In 1996 and 1998, Dow won election to the House of Representatives, where he served as co-chair of the House Judiciary Committee. He was appointed to the State Senate in 1999 and was elected to his Senate seat the following year. There, Dow served as vice chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and vice chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

As a King County Councilmember, Dow is working to make King County government more efficient and performance-based – giving citizens maximum value for each tax dollar. A strong supporter of the environment and a member and former chair of the Council’s Growth Management and Natural Resources Committee, he is a leader on the tough issues of growth management and salmon recovery. Dow is a member of both the Sound Transit and RTID (Regional Transportation Investment District) boards of directors.

Dow is a major backer of waterborne transportation alternatives, including the West Seattle water taxi. As chair of the Capital Budget Committee and a four-year member of the Council’s budget leadership team, he has worked to help the county maintain service levels in the face of shrinking revenues and increasing health care costs.