‘Sound Transit is a mess’: Constantine’s CEO candidacy to helm department raises eyebrows over pay raise, board ties
Mar 26, 2025, 10:10 AM | Updated: 10:59 am
King County Dow Constantine at a press conference. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
The Sound Transit Board Executive Committee revealed outgoing King County Executive Dow Constantine is the agency’s “preferred candidate” for CEO.
Constantine’s term as county executive ends January 1, 2026. He beat out approximately 60 other candidates, including four who were chief executives of other U.S. transit agencies, to become the board’s premier choice to run Sound Transit.
“Sound Transit is a mess. Everybody knows that,” John Curley said on “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “For the people that enjoy the delays, there’s been 200-something delays, some including electrical problems. For the 100,000 people who take Sound Transit, they’re concerned because reliability is off.”
Constantine was filed under the name of “Candidate C” until this week, two weeks after the committee’s vote to recommend a candidate occurred.
How much is Constantine set to make?
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“Now to the rescue is a guy who, I think, put two or three people on that (Sound Transit Board Executive Committee) board,” Curley said. “He’s got friends, and I guess when it came time to decide who’s going to run Sound Transit, well we need a CEO in here, we need to pay this guy. How much would Dow make?”
“So it’ll be 450 (thousand dollars) initially, which is about a 50% increase over what he’s making now as county executive,” King County Assessor John Wilson said on “The John Curley Show.” “It goes up to 650 (thousand dollars) if the Sound Transit Board falls in love with ‘Dow Transit.'”
Because Constantine appointed three members to the executive committee tasked with selecting a new Sound Transit CEO, multiple outlets and county leaders have cited the conflict of interest.
The board is holding a meeting at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, when the hiring vote for Sound Transit CEO is set to take place.
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