County councilman Kent Pullen has died

SEATTLE - King County Councilman Kent Pullen died Monday, aide Pam Roach confirmed.

The 60-year-old Republican councilman, who represented a large section of southeast King County, died in a hospital. Roach, who is a state senator in addition to serving as an aide to Pullen, did not say which hospital or provide a cause of death.

Pullen had served on the council since 1990 and previously served in both houses of the state Legislature.

As recently as late last month, Pullen denied rumors of ill health in an interview with the King County Journal, saying he had a minor adrenal gland problem.

King County Executive Ron Sims said he learned of the death late Monday night in a phone call from County Councilman Peter von Reichbauer.

Pullen, who earned a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Washington in 1967, was a longtime supporter of alternative medicine and said in March he was receiving both traditional and nontraditional care. He said he "utilizes the best of both worlds."

After initially winning a state House seat in the early 1970s, Pullen spent 15 years in the state Senate while holding down an engineering job at Boeing Co.