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Bob Ferguson was elected in 2003 to serve on the King County Council. Bob and his wife, Colleen, live in Maple Leaf, a quiet neighborhood in Northeast Seattle, with their twins Jack and Kate. Bob and Colleen married at Parsons Gardens on Queen Anne Hill, just a block away from where Bob grew up. Colleen is the Associate Director of International Education at Shoreline Community College.
Together, Bob and Colleen love the outdoors and hike on King County’s many great trails. In Bob’s free time, he enjoys a variety of outdoor activities and is a particularly enthusiastic backpacker and mountain climber. He has hiked hundreds of miles of Washington trails and reached the highest peak of 45 states—with a goal of reaching the top of all fifty states. He is also climbing the hundred highest peaks in Washington State.
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Bob with his wife Colleen, who works at Shoreline Community College
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Bob on one of his many hikes
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Bob is also an accomplished chess player. He is a nationally and internationally rated chess master and has twice won the Washington State Chess Championship. He has competed in international tournaments in Europe and his games and articles have been published locally, nationally and internationally. When he is not hiking or competing in chess tournaments, Bob is an avid birder, a rabid Husky sports fan, and enjoys spending time with his wife, family, friends, and his many nephews and nieces.
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Bob’s Family
Bob Ferguson is a fourth generation Washingtonian and grew up in King County as the sixth of seven children. Bob's great grandparents homesteaded in the 19th Century on the Skagit River near what is now Marblemount. His grandparents owned and operated the Broadway Meat Market in Everett. Parents Betty and the late Murray Ferguson met at Everett High School. Murray Ferguson devoted nearly forty years to the Boeing Company in facility planning and budgeting. Betty Ferguson taught special education in the Seattle public schools for 17 years.
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Bob with his family celebrating his parents 50th Wedding Anniversary
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Bob with his Mother at Convocation
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Public Service and Democratic Party Leadership
Bob became involved with government and civic activism at a young age. He was elected Senior Class President at Bishop Blanchet High School. A few years later while he attended the University of Washington, Bob was elected Student Body President and served as an ex-officio member of the University of Washington Board of Regents. He graduated in 1989 with a degree in political science.
After graduation, Bob spent a year with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Portland, Oregon. Bob lived and worked in an inner-city environment, running an emergency services office and tutoring children from the neighborhood. Bob continued his public service and political activity by serving as Executive Director of the King County Democrats from 1991-92.
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Legal Career
Bob embarked on a career as an attorney by attending New York University. While in law school, Bob received a public interest grant and represented Yaqui Indians in Guadalupe, Arizona. After graduating from law school in 1995, Bob continued his public service by serving as a law clerk for Chief Judge W. Fremming Nielsen of the Federal District Court for Eastern Washington. He subsequently served as a law clerk on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals with Judge Myron Bright.
Bob then returned to Seattle and began working at the law firm of Preston Gates and Ellis. At Preston, Bob was a litigation associate and represented several local governments, such as King County and the Port of Seattle. He also devoted hundreds of hours to pro bono work, particularly with non-profit groups attempting to preserve open space in King County.
Bob took a one-year leave of absence from Preston Gates and Ellis to run for King County Council in 2003.
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2003 Campaign
Bob challenged 20-year incumbent Cynthia Sullivan, who was the Chair of the County Council, for the District 2 seat. The District included much of Northeast Seattle from the Ship Canal north to Northeast 125th Street. Although his campaign was dismissed by virtually all political insiders, Bob launched a grass roots campaign that personally took him to 22,000 homes as he doorbelled the district. Volunteers placed hundreds of Ferguson signs in their yards and also knocked on thousands of doors.
Bob's 2003 campaign gained momentum when he received the highest rating from the Municipal League, "Outstanding," and picked up key endorsements from former Governor Mike Lowry, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and The Stranger. Although he was outspent by a 2-1 margin, Bob eventually prevailed in a major upset with 50.81% of the vote. Bob received 15,257 votes while Sullivan garnered 14,769 votes.
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2005 Campaign
After a redistricting that eliminated Bob's district and placed him in the district of another Council incumbent, Carolyn Edmonds, Bob unexpectedly had to run for re-election after just two years. The new District 1 included parts of North Seattle, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell and Woodinville. Once again he ran a grass roots campaign which overcame his better funded opponent. Bob won the Democratic Nominating Convention in which the District's Precinct Officers voted overwhelmingly in his favor. In the September primary, Bob prevailed with 52.44% of the vote. Bob then decisively won the General Election against Republican Steve Pyeatt with 74.77% of the vote.
Bob is next up for re-election in August of 2009.
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