Dow Constantine appoints three new members to the Sound Transit Board

King County Executive Dow Constantine's office has just announced that he has appointed several new members to the Sound Transit Board. They are Bellevue city Councilmember Claudia Balducci, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, and King County Councilmember Jan Drago.

With the appointment of Balducci, Executive Constantine fulfilled his campaign promise to choose someone from Bellevue to serve on the Board. The city is one of the municipalities that will be most affected by the completion of Sound Transit 2.

Planning for East Link, one of the biggest projects in the ST2 package, is stirring up lots of controversy, which mostly revolves around which alignment Sound Transit will choose for downtown Bellevue. The Sound Transit Board has the authority to decide which alignment would best serve the communities it runs through, whether it be surface, tunnel, or elevated.

Executive Constantine had this to say about his new appointments:

Councilmember Balducci has long been a leader on light rail issues on the Bellevue City Council, and her participation on the Sound Transit Board will be important as the board makes critical decisions on the East Link alignment through Bellevue in the coming year

[...]

Mayor McGinn is a strong supporter of transit and I am pleased to nominate him... I am also pleased to nominate Councilmember Drago, who succeeds me in District 8 on the County Council."

Executive Constantine also renominated King County Councilmember Julia Patterson, King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer, and Issaquah City Councilmember Fred Butler.

Each member of the Sound Transit Board is appointed for four years. With University Link, South Link, North Link, and East Link coming up soon, the next few years promise to be an important time in Sound Transit's history. NPI looks forward to working with our many friends and allies to ensure that Sound Transit has the ability to successfully deliver on its promises to voters.