Dow Constantine is Sound Transit’s “Preferred Candidate” for CEO

Dow Constantine (center) stands with Joni Earl (left) and Larry Phillips (right) at the grand opening of Central Link on July 18, 2009 (Oran Viriyincy)

Yesterday, Sound Transit announced the Preferred Candidate for its next Chief Executive Officer, previously only identified as Candidate C, is none other than Dow Constantine. The Sound Transit Board of Directors will vote this Thursday, March 27, to confirm the appointment. Constantine, currently the elected Executive of King County, is expected to take over the position from Interim CEO Goran Sparrman sometime later this year. Sparrman, previously a Vice President of HNTB, was selected to be interim CEO after Julie Timm unexpectedly retired early last year.

The CEO search process began in earnest at the end of last year, but became mired in controversy after Dow Constantine's candidacy was confirmed in February. Despite calls for transparency in the candidate review process, the Sound Transit Board's Executive Committee continued the CEO selection process in secret, eventually recommending Constantine for the job of leading the state's second-largest transportation agency.

What impact might Dow Constantine have on the future of Sound Transit? Let's take a look at the past so we may glean the future.

A Brief History of Sound Transit Executives

The Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (RTA) was created in 1993 by the Councils of King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties. In 1994, the RTA's Board of Directors hired Thomas G. Matoff to be the agency's first Executive Director. Matoff's resume included being Director of Transit Development for TriMet and General Manager of SacRT. Former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickols described Matoff as being a true believer in light rail and felt that a successful, inexpensive start would pave the way for future extensions, earlier rather than later." Matoff oversaw the assembly of the ambitious 1995 RTA ballot measure, which planned to build 69 miles of new light rail track from Seattle to Lynnwood, Redmond, and Tacoma by 2010. The agency would also provide commuter rail service and a 6-route express bus network. Ultimately, the $6.7 billion measure (about $13 billion in 2025$) was rejected by 53.5% voters on March 14, 1995.

After this defeat, the RTA Board cut 85% of its staff and Matoff resigned in the face of a major reorganization. Deputy Director Matsuoka was promoted to Acting Director while the RTA's Board sought a replacement. The three finalists for the position were each senior civil servants at the time and the Board ultimately picked Bob White, the RTA's Manager of Commuter Rail Services, for the job of Interim Executive Director. The RTA then assembled the $3.9 billion Sound Move ballot measure, which would build less than half of the railway originally proposed but offer a larger express bus network and establish subarea equity. Sound Move was approved by 56.5% of voters on November 5, 1996, the RTA rebranded as Sound Transit, and the agency got to work. Matoff oversaw the start of the Sound Transit Express network with 9 routes opening in 1999, and the opening of the Sounder South Line in 2000. However, rising cost estimates and reduced federal support for light rail began casting serious headwinds against the Link Light Rail project, resulting in more turnover of the agency's senior leadership.

Joni Earl, then Deputy Council Executive of Snohomish County, became Sound Transit's first Chief Operations Officer in 2000. As COO, she led a review of the Link project's cost estimates and revealed the latest estimates were $1.1 billion over its budget of $1.9 billion. Following Bob White's resignation, the Board appointed Earl to be Acting Executive Director in January 2001. After a national executive search and interviews with two other finalists for the position, the Board chose to hire Earl permanently to the position in June 2001. Retitled CEO in 2003, Joni Earl is widely credited with restoring confidence in the agency, leading to the passage of ST2 in 2008 and the successful opening of Central Link on July 18, 2009. She then stewarded the agency through the Great Recession by implementing cutbacks and delaying projects in what would become the agency's first Realignment.

Earl was seriously injured in April 2014 and after being on medical leave for over a year, it became clear she would have to retire. Sound Transit began to search for a new CEO for the first time in over 15 years, ultimately selecting former Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff in a confidential interview process including 13 finalists. Sound Transit's press release highlighted Rogoff's leadership in the development of policies for the [USDOT], generating proposals and guidance regarding legislative, regulatory and safety initiatives" and his signing of a record number of full funding grant agreements with transit agencies across the nation to expand rail and bus rapid transit infrastructure". Shortly after his hiring, the agency finalized the Sound Transit 3 ballot measure, a bold and risky plan approved by voters in 2016.

Rogoff's tenure had a rocky start with allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior. Challenges mounted in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a hard blow to economic forecasts and cost estimates for the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions began exploding spectacularly. After the agency wrapped up its project realignment process in mid-2021, Rogoff announced he would resign in mid-2022.

Following another CEO selection process resulting in three secret finalists, the Board chose Julie Timm as the agency's next CEO in June 2022. Timm was CEO of the Greater Richmond Transit Company and the Board liked her focus on rider experience and community engagement. Active on social media, Timm demonstrated a car-lite lifestyle and appeared to use that experience to inform communication improvements aimed at everyday transit riders. However, a lack of visible progress implementing expert recommendations meant to improve agency management may have resulted in a mixed performance review. Regardless, Timm chose to resign from her position effective January 2024 citing a need to focus on family matters.

Since Timm's departure, the Sound Transit Board selected Goran Sparrman, then-VP at global engineering firm HNTB, to be interim CEO as the agency worked to resolve several ongoing challenges including construction delays, rapidly growing project cost estimates, and declining Link reliability. Recently, Sparrman gave HNTB an emergency contract to help resolve a backlog of infrastructural issues.

The search for Sound Transit's sixth permanent CEO began in earnest last Fall after Sparrman confirmed his intent to retire in May of this year. Meanwhile, Dow Constantine announced he would not run for a 5th term as King Count Executive. Rumors swirled that he was aiming to transition from leading the Sound Transit's Executive Committee to leading the agency itself and his candidacy was confirmed in February. Despite concerns that his long history on Sound Transit's Board of Directors would pose a major conflict of interest, the Board announced on Monday that he was the preferred candidate for the job.

From Board Chair to Chief Executive

Dow Constantine has been in the public eye for nearly 30 years, serving in the state legislature from 1997 to 2002, as King County Councilmember from 2002 to 2009, and as King County Executive since then. As the King County Executive is automatically part of the Sound Transit Board, Constantine has been part of the agency's political leadership through many of its challenges and successes over the last 15 years. He was Chair of the Board from 2014 to 2016, during which he helped push the West Seattle Link Extension into the ST3 package. He was Chair of the board from 2022 to the end of last year, during which he unveiled his Civic Campus Initiative" as part of a cut costs on the Ballard Link Extension by relocating two expensive stations to north and south of CID.

Transit advocates have worried about the implications of another looming budget crunch if Sound Transit prioritizes politically-motivated projects like WSLE instead of high-impact projects like Ballard Link or strategic bus improvements. The strengths and weaknesses of previous CEOs have had a visible impact on the agency. With Dow Constantine heading to the helm, transit advocates hoping for CEO willing to push back against the political whims of the Board are likely to be sorely disappointed. Will Constantine be willing to set aside his political pet projects to balance the wishes of the Board with the realities of running the agency? Only time will tell.