Today, the Sound Transit Board of Directors revealed its CEO pick is King County Executive Dow Constantine, who has served on the board for 16 years. The executive committee members who made the hiring recommendation referred to the pick only as “Candidate C,” but an agency press release revealed C indeed ends with “onstantine,” as long rumored. The Sound Transit Board is scheduled to vote on the appointment at its full board meeting on Thursday, March 27.
Snohomish County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dave Somers, Pierce County Executive and Sound Transit Board Vice Chair Ryan Mello, and King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Board Vice Chair Claudia Balducci shared a joint statement.
“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,” the trio said. “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.”
Citing the need to entice good candidates to apply without jeopardizing their current employment, the agency has not revealed the identity of the other 60 candidates who applied, let alone the top finalists. Even Constantine’s bid was not made public until Somers spilled the beans to the Seattle Times in February.
Conflict of interest criticisms
A contingent of transit advocates including groups like Seattle Subway and Transit Riders Union have opposed the shrouded process and criticized the apparent conflict of interest in the board elevating one of their own with so little outside input. Opponents have pointed out that Constantine has appointed half of Sound Transit board through his powers as King County Executive. County Executives appoint their county’s delegation by choosing from local elected officials, and King County has 10 seats on the 18-member board.
Those appointees appeared poised to hand Constantine a position with an annual salary as high as $650,000, all while Constantine sits on the board making that decision, albeit recused. While Sound Transit Board legal advisers recommended that Constantine should recuse from the vote and hiring deliberations, they did not make the same ruling with respect to the nine members he appointed (or reappointed) to the board over the last 16 years.
Moreover, two King County Councilmembers sitting on the board — Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay — have announced runs to succeed him as Executive and Constantine’s endorsement could potentially swing the race. This could make it hard for them to oppose Constantine’s CEO bid without suffering political consequences. For the candidates’ part, they say aren’t seeking or anticipating an endorsement.
“I am not seeking Dow’s endorsement, and he has made it clear that he is not endorsing anyone in the race for County Executive,” Zahilay told The Urbanist. “I do not plan to recuse myself from the Sound Transit CEO vote. I look forward to seeing who the executive hiring committee nominates for our review.”
Constantine pushed back on the idea that a conflict of interest exists in an exclusive interview with The Urbanist, arguing that he has followed the guidance given by Sound Transit’s legal counsel. He had also seemed frustrated that Somers had revealed his CEO bid, though rumors had long been swirling in political circles.
A shrouded process
Wes Mills, a spokesperson for Transit Riders Union, noted that freezing out most riders and advocates from the process doesn’t aid the agency in build trust and public support.
“Now that the process is concluded and we’re just waiting on the results: It’s disappointing that Sound Transit couldn’t find a public way to engage transit riders and others around the region,” Mills told The Urbanist. “As always, the Transit Riders Union wants an efficient, reliable, safe system to be built quickly for everyone to use it. We’re ready to advocate for transit riders and work with whomever the board chooses.”
“We ask you one last time to consider the consequences of selecting Executive Dow Constantine” Seattle Subway spokesperson David Scott said at an executive committee meeting earlier this month. “Although you have reiterated that your lawyers tell you that there is no conflict of interest here, according to Sound Transit ethics code, is that really a line you want to tow? Will your constituents, your riders, your taxpayers, see things that way? Are you willing to defend that position to state and federal auditors? How about legislators? Do you really want to force that conversation every single time this agency applies for grants on an individual level, especially those of you from King County? How would Dow Constantine as CEO affect your working relationships with him and the broader agency?”
While not necessarily fitting into the category of transit advocates after opposing previous Sound Transit funding measures, the Seattle Times Editorial Board also opined against the agency’s process and the conflict of interest they saw in Constantine’s candidacy.
“To add insult to injury, the public has also been shut out of any vetting process, including being able at least to participate or watch interviews conducted by Sound Transit board members. Not even the five finalists are being made public. That’s unacceptable,” the editorial board wrote. “Such process needs to change, and if the Sound Transit board doesn’t see fit to make the change, the state Legislature should.”
A smooth transition in passing the baton?
In November, Constantine announced he was not seeking reelection to a firth term as county executive. Meanwhile, Sound Transit has been led by an interim CEO, Goran Sparrman, for the past year, and Sparrman has made it clear he will be departing this spring — no later than May 15 to be exact. This led to speculation that Constantine would swoop in to take the position.
Sound Transit’s press release doesn’t address when Constantine’s first day would be. Constantine’s term as county exec isn’t over until the end of the year, but he could resign to take the CEO position. Otherwise, another interim CEO may be needed as a bridge to Constantine.
In executive committee, board members acknowledged the task before the next CEO will be very challenging, with references to “headwinds” and “choppy waters.” Sound Transit was dealing with tight budgets and ballooning costs even before the Trump Administration took over and immediately set to work slowing down transit approvals and grants and threatening the agency’s delicately balanced financial plan.
“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,” Somers, Mello, and Balducci said in their statement. “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.”
In his long run in County and Sound Transit Board leadership, Constantine was also instrumental in putting Sound Transit 3 (ST3) on the ballot in 2016, which passed with 54% of the vote in the agency’s taxing district. The measure, billed as a $54 billion package, will expand the Link light rail network to 116 miles, including a 67-mile spine from Tacoma to Everett, plus about 50 miles of bus rapid transit, once built out.
That history of steadfast support for funding rapid transit makes Constantine popular among some transit advocates, including Transportation Choices Coalition (TCC), which ran the ST3 campaign.
“Transit riders want Sound Transit to run trains reliably and build trains quickly. With federal funding threatened and the cost of transportation projects surging nationwide, Sound Transit needs a leader who will fight for the agency and deliver the expansion our region voted for,” said Kirk Hovenkotter, TCC’s executive director. “Executive Constantine has been one of the Puget Sound region’s greatest champions for transit. He led the passage at the ballot of the country’s second-largest transit expansion. We are excited to work with Executive Constantine in this role to address the challenges ahead and deliver great transit to this region.”
Backers have noted that Constantine would have a much shorter learning curve than virtually any other candidate, after being closely involved with the agency for much of his long career.
Shortly after the agency’s announcement, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA), and Commute Seattle came out in favor of hiring Constantine. A joint statement signed by Chamber President and CEO Rachel Smith, DSA President Jon Scholes, Commute Seattle Executive Director Alex Hudson, and Hovenkotter lobbied the board to approve the hiring.
“We encourage the Board of Directors to approve the Executive Committee’s recommendation to select Dow Constantine as Sound Transit’s next CEO,” the quarter wrote. “At this critical moment — when the agency must deliver on the ambitious promises of Sound Transit 2 and Sound Transit 3 — Dow brings deep regional knowledge, a demonstrated commitment to public service, and the leadership experience necessary to navigate the complexities ahead.”
Smith served as Constantine’s Deputy Executive before joining the Seattle Chamber of Commerce.
The four groups thanked Sound Transit for including them in their stakeholder process and interviews, and defended the process as “thoughtful and collaborative.”
“As we outlined in our February letter, the next CEO must champion accountability and transparency, foster a strong internal culture, and build meaningful, trust-based partnerships across jurisdictions and sectors,” the four groups said in their statement. “Dow’s long track record of collaboration, strategic vision, and responsiveness to community priorities aligns with these leadership needs and positions him well to guide the agency forward. We appreciated the opportunity for community stakeholders to participate in the candidate interviews and were encouraged by the strength of the candidate pool. The roster reflected a high caliber of leadership, and we commend the Board for guiding a process that attracted experienced and visionary professionals. It was clear that the feedback shared by stakeholders helped shape both the selection criteria and the values prioritized throughout the process.”
Getting delayed and overbudget expansions on track
Transit Riders Union is pushing for more transparency from the agency going forward as big decisions await, including where to route a new downtown light rail tunnel through Chinatown-International District (CID), being added as part of the $11 billion Ballard Link extension. Along with Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, Constantine pushed to abandon plans for a hub station in the CID and another station in Midtown near First Hill, due to neighborhood pushback and cost and constructability concerns. Instead Constantine succeeded in convincing the board to select a last-minute proposal to shift the planned stations to the south, putting the hub station in Pioneer Square, plus yet another station in SoDo, just south of the CID.
“In the future, and especially as it comes to all of the projects ST [Sound Transit] has on its plate (from CID station placement to ORCA improvements to exactly where Ballard/West Seattle Link is going to go), we hope for and will push for more transparency from ST,” Mills added.
Sound Transit will also face a tougher environment getting transit grants under the transit-hostile Trump Administration, which has already delayed a routine approval for the West Seattle Link project. More approval delays and grants evaporating could end up delaying West Seattle Link even more. The board’s preferred alignment for the project already faces a 75% cost increase announced in 2024 and approved by the board, despite more affordable elevated options. Constantine is a long-time West Seattle resident who has stressed the need to finish the project no matter the costs. But amid Trump chaos, he may need to be flexible.
The Sound Transit Board’s chairs and vice-chairs defended their “extensive and thoughtful” CEO search process.
“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,” Sound Transit Board leadership said in a statement.
The board meeting on Thursday may reveal more details about that outreach work, including hearing from the stakeholders themselves, who so far remain nameless and hidden as well.
Developing story: This article was updated at 6:20pm with the additional quotes from the Chamber of Commerce and DSA.
Doug Trumm is publisher of The Urbanist. An Urbanist writer since 2015, he dreams of pedestrian streets, bus lanes, and a mass-timber building spree to end our housing crisis. He graduated from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington in 2019. He lives in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood and loves to explore the city by foot and by bike.
