[2] He attended Memorial University of Newfoundland where he was awarded a Bachelor of Education degree and a diploma in School Resources Services.
[3] King has lived most of his life in Grand Bank but he now resides in Conception Bay South with his wife Colleen and their two teenage children, Mitchell and Kate.
[5] In May 2003, King defeated Gordon Dunphy to win the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) nomination in the district of Grand Bank for that year's provincial election.
The Progressive Conservatives won the October 2003, election but King was narrowly defeated by the Liberal Party incumbent, Judy Foote, by a margin of 43 votes.
[6] In 2007, King was acclaimed as the PC candidate in Grand Bank and was granted special leave by the Eastern School District until that October's election.
[13] On 13 January 2011, premier Kathy Dunderdale shuffled King out of the Education portfolio, replacing him with his predecessor Burke.
King was also minister responsible for Persons with Disabilities, the Labour Relations Agency, Youth Engagement and the NL Housing Corporation.
[17] In November 2011, provincial government-appointed auditors backed up claims by Ocean Choice International (OCI) that they were losing millions of dollars each year operating the Marystown fish plant.
[19] The following week OCI asked the provincial government for an exemption to export unprocessed fish in return for nearly doubling the workforce at the company's plant in Fortune.
In return a total of 236 year-round jobs, between the Fortune fish plant and on company vessels at sea, for at least five years.
[29][30] However, ten days after the budget was released King announced he had established a committee to review the cuts within his department.
[33][34] King has been seen as possible leadership candidate for the Progressive Conservatives since entering politics and following the resignation of Premier Danny Williams in December 2010 he stated that he may run to succeed him.