(WSB photo, March 13)
4:29 PM: It’s official – the Sound Transit Board Executive Committee‘s “preferred candidate” for CEO is outgoing King County Executive Dow Constantine (a West Seattle resident). That was finally revealed in this announcement sent this afternoon, almost two weeks after the committee’s vote to recommend what was at the time referred to only as “candidate C”:
The Sound Transit Board is scheduled to vote on the appointment of a new CEO at the full Board meeting on Thursday, March 27. The preferred candidate is Dow Constantine, and the appointment requires a supermajority vote at a public meeting. People can access meeting information and the link to watch it from the online calendar on the Sound Transit website.
The following is a statement from Snohomish County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dave Somers, Pierce County Executive and Sound Transit Board Vice Chair Ryan N. Mello, and King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Board Vice Chair Claudia Balducci:
“We are pleased to put forward Dow Constantine for a vote of the Board. We are confident he has the knowledge, experience, and commitment to achieve Sound Transit’s goals and complete the ST3 package.
“Being CEO of Sound Transit is a tough job with many constituencies to serve, and Dow has proven over his career in public service that he can deliver large capital projects, successfully oversee a major transit agency, and foster partnerships across our region that are essential to make Sound Transit function at the highest possible level. We know this is a crucial time for the agency, and there are difficult and complex discussions on the near horizon, along with reforms that will require knowledge and commitment to continue forward. These include operational and maintenance challenges that need to be addressed immediately by an incoming CEO, increased accountability measures, as well as rising financial pressure from inflation and economic uncertainties. As Board leaders, our priority remains delivering on the voter-approved ST3 package, while operating a safe and dependable system.
“The search for a new CEO was competitive. The Board started with 60 applicants from around the world and narrowed the field from 15 to 5 to 3 and finally to 1. It was a thorough process with significant public input, vigorous discussions, and multiple panels that included transit riders, disability advocates, other regional transit agencies, and labor and economic development organizations.
“We are grateful to the many board members, agency staff, and community partners who provided valuable insights and have put their time and skills toward making sure we had an extensive and thoughtful CEO search process. We look forward to the Board’s decision on Thursday.”
Since the King County Executive has a guaranteed seat on the board (as do the executives of Snohomish and Pierce counties), Constantine has been an ST board member for 15 years. He announced last November that he would not run for a fifth 4-year term. That was 10 months after ST’s previous “permanent” CEO Julie Timm left. Interim CEO Goran Sparrman has held the job in the meantime but did not seek the permanent appointment. The proposed contract and other documents related to the proposed appointment are not yet available on the ST website.
ADDED 8:40 PM: An ST spokesperson tells us those documents should be available online by Wednesday. The meeting during which the hiring vote is scheduled is at 1:30 pm Thursday at Sound Transit HQ downtown; you can attend (and comment) in person or online, as explained on the agenda document.
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