With the final major decisions for West Seattle light rail expected to be made this year – finalizing the routing and station locations – the Sound Transit Board will be down to just one West Seattleite. That person is King County Executive Dow Constantine, the current chair, who just nominated replacements for three King County vacancies: Succeeding former King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, the West Seattleite who did not run for reelection, would be County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay of South Seattle; succeeding former Seattle City Councilmember Debora Juarez, who also did not run for reelection, would be City Councilmember Dan Strauss of Ballard (which is also getting a light-rail extension), and succeeding former Kenmore mayor Dave Baker would be Redmond Mayor Angela Birney. They’ll all serve four-year terms on the board if approved by the King County Council. As the announcement explains, the board “includes 17 local elected officials – 10 from King County, four from Pierce County, and three from Snohomish County, and members are appointed by their respective County Executives.” Also on the board is state Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar. The ST Board will make those major West Seattle decisions after the Final Environmental Impact Statement comes out in a timeframe ST current describes as “the middle of” this year. The board also has to find a new CEO. Its first full meeting of this year is January 25th.
West Seattle, Washington
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