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Council passes ethics reform following $813,000 conflict-of-interest scandal

July 28, 2026

The King County Council on Tuesday approved major ethics reforms designed to prevent county employees from using their positions to benefit family members or people with whom they have personal relationships.

The legislation, authored by Councilmember Reagan Dunn, was introduced following a Seattle Times investigation that found a county program manager had overseen approximately $813,000 in grant payments to businesses connected to five of her relatives. The reporting also found that concerns had appeared in county records years earlier, but the county did not begin a formal investigation until 2025, exposing weaknesses in both financial oversight and the county's conflict-of-interest rules.

“At a time when families are stretching every paycheck, we have an obligation to ensure taxpayer money is protected, public confidence is restored, and everyone inside county government is held to the same standard," Dunn said. "Government doesn't earn public trust simply by asking for it — it earns trust through accountability. This legislation closes loopholes that allowed conflicts to exist in gray areas and replaces ambiguity with clear rules.”

The legislation, passed unanimously, responds by strengthening the county's ethics code, expanding conflict-of-interest protections to include close family ties and significant personal relationships, and requiring conflicts to be resolved rather than merely disclosed. The legislation includes:

  • Expanding conflict-of-interest rules to prohibit employees from using their positions to benefit individuals with whom they have close family ties or significant personal relationships
  • Broadening ethics protections to include significant personal relationships beyond immediate family
  • Requiring identified conflicts of interest to be resolved rather than merely disclosed
  • Clarifying portions of the county ethics code to improve consistency and enforcement

The legislation is the latest in a series of actions taken by the Council over the past year to strengthen oversight, ethics, and accountability across county government. In the wake of concerns over grant management and conflicts of interest, the Council unanimously approved Dunn’s reforms to strengthen grant oversight, created a new Inspector General Division to provide independent oversight, and advanced additional measures aimed at improving transparency and safeguarding taxpayer dollars.

“Today's vote is another important step toward ensuring King County earns — and keeps — the trust of the people we serve,” Dunn said. “I appreciate my colleagues for supporting this legislation and for continuing our shared work to strengthen oversight and restore confidence in county government.”