Councilmember Jorge L. Barón

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of bestowing the Martin Luther King Jr. Medal of Distinguished Service Award to Dominique Alex, Chief Executive Officer of Mary’s Place.

This award commends Dominique’s unwavering commitment to ensuring families have access to safety, stability, housing, and the necessary tools to thrive. With many in our community facing housing instability, her work plays a crucial role in our collective fight to ensure we are giving our neighbors a safe place to stay when there is nowhere else to go.

I am proud to recognize Dominique as another outstanding leader in District 4 who shares the value of helping others with dignity and compassion.

Learn more about Dominique and her work! ⬇️
https://vimeo.com/1187109434/a1b060847d?share=copy

Today, I joined the Sound Transit Board meeting, alongside many of my constituents, to urge the Board to support the amendments that bring us closer to delivering light rail to Ballard.

When voters in District 4 overwhelmingly supported ST3, they were supporting the promise that high-capacity transit would connect Ballard and Interbay with the region. Sound Transit was tasked with delivering on that promise.

There have always been choices in how the transit is delivered - such as amenities, design, and technology. But those choices should never detract from the primary purpose of ST3: to deliver high-capacity transit to the residents who voted for it.

The Ballard line has the highest projected ridership of any ST3 extension, and we’ve seen the excitement of Ballard residents through their advocacy. Failing to deliver this connection will hurt the whole network.

Learn more. ⬇️

https://www.soundtransit.org/get-to-know-us/news-events/calendar/board-directors-meeting-2026-05-28

Today we honor and remember those who have fought for our freedom. Happy Memorial Day!

Every year, Ballard holds one of the largest 17th of May celebrations outside of Norway, commemorating the signing of Norway’s constitution in 1814.

I was pleased to attend the annual luncheon at the National Nordic Museum to deliver a recognition for May 17 as Syttende Mai, Norwegian Constitution Day and to join other residents during the annual parade through Ballard’s streets.

Erna Solberg, former Prime Minister of Norway and current Member of Parliament, was this year’s Grand Marshal for the parade. Captain Dale Mittet Pederson, former Virginia V Captain and longtime 17th of May Committee member, and Konrad Uri, fishing industry pioneer, were the Honorary Marshals.

As always, it is inspirational to witness the strength, heritage, and joy of our local Norwegian community. 🇳🇴

I will be at the Greenwood Branch Library on Friday, May 29 from 3 pm to 5 pm for my next “Brewing
Conversations with Jorge” session.

I invite you and your fellow neighbors to stop by to discuss questions, comments, or ideas on how King County can better serve you. These sessions are an informal opportunity for constituents to drop by when they can and stay for as long as they’d like to connect with me. The goal is to make myself accessible to my constituents. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Earlier this week, I participated in a community meeting hosted by Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss at the National Nordic Museum to discuss the future of light rail to Ballard. I was pleased to see many constituents come out to engage with me, City Councilmembers Strauss and Kettle, and the 36th Legislative District state delegation (Senator Frame and Representatives Berry and Reed).

We had the opportunity to hear from representatives from Sound Transit about the budget challenges the agency is facing and, most importantly, to hear from our shared constituents about how important transit is to the community. All of us in elected office reaffirmed our commitment to work together toward our shared goal of ensuring that Sound Transit fulfills the commitments that were made to voters and delivers light rail to Ballard.

Again, thank you to everyone who spent the evening being civically engaged in your community! More to come. 🚉

REMINDER! Today⬇️

On May 5, the council unanimously approved a motion I sponsored in collaboration with Councilmembers Fain and Dembowski to strengthen oversight of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) and establish a structured, fact-based process to evaluate its future.

The adopted motion asks King County Executive Zahilay to provide both a near-term briefing and a comprehensive report by August 1, 2026.

Read our press release to learn more about this motion. ⬇️

https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/council/governance-leadership/county-council/newsroom/2026/05-05-baron-fain-dembowski-kcrha-motion-passage

I joined over 250 community members at the Save Ballard Rail rally to call on the Sound Transit Board to find a way to fulfill their promise to voters and deliver on the ST3 vision, especially to Ballard. I was happy to stand alongside Ballard residents, transit advocates, and other elected officials at the city and state levels to re-affirm our commitment to the Ballard Light Rail Extension. 📢

Let’s continue the conversation! City of Seattle Councilmember and Sound Transit Board Member Dan Strauss will be hosting a community meeting to discuss the future of the Ballard light rail on Monday, May 11 at 6 pm at the National Nordic Museum. Sound Transit staff will present on the latest developments and I, along with other local leaders, will be there to listen to your comments and concerns regarding this project. 🚆

RSVP: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=RR7meOtrCUCPmTWdi1T0G64lcnHUJQpNkIFk8DQmXBtUMUxNT0QzNkFGNEg5WjkwTUJMTjQ2MURZOC4u

I would like to highlight what my office has been doing to strengthen my relationship with District 4 constituents, other local leaders, and organizers. Getting outside of the office is crucial to understanding community needs and allows me to be more accessible to my constituents.

If you would like to catch up on the work my office has been doing since January, I encourage you to read and, if interested, sign up to receive my monthly newsletter.

There I provide updates on:
📜 Legislation passing through council,
📢 Opportunities to get involved,
💰Grants, and more!

If you are looking to be more civically engaged, this can be one of many ways to do so!⬇️

https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/council/governance-leadership/county-council/councilmembers-districts/jorge-l-baron/newsletters