A Bellevue Chamber Signature Event
Eastside Leadership Conference
Thursday, October 8, 2026 · 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM · Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue
One day each year, hundreds of business and civic leaders gather in downtown Bellevue to take on the issues deciding the Eastside's future: the state budget, housing, transportation, and the regional economy.
Zero Hour
Washington finds itself at an inflection point. Record tax increases and persistent deficits. Nationally high unemployment and record corporate profits. A rising cost of living and a nationally recognized quality of life. Record homelessness and record housing investment. This prosperity paradox arrives just ahead of one of the most consequential midterm elections in recent memory. This year's conference brings the top issues, the top experts, and the top decision-makers together for a can't-miss discussion that will shape the future of our great state.
Quick Facts
- What
- Annual policy and leadership conference hosted by the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce
- When
- Thursday, October 8, 2026 · 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Where
- Meydenbauer Center, 11100 NE 6th Street, Bellevue, WA
- Who
- Hundreds of business, civic, and elected leaders from Bellevue and the greater Eastside
- Keynote
- Charlie Cook, founder of The Cook Political Report
- Register
- Individual seats and corporate tables, open now
Scenes from Bellevue Chamber events.
The 2026 Program
A full morning of main-stage panels and breakout sessions at Meydenbauer Center, closing with the keynote after lunch.
Registration Opens
Welcome
Big County, Hard Choices
Girmay Zahilay, King County Executive
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay opens the day with the case for a county that moves faster, competes harder for jobs, and can show what its spending actually buys.
Show Me the Money: Budget Writers Debate Taxes & Spending
Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (34th District) · Sen. Chris Gildon (25th District) · Sen. June Robinson (38th District) · Rep. Travis Couture (35th District)
Two consecutive years of historic tax increases, and Washington still enters the 2027–29 biennium billions short. Job growth has flattened, unemployment is among the highest in the nation, and federal changes to Medicaid and SNAP are pushing costs onto the state. The state's top budget writers shed light on what comes next on taxes, spending, and the 2027 legislative session.
Chair's Message & Chamber Update
Hannah Grossblatt, Bellevue Chamber Board Chair
Breakout Session 1
Homelessness Beyond the Headlines
Eric Zimmerman (Washington Policy Center) · Karen Lee (Plymouth Housing) · Kristine Moreland (The MORE We Love)
King County counted 18,365 people without homes in early 2026, up nine percent in two years, almost all of it people sleeping outside. San Francisco cut its unsheltered count 22 percent over the same period, to a fifteen-year low. With the apparent collapse of the King County Homelessness Authority on the horizon, and significant disagreements around housing first and harm reduction unresolved, where does the region go from here?
What It Takes to Stay Open
Apollo Fuhriman (SBA Office of Advocacy) · Collin Hathaway (Flint Group) · TC Lawrence (Seattle Chinese Chamber)
The nation’s highest state minimum wage. The second highest unemployment rate. The eighth most regulated state, with more than 200,000 restrictions on the books, and a sales tax that now reaches services that were never taxed before. How are small businesses navigating Washington’s operating environment and is relief in sight?
Breakout Session 2
Getting Things Built
Speakers to be announced
Transportation infrastructure has long been one of the few places Washington still builds bipartisan majorities, and one of the clearest levers the region holds on its own competitiveness. But a rising price at the pump, climate policy costs, pressure from trade disputes and war, and construction inflation all threaten to derail progress on an issue the region cannot afford to lose. Top transportation leaders debate the path forward.
Betting on Washington
Sam Cho (Economic Activation Advisor) · Stephanie Formas (Challenge Seattle)
Washington climbed to 11th in the nation in CNBC’s best states for business, carried by its economy and quality of life. But its lowest marks were for the cost of doing business and business friendliness. Hear from the professionals who recruit employers, court investment, and sell this state for a living on what actually closes a deal here, and what still sends one somewhere else.
Strong Mayors, Straight Talk
Mayor Armondo Pavone (Renton) · Mayor Nancy Backus (Auburn) · Mayor Dana Ralph (Kent) · Mayor Mark Mullet (Issaquah)
Mayors don't get to defer. When Olympia passes a law, the county changes a policy, or an encampment appears in a neighborhood park, the call lands at city hall and the answer has to come fast. Four of our region's “strong” mayors share what cities can actually deliver, what keeps them up at night, and what they need (or don't need) from the state to keep our economy and communities strong.
Lunch
Tax the Rich?
Sen. Manka Dhingra (45th District) · Jaime Herrera Beutler (Yes to Repeal the Income Tax) · Brian Heywood (Let's Go Washington)
Washington has gone nearly a century without an income tax. Voters have rejected one ten times, and the courts currently interpret the constitution as prohibiting one above one percent. Washington also has the second most regressive tax system in the nation, with poorer residents giving up a bigger chunk of their paycheck to the government. This year the Legislature approved a tax on incomes of $1 million and up. The architects of that tax, and of the campaign to repeal it, square off on the top issue facing voters this fall.
Charlie Cook Calls the Midterms
Everyone in politics has a theory about November. Charlie Cook has the data. For forty years he has been the person both parties call when they want the truth about their own chances and the ratings he invented are still best in class at predicting the races that swing majorities. With four short weeks before the midterm election, Cook shares his insights on the races to watch and the modern challenges facing our political culture.
Program and speakers subject to change. Doors open at 7:30 AM; the conference concludes at 2:00 PM.
Featured Speakers
Charlie Cook
Founder, The Cook Political Report
Charlie Cook founded The Cook Political Report in 1984 and led the independent, nonpartisan election newsletter as editor and publisher for 37 years. He is one of the nation's foremost authorities on U.S. elections and political trends, and a co-author of several editions of The Almanac of American Politics.
Girmay Zahilay
King County Executive
Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon
House Majority Leader, 34th District
Sen. Chris Gildon
State Senator, 25th District
Sen. June Robinson
State Senator, 38th District
Rep. Travis Couture
State Representative, 35th District
Sen. Manka Dhingra
Senate Deputy Majority Leader, 45th District
Mayor Armondo Pavone
Mayor, City of Renton
Mayor Nancy Backus
Mayor, City of Auburn
Mayor Dana Ralph
Mayor, City of Kent
Mayor Mark Mullet
Mayor, City of Issaquah
See all 2026 speakersShow fewer
Jaime Herrera Beutler
Former U.S. Representative, WA-03
Brian Heywood
Founder, Let’s Go Washington
Eric Zimmerman
Washington Policy Center
Karen Lee
CEO, Plymouth Housing
Kristine Moreland
Founder & Executive Director, The MORE We Love
Apollo Fuhriman
Region 10 Advocate, SBA Office of Advocacy
Collin Hathaway
Flint Group
TC Lawrence
Seattle Chinese Chamber
Sam Cho
Economic Activation Advisor
Stephanie Formas
Challenge Seattle
Additional speakers are announced as they are confirmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Eastside Leadership Conference?
The Eastside Leadership Conference is the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce's annual policy and leadership event, held each year in Bellevue, Washington. It brings hundreds of business executives, small business owners, and civic leaders together with the policymakers shaping the region, including state legislators, mayors, county leadership, and national voices.
When and where is the 2026 conference?
The 2026 Eastside Leadership Conference is Thursday, October 8, 2026, from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Meydenbauer Center, 11100 NE 6th Street in Bellevue. Registration opens at 7:30 AM.
Who attends?
Attendees include CEOs, executives, small business owners, nonprofit leaders, and elected officials from Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Renton, Kent, Auburn, Issaquah, and across the Puget Sound region. Companies reserve tables and individuals register for single seats.
Who is speaking in 2026?
The keynote speaker is Charlie Cook, founder of The Cook Political Report. The program also features King County Executive Girmay Zahilay, a Washington state budget panel with legislators from both parties, a panel with the mayors of Renton, Auburn, Kent, and Issaquah, a debate on the future of taxation in Washington, and breakout sessions on homelessness, small business, transportation, and economic development. See the full program.
How do I register?
Individual seats and corporate tables are available on the registration page. For questions about registration, tables, or sponsorship, contact Ashley Clemmer, Director of Operations and Events, at ashley@bellevuechamber.org.
An Eastside Tradition Since 2002
The Eastside Leadership Conference has convened the region's business and civic leaders since 2002 — 2026 marks the 24th annual conference.
Join Us October 8
Individual seats and corporate tables are available. Space at Meydenbauer Center is limited.
Register Now
