WA: King County executive wants Sound Transit CEO job. What could that mean for Pierce County?

A regional public transit agency with a $4 billion-plus budget appears on the verge of naming its next leader, winding down a confidential search marked by the controversial inclusion of a finalist with deep ties to King County.

Sound Transit, which constructs and operates transit service throughout Pierce, King and Snohomish counties, has been seeking a new CEO following former top executive Julie Timm’s announcement in December 2023 that she would be leaving after just over a year at the helm.

The role’s publicly advertised salary range is $450,000 to $650,000 per year, although the Seattle Times reported it could be as high as $675,000, far exceeding retiring interim CEO Goran Sparrman’s $500,000 annual rate.

On Tuesday, the agency board’s executive committee recommended one candidate for the job from a group of three finalists, according to Fircrest Councilman Hunter George, who joined the board last month but isn’t on the executive committee.

In an interview Wednesday, George declined to say whether the preferred candidate was King County Executive Dow Constantine, who also serves on the agency board and has recused himself from all matters related to the search.

“Each one has different strengths so that led to a really thoughtful deliberation process,” George said in reference to the finalists, who board members were able to interview last week.

Constantine’s name was publicly revealed last month and George confirmed he made it to the final trio of considered candidates. No other finalist is known. Even the lowest listed compensation for the CEO position would represent a significant increase for Constantine, whose King County salary stood at $259,426 in 2022, according to the Association of Washington Cities.

Sound Transit wouldn’t have received as many qualified applicants if they weren’t assured confidentiality, according to George, recalling an explanation he heard from the recruiter who has managed the effort on behalf of the agency. George said the process, which predated his arrival on the board and started with 60 applicants, had been “very fair.” He called each of the finalists “outstanding” and “well-qualified.”

A proposed contract with the recommended candidate is expected to come before the agency’s board for approval at its meeting on March 27, according to George.

The Seattle Times reported last month that board Chairman Dave Somers confirmed Constantine was among a group of then-five finalists, offering the lone public insight into a candidate field that has otherwise been kept private. Other finalists included high-ranking officials at transit agencies in North America, according to the Times.

The agency’s consideration of Constantine, a Democratic former lawmaker in King County and Washington state who previously served as Sound Transit’s board chair, has drawn criticism over a perceived conflict of interest.

In a February letter to the agency’s board, reported by The Urbanist, the Transit Riders Union noted that Constantine was directly or indirectly responsible for appointing 10 of 18 board members and he would be charged as CEO with evaluating a project related to the King County government complex put forward under his leadership as county executive.

Seattle Subway, a grassroots transit advocacy organization, also described their conflict-of-interest concerns in a news release last month while calling for transparency in the selection process.

“Sound Transit must release the full list of finalists and invite public dialogue before any final decision,” Seattle Subway political campaign liaison David Scott said in the release. “Riders deserve to know who will shape our region’s transit future, especially given ongoing issues like disruptive maintenance closures, weak real-time bus data, and significant schedule delays.”

At the onset of a March 3 executive committee meeting, Somers addressed Constantine’s candidacy, assuring that the King County executive had been excluded from the hiring process and complied with the agency’s ethics code.

“The board is considering the application as it would any other application,” Somers said.

In response to a request for an interview on his candidacy, Constantine replied with a statement Tuesday.

“I’ve applied, and I’m honored to be considered,” Constantine said in an email, referring The News Tribune to Sound Transit for questions about the search.

What Pierce County wants

If Pierce County stakeholders shared any concerns about Constantine’s potential hiring, they didn’t publicly divulge so. It’s clear, however, that the estimated $4 billion-plus Tacoma Dome Link Extension — a key local project to be advanced under the next agency leader’s watch — remains firmly on their minds.

After a three-year delay, the project to extend light-rail trains between Tacoma and Federal Way — and therefore link the service from Tacoma to Seattle — is expected to open in 2035.

“We need reliable regional transit, and we must deliver on the promise to get light rail to the South Sound by 2035 or sooner,” Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello said Monday through a county spokesperson. “That requires someone with exceptional strategic acumen, project management and community engagement skills.”

Mello, a recent addition to Sound Transit’s board as vice chair and who sits on the executive committee, was “optimistic about the strong slate of candidates” in the CEO search but didn’t have much to say about it since the hiring process was confidential, according to county spokesperson Libby Catalinich.

Mello eyed several attributes in the next Sound Transit leader, she said, including experience managing very complex organizations, a holistic thinker and someone who would promote credibility and trust that the agency can deliver on projects.

In an email on March 7, Tacoma City Council member Kristina Walker told The News Tribune that she “really looked forward” to bringing forward a vote for the preferred alignment of the TDLE.

“Finishing the light rail spine remains a priority for all of us Pierce board members,” Walker said.

Walker, a Sound Transit board and executive committee member, declined to comment on the CEO search but vowed to discuss the matter when a single candidate is brought before the board later this month.

In an interview Monday, Laura Svancarek also declined to speak about any specific candidate. The fact that only Constantine’s candidacy has been publicized, however, created an imbalance in the hiring process, said Svancarek, who’s the interim director of Tacoma-based transportation advocacy group Downtown On the Go.

Svancarek said she provided stakeholder input into the CEO search. She also expressed confidence in Pierce County’s four-member delegation on the agency’s board, which includes Fife Mayor Kim Roscoe.

Roscoe didn’t return a message seeking an interview for this story.

While people were most familiar with large capital projects such as the Tacoma Dome or Hilltop link extensions, Sound Transit funds support local transit and access projects too, Svancarek said, including enhanced bus service on Pacific Avenue and investments in street crossings and bike lanes.

The Tacoma Dome Link Extension represented a “big lift” for the agency’s incoming CEO, according to Svancarek, noting the importance of getting the station alignment right and authentically engaging with Tacomans about its potential impacts.

The next CEO, she added, must limit further project delays, ensure fairness between regions and attempt to build relationships with people in Pierce County while being a capable administrator who understands that mega-projects are ultimately important.

“We need to see someone at the helm of Sound Transit that is able to navigate those challenges at the administrative level and get us through that,” she said.

George said that he believed the three CEO finalists and King County, which maintains 10 of 18 members on Sound Transit’s board, all realized that completing the light-rail extension was critical.

“I’m satisfied that everyone understands the goal,” he said.

There stands to be much for the new CEO to contend with, including rising construction costs, the uncertainty of tariffs and expectations of not receiving much federal government aid, according to George. He said that substantially more Sound Transit service has opened within the past year and more is coming on line. It meant that the agency and its next leader must be equally committed to operations as much as construction.

“We’re at a key moment in Sound Transit’s journey,” George said. “They’ve been building and building and building for years. And the focus has been on construction for the most part. We’ve reached this inflection point where we’re not just a construction agency anymore, we’re an operating agency.”

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