King County Councilman Pete von Reichbauer will receive the Public Official of the Year Award at the 56th Annual Civic Awards Event hosted by the Municipal League in Seattle.

“The Public Official Award is an honor that is enhanced by the respect I have for two previous recipients: Dr. Bill Gerberding and Norm Maleng,” said von Reichbauer. “I am particularly honored to receive this award because two previous recipients were personal friends and professional heroes of mine. Dr. Bill Gerberding served as president of the University of Washington from 1979 to 1995, and continued to serve our region until we lost him this past December. King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng was a respected national leader in criminal justice reform, who never lost touch with his hometown roots.”

The Municipal League’s 56th Annual Civic Awards dinner recognizes the accomplishments of those who make outstanding contributions to the region and to better government. This year’s Civic Award winners include: Citizen of the Year, Bill Hobson; Community News Reporting, The Seattle Medium; Organization of the Year, Visit Seattle; James R. Ellis Regional Leadership Award, David Brewster; and Public Employee of the Year, Valerie Segrest.

The event will be held on Thursday, April 2 at the Renaissance Hotel.

Von Reichbauer represents south King County. Although he represents the southernmost district in King County, he has been a leader in bringing together the 39 cities and neighboring counties to work together on regional issues.

He has repeatedly stated that transportation, crime, and public health do not respect city or county borders, and in order to protect the public we need more collaboration between governments at all levels.

He has chaired the King County Council as well as the Budget Committee, Transportation Committee and the Regional Policy Committee. Von Reichbauer has championed intergovernmental cooperation on regional issues (focusing on transportation) between the suburban cities and neighboring counties.

He strongly believes in the financial and social benefits of sports to a region, and was the broker in saving the Seattle Seahawks from moving to California in 1996. He led the fight to persuade Paul Allen to purchase the team when the moving vans were in the process of shipping the team’s equipment out of state. In addition, as budget chair he worked to save baseball in Seattle when the Kingdome was falling in disrepair and fought to bring Safeco Field in on budget.

“Sports have always been a minefield for local politicians, but I have, and continue to believe, the economic and social benefits are worth the political risk,” von Reichbauer said.

In 2014, he was unanimously recognized by the King County Council as the original 12th man and was presented a 12th man jersey by Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, and general manager John Schneider, at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center on June 2.

He was first elected to the council in 1993 and has been re-elected five times, including three times unopposed in a district that is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.