On Thursday, Redmond City Council Vice President Kim Allen announced that she will withdraw her name from consideration for appointment to fill Ross Hunter’s seat in the 48th Legislative District.

Allen was one of three individuals who were nominated by the King County Democrats to fill the state representative vacancy following Hunter’s resignation to helm the Washington State Department of Early Learning. The remaining two individuals nominated for the position were attorney Patty Kuderer and real estate broker Santiago Ramos.

The King County Council will meet Monday to appoint Hunter’s replacement.

In withdrawing her name, Allen told the Reporter over the phone Thursday afternoon that she will be supporting the King County Democrats’ top choice of Kuderer, who received 25 of 39 votes for the first-ranked spot and was the Democratic precinct committee officers’ (PCOs) top choice by a 3-to-1 margin. Allen said she is asking King County Council to do the same at the meeting on Monday.

Allen received 20 votes for the second-ranked spot. Ramos received 32 votes for the third-ranked spot.

“The 48th District is very lucky to have two progressive Democratic women ready to serve in Olympia,” Allen said.

While she does not know Kuderer very well, Allen said she has confidence in the King County Democrats’ PCOs and will honor their choice.

“After many years of representing the Eastside locally and regionally as a strong voice for better transit, environmental stewardship and smart growth, I truly believe I am ready to serve the interests of 48th Legislative District in Olympia,” she said in a prepared statement to the Reporter. “But the voting members of the 48th Democratic Legislative District nominated Patty as their first choice to fill this seat. My withdrawal today honors the choice of those precinct leaders.”

King County Council member Kathy Lambert said in this process, state law only requires nominating parties to provide the appointing council with the names of the three nominees; they are not required to rank the candidates.

Lambert said with the ranking system, nominating parties are letting people know who their preferred candidate is and that can sway people to think and act in a certain way to honor the parties’ choices — it’s no longer an even playing field. She added that ranking the nominated candidates allows appointing councils to skip interviewing the candidates, which would allow them to make a better-informed choice for their appointment.

In addition, Lambert said in past appointment processes, she has seen nominating parties put forth candidates who are clearly not viable or qualified for the position. For example, one year, Lambert said one of the nominees for an open position was an elderly woman who was on oxygen and not exactly able to serve in office, narrowing their choices down to two.

“I’m not playing this game,” Lambert said, adding these types of actions allow the parties to make decisions for the entire district, which in turn impacts the state.

Allen said she plans to stay in contact with Kuderer to discuss the issues that matter to her such as transportation, affordable housing and mental health funding.

“I stand ready to share my experience and knowledge of what matters to Eastside communities with her and I urge the members of the County Council to confirm Ms. Kuderer,” reads Allen’s statement. “For now, I will remain a fierce advocate for Redmond and all the Eastside communities as we grapple with the challenges our growth will bring.”

Allen said she had no comment regarding whether she plans to run for the 48th District representative position when it is up for re-election.