It is not a surprise, but today King County Councilmember Larry Phillips announced that he was running for King County Executive this year.  Pledging a “fresh start” for King County, Phillips has not aggressively pointed out differences between himself and fellow Democrat and incumbent King County Executive Ron Sims.  Only on rare occasions will someone in the same party challenge an incumbent, so it will be interesting to see how the race develops.  The Seattle PI states that one point of differentiation between the two lies in transportation, a hot button for the Queen Anne, Magnolia, and Ballard residents.

Phillips has been a steady and staunch advocate of Sound Transit and its light rail program, while Sims publicly reversed his long-held advocacy of light rail before the 2007 vote on a rail-and-highway tax package. That package was defeated, but a transit-only measure was approved by voters in Novermber 2008.

Larry is a resident of Magnolia, attended Queen Anne High School and the University of Washington. He also earned a Juris Doctor degree from Willamette University College of Law in 1976, graduating with honors and finishing in the top ten percent of his class.