Dave Upthegrove
2014 - Present
2026
10
Dave Upthegrove is a member of the King County Council in Washington, representing District 5. He assumed office in 2014. His current term ends on January 1, 2026.
Upthegrove (Democratic Party) is running for election for Washington Commissioner of Public Lands. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024. He advanced from the primary on August 6, 2024.
Biography
Upthegrove earned a bachelor's degree in environmental conservation from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a graduate certificate in energy policy planning from the University of Idaho. He began his career as a legislative assistant to former state Senator Julia Patterson, and was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Washington House of Representatives in 2001. Upthegrove served in the House until 2013, when he resigned after winning election to the King County Council. He replaced former state Sen. and Councilmember Julia Patterson on the commission.[1][2]
Elections
2024
See also: Washington Public Lands Commissioner election, 2024
General election
General election for Washington Commissioner of Public Lands
Dave Upthegrove and Jaime Herrera Beutler are running in the general election for Washington Commissioner of Public Lands on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
 | Dave Upthegrove (D) | |
 | Jaime Herrera Beutler (R) | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Washington Commissioner of Public Lands
The following candidates ran in the primary for Washington Commissioner of Public Lands on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jaime Herrera Beutler (R) | 22.0 | 419,309 |
| ✔ | | Dave Upthegrove (D) | 20.8 | 396,304 |
 | Sue Kuehl Pederson (R) | 20.8 | 396,255 | |
 | Patrick DePoe (D) | 14.1 | 267,944 | |
 | Allen Lebovitz (D) | 10.2 | 194,118 | |
 | Kevin Van De Wege (D) | 7.5 | 143,174 | |
 | Jeralee Anderson (D) | 4.4 | 84,353 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1,658 | ||
| Total votes: 1,903,115 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Rebecca Saldana (D)
- Mona Das (D)
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2021
See also: Municipal elections in King County, Washington (2021)
General election
General election for King County Council District 5
Incumbent Dave Upthegrove defeated Shukri Olow in the general election for King County Council District 5 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dave Upthegrove (Nonpartisan) | 64.3 | 25,584 |
 | Shukri Olow (Nonpartisan) | 35.0 | 13,921 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 266 | ||
| Total votes: 39,771 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Dave Upthegrove and Shukri Olow advanced from the primary for King County Council District 5.
2017
Incumbent Dave Upthegrove ran unopposed in the general election for the District 5 seat on the King County Council.[3]
| King County Council, District 5 General Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Dave Upthegrove Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 27,371 |
| Total Votes | 27,371 | |
| Source: King County, "November 7, 2017 General Election," November 7, 2017 | ||
2016
- Main article: Washington Natural Resources Commissioner election, 2016
Upthegrove filed to run as a Democratic candidate in the 2016 election for Washington commissioner of public lands. He competed with four other Democrats, one Republican and one Libertarian in the August 2 top-two primary election.[4] Upthegrove was defeated in the primary election by former Naval Commander Steve McLaughlin (R) and attorney Hilary Franz (D).
The following candidates ran in the Washington primary for natural resources commissioner.
| Washington primary for natural resources commissioner, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Steve McLaughlin |
37.95% | 494,416 | |
| Democratic | Hilary Franz |
22.80% | 297,074 | |
| Democratic | Dave Upthegrove | 14.12% | 183,976 | |
| Democratic | Mary Verner | 12.25% | 159,564 | |
| Libertarian | Steven Nielson | 4.84% | 63,056 | |
| Democratic | Karen Porterfield | 4.74% | 61,710 | |
| Democratic | John Stillings | 3.31% | 43,129 | |
| Total Votes | 1,302,925 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign finance
| Dave Upthegrove Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bericht | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| To date | As of August 2, 2016 | $ | $127,452.43 | $(108,382.64) | $ | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $127,452.43 | $(108,382.64) | ||||||||
2012
Upthegrove won re-election in the 2012 election for Washington House of Representatives District 33-Position 2. Upthegrove ran unopposed in the blanket primary on August 7, 2012, and defeated Martin Metz (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dave Upthegrove Incumbent |
69.6% | 31,700 | |
| Republican | Martin Metz | 30.4% | 13,818 | |
| Total Votes | 45,518 | |||
2010
Dave Upthegrove was re-elected to the Washington House of Representatives District 33-Position 2. He was unopposed in the August 17, 2010, primary and in the November 2, 2010, general election.
| Washington House of Representatives, District 33-Position 2 Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Dave Upthegrove (D)
|
12,651 | 100% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Democrat Dave Upthegrove won re-election to the Washington House of Representatives, District 33-Position 2 receiving 70.17 percent of the vote (28,366 votes), defeating Republican Tan Lam who received 29.83 percent of the vote (12,057 votes).
| Washington House of Representatives, District 33-Position 2 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Dave Upthegrove (D)
|
28,366 | 70.17% | ||
| Tan Lam (R) | 12,057 | 29.83% | ||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Dave Upthegrove has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Dave Upthegrove asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Dave Upthegrove, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?
Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 19,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.
You can ask Dave Upthegrove to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing [email protected].
Campaign website
Upthegrove's campaign website stated the following:
| " |
Conserving and Protecting our Public Lands I’ve studied the current state of our public lands, spoken with conservation leaders across the state, and have given a great deal of thought to how we can best protect and preserve our public lands. I believe the next Lands Commissioner should direct the Department of Natural Resources to prioritize the following areas:
I’ve heard the need to improve engagement and transparency — including expanding membership of the Board of Natural Resources to include tribal representation, public representatives, and small forest landowners. I’ve seen first-hand the importance forest practices play in healthy rivers and salmon recovery. I’ve heard the passion for preserving the health of our aquatic lands, and am committed to doing so. [6] |
” |
| —Dave Upthegrove’s campaign website (2024)[7] | ||
2021
Dave Upthegrove did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
Missed Votes Report
- See also: Washington House of Representatives and Washington State Senate
In March 2014, Washington Votes, a legislative information website, released its annual Missed Votes Report, which provides detailed missed roll call votes on bills for every state legislator during the 2014 legislative session.[8] The 2014 regular session included a total of 515 votes in the State House and 396 in the State Senate, as well as 1,372 bills introduced total in the legislature and 237 bills passed. Out of all roll call votes, 90 individual legislators did not miss any votes. Three individual legislators missed more than 50 votes.[8] Upthegrove missed 34 votes in a total of 696 roll calls.
Freedom Foundation
The Freedom Foundation releases its Big Spender List annually. The Institute ranks all Washington legislators based on their total proposed taxes and fees. To find each legislator’s total, the Institute adds up the 10-year tax and fee increases or decreases, as estimated by Washington’s Office of Financial Management, of all bills sponsored or co-sponsored by that legislator.[9]
2012
Upthegrove proposed a 10-year increase in state taxes and fees of $2.41 billion, the 31st highest amount of proposed new taxes and fees of the 93 Washington state representatives on the Freedom Foundation’s 2012 Big Spender List.
- See also: Washington Freedom Foundation Legislative Scorecard (2012)
The Freedom Foundation also issued its 2012 Informed Voter Guide for Washington State voters, including a legislative score card documenting how Washington State legislators voted upon bills the Foundation deemed important legislation. The legislation analyzed covered budget, taxation, and pension issues.[10] A 
sign indicates a bill more in line with the Foundation's stated goals, and a 
sign indicates a bill out of step with the Foundation's values. Here's how Upthegrove voted on the specific pieces of legislation:
| 2012 House Scorecard - Dave Upthegrove | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill #6636 (Balanced budget requirement)
|
Bill #5967 (House Democrats budget)
|
Bill #6582 (Local transportation tax increases)
|
Bill #6378 (Pension reforms)
| ||||||||
| Y | Y | Y | N | ||||||||
Awards
- 2012: Legislator of the Year, NW Marine Trade Associations
- 2011: Legislator of the year, Washington Conservation Voters
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Upthegrove served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Environment, Chair |
| • Local Government |
| • Transportation |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Upthegrove served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Environment, Chair |
| • Local Government |
| • Transportation |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Upthegrove served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Ecology and Parks, Chair |
| • Local Government and Housing |
| • Transportation |
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Washington Commissioner of Public Lands |
Officeholder King County Council District 5 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ King County, "Biography," accessed July 20, 2016
- ↑ Dave Upthegrove, "About Dave Upthegrove," accessed July 20, 2016
- ↑ King County, Washington, "Who has filed: 2017 candidate filing," accessed May 19, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcandlist - ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Candidates," accessed July 16, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Dave Upthegrove for Washington State Lands Commissioner, “Priorities,” accessed July 23, 2024
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Washington Policy Center, "2014 Missed Votes Report for Legislators Released," March 18, 2014
- ↑ Freedom Foundation, "2012 Big Spender List," accessed April 17, 2014
- ↑ My Freedom Foundation, "Home," accessed June 18, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
King County Council District 5 2014-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Washington House of Representatives District 33-Position 2 2001-2013 |
Succeeded by Mia Gregerson (D) |
| |||||||||||||||||
 |
State of Washington Olympia (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Regierung |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
