As County Executive of King County, Washington, Ron Sims has built his career in public service around the progressive principles of social justice, good government and environmental stewardship. He has a national reputation for boldness and vision, and is a champion of reforming government processes to better serve the people of the dynamic, forward-thinking Puget Sound region of Washington.

Sims has taken a leadership role on a range of issues, and has compiled a notable list of accomplishments. His regional public/private partnership to reform health care through the Puget Sound Health Alliance is seen as a national model. And the King County employee health initiative, which ties participation in wellness activities to out-of-pocket expense levels, is designed to cut escalating health care costs by tens of millions of dollars within five years.

As Executive, he is charged with overseeing the 13th largest county in the nation. It includes the city of Seattle, and with an overall population of 1.8 million, King County is home to about 30 percent of Washington state's population and alone accounts for more than 40 percent of the state's jobs.