King County Executive Candidacy Statement

This year I’m filing to use the Voters’ Pamphlet County Executive Candidate’s statement to detail concerns with Sound Transit using voter Prop 1 approval in 2016 to spend $54B between 2017 and 2041 on ST3 extensions, to spend $150B between 2017 and 2046 and leave the area $18B in debt.  ST3 extensions for 4-car light rail  trains don’t have the capacity to attract ridership needed to reduce peak hour congestion on I-5 corridor or across I-90 Bridge, and cost too much to operate during off peak hours. 

Yet, ST has spent and will continue to spend hundreds of millions on light rail extensions beyond UW and SeaTac, and across I-90 bridge that do nothing to reduce congestion into Seattle. They exacerbate the capacity and cost problem by opting to use light rail trains to replace bus routes into the city.   

Thus, ST, which could have added BRT routes to increase transit capacity, has used ST3 extensions to reduce bus capacity and nothing to reduce GP lane congestion. The bus riders will limit current-rider access during peak hours and require funding 4-car train operation when a single HCT bus would suffice.  Future ST3 “spine” extensions will further reduce bus routes, transit capacity, and increase costs.

The 2024 Lynnwood Link debut demonstrated providing commuters with access to light rail doesn’t assure riders.  The 80,000 residents living within a mile of the Link stations resulted in 6643 March 2025 Lynnwood boardings; most of whom were former bus riders whose routes were terminated at one of the stations.  

A clear warning for future ST3 light rail spine extensions, especially for ST plans to route Line 2 trains through DSTT to Lynnwood and beyond. Doing so limits Line 2 train frequency, halves trains to SeaTac, and complicates merging with Line 1 trains returning to CID.

Ridership that also raises doubts as to whether Ballard and West Seattle to Sodo extensions justify the cost of boring a 2^nd tunnel under Seattle or constructing a 2^nd Duwamish Waterway bridge.  Especially since both areas have King and Snohomish County bus service that benefit from having multiple stops from Everett to Burien to more convenient stops for egress and access in downtown Seattle than light rail trains with stops in DSTT and Sodo.  Aborting both links woud save nearly $20B and a decade of disruption during construction. 

The latest example of the ST boards approach to ST3 is the 2025 budget they approved in March.  It details a staffing budget of $957.5 M for 1572 positions including 194 “executives”. Yet, pays others to finalize transit system design and construction, and drive and maintain light rail cars and buses.  

The budget neglected to include 130 contracts labeled as “Sound Transit Proprietary and Confidential” in excess of $100,000.  Presumably allowed by an 18 member board, each receiving over $200,000 in compensation, that’s shown more interest in transit oriented development and affording housing than in reducing congestion. 

Again, another year of concerns with Sound Transit’s ST3 extensions.