Finally, Pierce County gets its turn to lead Sound Transit. It should’ve happened a year ago
The need to take Pierce County seriously as a Sound Transit partner has never been more obvious than now. And the need for local leaders to wield strong influence in the three-county regional government couldn’t be more urgent.
Public outrage over Sound Transit taxes is at a fever pitch, and the thermometer reading doesn’t get hotter than in Pierce County. In November, local voters loudly demanded $30 car tabs by favoring Initiative 976 with a 66-percent vote, compared to 53-percent support statewide.
A lawsuit delaying I-976 from taking effect has further inflamed distrust. It’s also helped fuel nuclear-option thinking, like state Sen. Steve O’Ban’s proposal to let Pierce County secede from Sound Transit. (The Tacoma Republican calls it “Trexit,” a silly name for a silly idea.)
Clearly the people of the 253 feel they’re owed a show of respect from King and Snohomish counties. They’re due some sign that South Sound concerns won’t play second (or third) banana to Central and North Sound interests.
Voila! Here it is.
File it under “better late than never.” It should’ve happened a year ago.
When the Sound Transit board of directors holds its inaugural meeting of 2020, a Pierce County member will lead it for the first time since 2013. Kent Keel, the former University Place mayor and current UP City Council member, was recently elevated from vice chair to chair by unanimous vote of the board.
This shouldn’t be written off as a ceremonial peace offering or a procedural gavel shuffling. Local leadership at the highest level matters, especially as plans for Pierce County’s Sound Transit 3 projects shift into a higher gear, highlighted by a Seattle-Tacoma light-rail connection set to open in 2030.
Power sharing also helps ensure equitable spending of taxpayer funds — and fair representation of people embittered by how much vehicle excise tax they’re paying.
“I-976 is at the forefront of most people’s minds, and Pierce County’s position on that needs to be heard clearly,” Keel told the TNT’s editorial page editor this week.
“That’s not to say that I’m giving unfair advantage to Pierce County’s voice,” he added, “but I will make sure it’s heard.
“My personal feeling is that it hasn’t been heard clearly.”
That voice must be reflected in big decisions, such as board approval of transit contracts, budgets and timelines. But it also should show up in more subtle ways, like appointing local residents to a Citizen Oversight Panel.
Seats on the 18-member Sound Transit board are allocated by population, and King County dominates with ten. Keel is one of four elected leaders representing Pierce County; the others are Fife Mayor Kim Roscoe, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards and Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier.
Keel has the most seniority of that local contingent, and by custom he should’ve been promoted to chair the board a year ago. Why wasn’t he?
Rewind to the winter of 2019. It was supposed to be Pierce County’s turn in the leadership rotation. Snohomish County had held the gavel the previous two years, and King County the three years before that.
Unfortunately, a suburban King County board member was allowed to cut in line. As a gesture of courtesy before his retirement, Redmond Mayor John Marchione was elected by his transit board colleagues to serve as chair in 2019. When Marchione left office last month with a year left in the unexpired term, Keel finally got his chance.
Now it appears that Keel’s one year at the helm will be extended to two. Board members have pledged to amend the rules so he can serve the full term he deserves.
More importantly, it’s what the people of Pierce County deserve.
They’re overdue for a leader attuned to their frustrations. They need someone to carry their voice and make sure it’s heard, not drowned out by those who prefer King County supremacy and business as usual at Sound Transit.