Dow Constantine as Sound Transit CEO: Understanding the controversy

The expected announcement of King County Executive Dow Constantine as the new CEO of Sound Transit has drawn the ire of activist groups who say he had an unfair advantage.

Constantine beat out over 60 other candidates, including four who are chief executives of other U.S. transit agencies. And the controversy is that Constantine appointed many members who participated in the decision-making process. The process was also panned for being too secretive.

According to the Urbanist, conflict-of-interest charges have been levied from several transit activist groups, including Seattle Subway and the Transit Riders Union.

Constantine appointment has ‘glaring’ conflict-of-interest

Three members of the Executive Committee tasked with selecting a new CEO were appointed to the Sound Transit board by Constantine.

“A majority of this committee has a glaring and obvious conflict of interest, when considering him for a job that pays over $600,000 per year. This further undermines public trust in the board and the agency which is especially troubling now as Sound Transit faces a long way to go to rebuilt trust on many facets,” David Scott of Seattle Subway told the committee. “If the board wants the community to trust the process, that trust will not be given lightly.”

And in a Publicola guest essay, two transit advocates argued Constantine had a “built-in advantage” by being selected by colleagues he chose.

Why does this matter? The Sound Transit board may be appointing someone without experience simply because they might feel like they “owe” him.

“We are concerned that the CEO of Sound Transit is an administrative leadership position, akin to the General Manager of Metro, not a political one,” The Transit Riders Union said in a letter to the Sound Transit Board. “This experience does not align with the positions to which Dow has been elected and held.”

Constantine justified the process

Constantine responded to the controversy in the Seattle Times.

“First of all, the CEO selection process is supposed to be confidential. Obviously, that has not happened in this case, but the agency and its attorney have been clear that there is no conflict of interest, so long as one recuses oneself from the process, as I have done,” he explained to The Seattle Times.

Vice Chair Claudia Balducci, of Bellevue, defended her support of Constantine to The Seattle Times. She explained that Constantine was qualified and knew the Sound Transit system. She argued “we would not benefit from somebody who had a steep learning curve.”

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