Lawrence R. Phillips (born March 15, 1951) is an American politician who served as a member of the King County Council in Washington state. Phillips served on the Council from 1992 to 2016, representing the fourth district, which includes the Seattle neighborhoods of Queen Anne, Magnolia, Ballard, Fremont, Belltown, South Lake Union, and Downtown. He served as Chair of the Council from 2004 to 2006 and again in 2014. He was unopposed in his 2011 re-election. Phillips also serves on the Board of Directors of Sound Transit, a regional transit organization serving the Puget Sound area. A hallmark of Phillips's tenure has been his work to preserve forests and farmland by buying land, development rights, or conservation easements. Phillips is a self-identified Democrat, although his position on the King County Council was officially nonpartisan. On April 1, 2015, Phillips announced he would not seek reelection to the King County Council that November. Early life Larry Phillips was born in 1951 in King County to Margery and John Phillips. His father was an architect and United States Naval Officer, serving in the Pacific in WWII, and his mother wrote for the Seattle Times, creating their "Home of the Month" feature called "Northwest Living." Phillips grew up in Mount Baker and Magnolia with his two sisters and graduated from Queen Anne High School. Education Phillips earned a Bachelor's degree from the University of Washington. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Willamette University College of Law, graduating with honors and finishing in the top ten percent of his class. He also earned a Masters of Law degree with emphasis in Labor Law from the George Washington University National Law Center. Early career After graduating from law school, Phillips entered public service, moving to Washington, D.C. to work for Senator Henry M. "Scoop"Jackson. His primary staffing responsibilities were labor and tax issues. Phillips returned to Seattle to run Randy Revelle's campaign for King County Executive. Revelle won the election, and Phillips served as his chief of staff. After Revelle left office, Phillips served as executive director of a 55-member Seattle law firm, Shidler McBroom Gates & Lucas. In 1988 he won election to the Washington State House of Representatives. He went to Olympia to represent the 36th Legislative District, where he was a member of the House Education, Local Government, Environmental Affairs, and Revenue Committees. He was an author and a prime sponsor