Next leader of Sound Transit has daunting task right out of the gate

Sound Transit

The Sound Transit board will use a closed-door executive session on May 9 to discuss candidates to replace outgoing CEO Peter Rogoff.

The next in line will need to handle ST3, which is a voter-approved plan to build 12 rail and bus extensions serving 750,000 daily passengers in Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties.

The new addition also must scale a huge mountain. A finance plan needs to be managed amidst inflation and past estimating errors. The plan is now $142 billion from 2017 to 2046.

The board’s Search Committee and recruiters have trimmed a list of more than 90 applicants down to eight. The hope is one or two nominees will be revealed in June so they could meet with Sound Transit stakeholders. A final board vote and contract negotiations would happen in July.

Rogoff ran into trouble last year when then-Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan complained the agency was slow to reveal a $6.5 billion shortfall. A review by independent sources found a reluctance by staff to daylight bad news.

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