The primary election is still many months in the future, but as we’ve been reporting, some campaigning has already begun. In fact, there are already candidates eager to oversee how your property taxes are determined and collected. With the latest announcement, at least two people will be on the ballot for the King County Assessor position in August.

Rob Foxcurran, who is the city of Seattle’s Senior Appraiser, announced this week in a news release that he’s running, “to make the property tax system more affordable, fair and transparent.” Foxcurran is also a Hearing Examiner on the King County Board of Appeals and Equalization, and with those credentials, says he is “the only candidate for this position with any experience related to the role of the Assessor.”

The other candidate to file so far is Shoreline Council Member Chris Roberts, who declared his candidacy almost six months ago, well before the current Assessor, John Wilson, announced he would not be running for a fourth term. Roberts has been elected five times to the Shoreline council, and served as mayor during parts of two of those terms. He was just re-elected last year to a term that ends in 2029, and is also chair of the 32nd District Democrats. On his campaign website, Roberts says he’s running, “to ensure property assessments are accurate, transparent, and grounded in public trust. With over a decade of public service, Chris understands how local policy affects real people.”

Wilson is completing a shorter term as County Assessor than usual following the passage of Charter Amendment 1 in 2022, which moved King County positions for executive, assessor, director of elections and council members to elections in even-numbered years. Wilson’s decision in October to not run again followed allegations by his ex-fiancée of harassment that subsequently led to Wilson also dropping his bid for County Executive in 2025.