Dow Constantine tapped as Sound Transit CEO

Dow Constantine will be the next CEO of Sound Transit.

The Sound Transit board voted unanimously to hire the longtime King County executive effective April 1.

The board approved a 21-month contract with Constantine at starting pay of $450,000, with a potential $30,000 performance bonus.

Constantine has said if hired, he’d step down as King County executive this spring — a role he’s held since 2009.

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As head of Sound Transit, he’ll oversee a budget of more than $3 billion and multiple delayed and over-budget light rail construction projects, including an extension connecting Seattle and the Eastside, and new lines in Federal Way and Redmond.

Board Member Christine Frizzell said Constantine is well-qualified despite never having led a transit agency.

“He literally and figuratively knows the landscape,” Frizzell said. “He’s been part of Sound Transit through multiple CEO changes. He knows what’s gone right, what hasn’t gone right. And he’s willing to work to correct some of the challenges we’ve got before us.”

"Sound Transit is an agency that is at a success or failure moment, and this next year will determine which direction we go," said Board Member Dan Strauss.

While Strauss said he had some concerns about Constantine's lack of experience in transit management, "the contract will be reevaluated in about a year and a half, which allows Dow to show us and show the region through action his ability to fulfill the full potential that I think many of us see."

Several board members defended the process by which they searched for and selected the next Sound Transit CEO from criticism that it was too secretive. Constantine was the only finalist named publicly, and the fact that he nominated most of the board members in his role as county executive drew accusations of conflict of interest.

"No one is indebted to Dow Constantine, especially for being appointed to this board, because it is a lot of work," said Sound Transit board member and King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci. "I can assure you that every member of this board, I feel, is of the highest ethical standards."

After the vote, Constantine joined the meeting to thank the board and compliment its "exhaustive" hiring process.

He told the board and Sound Transit staff, "I look forward to spending time to understand and elevate your priorities and the priorities of each sub-area, while keeping regionalism as our North Star."

Voters will choose a new county executive in November. Among the candidates are Balducci and Girmay Zahilay, also a King County councilmember and Sound Transit board member.

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The King County Council will appoint an interim executive to serve through the end of the year.