Political Career
In 1985, Sims was elected to the King County Council, being reelected in 1989 and 1993. During his first term, he and fellow Councilman Bruce Laing successfully led a campaign to have the county rededicate its name in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., a change not officially recognized by Washington State until July 25, 2005).
In 1994, he was defeated by Republican incumbent Slade Gorton in an election for the United States Senate.
In 1996, he was appointed King County Executive after the previous holder of the office, Gary Locke, was elected governor of Washington. He was re-elected in 1997, 2001 and 2005.
On July 29, 2003, he announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for Washington state governor in the 2004 elections. Sims made news in the campaign when he proposed replacing the state sales tax and business and occupation tax with a progressively graduated income tax. In the primary election held on September 14, 2004, Sims lost to state Attorney General Christine Gregoire.
On February 2, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Sims to become Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, being confirmed by the United States Senate on May 6, 2009 and sworn in on May 8, 2009
On June 14, 2011 - less than two years after accepting his HUD appointment - Sims announced his resignation and intent to return to Seattle, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. Sims' announcement followed the release of official travel records to Americans for Limited Government that showed Sims had spent 45 of 128 travel days during his tenure on trips to Seattle, a statistic that the group said raised "questions about the legitimacy of these trips." A HUD spokesperson denied the travel records indicated malfeasance on Sims' part, noting that "every trip taken by Deputy Secretary Ron Sims was in response to a formal speech or forum participation request."
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