRANSFORMING TRANSIT AND INFRASTRUCTURE

A VISION FOR INCLUSIVE, VIBRANT COMMUNITIES

ROOTED IN THE COMMUNITY

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