For PROTEC17 member Rob Foxcurran, the role of King County Assessor feels like the perfect fit. Currently, he works for the City of Seattle as a Senior Appraiser where he works across departments to protect tree canopy, identify land for new parks, flag publicly owned parcels that could be used for affordable housing, and provide general real estate valuation services to the City. In addition to his current job, Foxcurran has also worked as a certified general appraiser in the private sector, and as a hearing examiner on the King County Board of Appeals and Equalization. 

But it’s not only his professional experience that has enticed Foxcurran to run for elected office. As a fifth generation Seattlite who has lived in rent-restricted housing for low- and middle-income earners, he wants families to feel like they have the opportunity to raise their children here. He also feels a moral obligation to help ensure that property taxes are fair for working families, that relief programs reach the people who need them, and that the system works for all – not just the people with resources to navigate it.

“Housing is a human right, and our region isn’t treating it that way,” said Foxcurran. “I want an Assessor’s office that works proactively for residents, not one that makes them figure out a complicated system on their own.”  

If elected, Foxcurran will focus on accuracy and transparency in how property taxes are assessed, as well as affordability that keeps people housed and thriving in King County. With his technical expertise and professional background, he wants to hit the ground running to reform the system so that it works for all residents. 

“Property taxes are one piece of a much bigger affordability problem, and the Assessor’s office has more influence over that than most people realize,” said Foxcurran. 

“If assessments are wrong, people overpay or underpay,” he continued. “If property owners don’t understand how their values are set, they can’t easily spot errors, let alone challenge them. And if we aren’t actively getting relief programs in front of the people who qualify for them, those programs aren’t doing their job.” 

Foxcurran, who is a Steward, and member of the PROTEC17 Workers’ Roundtable (PWR) – our union’s political group that interviews candidates and makes endorsement recommendations – was inspired to run for office, in part, by seeing several other PROTEC17 members step up to run for office over the last couple of years. His experience as a union leader has also helped prepare him to run for office. 

“Serving as a Union Steward taught me how to show up for people who are navigating a system that isn’t always designed with them in mind,” said Foxcurran. “You learn to listen carefully, to understand the rules well enough to use them on someone’s behalf, and to be persistent without being reckless. That’s not so different from what I’m trying to do in this campaign.” 

When he’s not serving City residents, his union community, or running for office, Foxcurran enjoys time with his wife, his preschool-aged daugther, and their two corgis in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, and volunteers in Seattle Public Schools. 

The PROTEC17 Workers’ Roundtable has unanimously endorsed Foxcurran, and recommends a vote for him on the August primary ballot. 

“I am honored to have earned our union’s endorsement, and I would be just as honored to earn your vote,” said Foxcurran to his fellow PROTEC17 members in King County.

You can learn more about Foxcurran’s campaign, including events, volunteer opportunities, and how to donate on his website at: voterobfoxcurran.com.