Committee of the Whole

The Council's Committee of the Whole (COW) includes all nine councilmembers. It considers issues of interest to the entire council, including appointments to the state legislature and department directors and key subordinate units in the executive branch; the annual legislative program; legislation before the federal, state and local governments that affect King County; the King County Strategic Plan; oversight of Harborview Medical Center; arts and culture and associated levies, if any; the Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account; gun safety; the immigrant and refugee commission; issues related to the census; the charter review commission; homelessness, including the King County Regional Homelessness Authority; COVID-19 pandemic response, excluding supplemental appropriations; Racial equality and gender equity and other program and policy matters.  The committee of the whole shall conduct town hall meetings on issues of significance.

PUBLIC NOTICE: The Committee of the Whole meetings will be held virtually until further notice. To help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus the Chambers will be closed and all committee members and staff will be participating in the meeting remotely.

HOW TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT: The Committee of the Whole values community input and looks forward to hearing from you on agenda items.

There are two ways to provide public comment:

1. Written public comment: You may comment in writing on current agenda items by submitting your comments using the link below. Comments submitted by 8:00 a.m. on the day of the meeting will be distributed to the committee members and appropriate staff prior to the meeting. 

   Click here to submit written public comment. Please include the topic and, if known, the related committee in the subject line of your email.
   

   If you would like to comment on an item not on the current agenda you can email the Councilmembers here.
   
   

2. Oral public comment: You may provide oral comment on current agenda items during the meeting’s public comment period by connecting to the meeting via phone or computer using the ZOOM application and the webinar ID below.  
   
   You are not required to sign up in advance. Comments are limited to current agenda items.
   
   You have the right to language access services at no cost to you. To request these services, please contact our Language Access Coordinator, Reeni Nair at 206-477-4978, or reeni.nair@kingcounty.gov by 8:00 a.m. the day prior to the meeting.

CONNECTING TO WEBINAR: 

WEBINAR ID: 

If you do not have access to the ZOOM application, you can connect to the meeting by calling 1-253-215-8782 and using the meeting ID above. Connecting in this manner, however, may impact your ability to be unmuted to speak.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN TO THE MEETING: There are several ways to watch or listen to the meeting

1. Stream online via this link:
   https://livestream.com/accounts/15175343/events/4485487, or input the link web address into your web browser
   
   
2. Watch King County TV Channel 22 (Comcast Channel 22 and 322(HD), Wave Broadband Channel 22)
   
   
3. Listen to the meeting by telephone – See “Connecting to the Meeting” above
   

To help us manage the meeting, if you do not wish to be called upon for public comment please use the Livestream or King County TV options listed above, if possible, to watch or listen to the meeting.

Meeting Times: 9:30 AM on the first and third Wednesday of each month

Committee Membership

Chair: Jeanne Kohl-Welles,
Vice Chair: Reagan Dunn
Members: Claudia Balducci, Rod Dembowski, Joe McDermott, Sarah Perry, Pete von Reichbauer, Dave Upthegrove, Girmay Zahilay

Committee Staff:
Lead Staff: Andy Micklow
Committee Clerk: Angelica Calderon

Meeting Materials for the Committee of the Whole

Listed below are the meeting materials for the Committee of the Whole. The meeting materials available before each meeting are combined into one PDF document and posted below under Meeting Agendas and Materials. On occasion, not all materials will be available before the meeting. Additional materials for the meeting are posted as they become available.

(If links are not displaying below, you may access agenda materials at https://aqua.kingcounty.gov/council/agendas/cow/)