Sound Transit CEO selection proceeds in secret
During a special meeting of the Sound Transit Board of Directors' Executive Committee this evening, the committee recommended Candidate C" for the role of Chief Executive Officer of Sound Transit. The leadership position has been vacant since Julie Timm departed last January, with the role filled by interim CEO Goran Sparrman. Sparrman's tenure as interim CEO has been extended multiple times but will end on May 15 at his own behest.
After an hour of closed-door executive session", the Committee returned to open meeting having apparently reached a consensus on who they would recommend to be the next CEO of the agency. Before officially making the recommendation, the Committee's executive recruiting consultant, Gregg Moser, reviewed the process the Sound Transit board has followed to this point, including his efforts to recruit top talent locally, nationally, and internationally. The original candidate pool included 60 applicants, which was then reduced to 15 candidates who met the minimum qualifications for the job," according to Moser, and the applications were sent to Sound Transit's Search Committee" for review. That committee selected five candidates for interviews, after which three were seriously considered for the role.
The selection process became mired in controversy after The Seattle Times ($) revealed last month that King County Executive Dow Constantine was one of the five candidates under consideration for the job. The Urbanist reported on deep concerns expressed by Seattle Subway and other transit advocacy organizations regarding Constantine's candidacy, arguing that his long tenure on the Sound Transit Board has resulted in significant conflicts of interest regarding his potential selection for the position. Despite calls for transparency in the CEO selection process, the Executive Committee maintained the confidentiality of the rest of the candidates but seemed to be listening to public input when they delayed their recommendation decision last week.
After returning from their executive session this evening, multiple members of the Executive Committee commented on the process and their selected candidate.
Ryan Mello (Pierce County Executive) stated the next leader needs to understand the complexity of this place" and needs experience getting big things done" while navigating choppy waters" he recognized are ahead of the agency.
Nancy Backus (Mayor of Auburn) commented that she is thankful to have the opportunity to select a candidate willing to make sure the Spine gets built as quickly and efficiently and effectively as possible".
Hunter George (Fircrest Councilmember), the newest addition to the Sound Transit Board, recognized there were a lot of voices in this process, a lot of stakeholders, system users, incredible advocates for mass transit" among the public input taken into account during the process. He also noted how the [confidential process] is really uncomfortable but it's how you get national candidates", a nod toward the Committee's decision to maintain the confidentiality of its applicants.
Finally, Cassie Franklin (Mayor of Everett) reiterated how it was so important to have a candidate ready to make a commitment to build the Spine as quickly as possible".
With that, the Sound Transit Board will begin employment negotiations with Candidate C, whose identity might not be revealed until the next meeting of the full Board later this month.