Light-rail critic McKenna loses Sound Transit board seat
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King County Executive Ron Sims, who appoints the county's representatives to the board, yesterday replaced the Bellevue Republican, whose four-year term expires at the end of the year.
Sims named three new members: County Councilwoman Julia Patterson, D-SeaTac; Bellevue City Councilman Chuck Mosher; and County Councilman Dwight Pelz, D-Seattle to replace McKenna, Kent Mayor Jim White and departing Seattle Mayor Paul Schell.
Sims, who serves on the Sound Transit board and will become its chairman next week, is a Democrat and a big light-rail supporter who has clashed often with McKenna.
"This is about politics," McKenna said. "Ron doesn't want critics or skeptics. He wants board members who will go along with the program."
But Sims said he isn't trying to stifle dissent. "I just think we needed to have other voices heard," he said.
He also said attention should focus on the new members, not who's leaving.
"I don't want to reduce this to the Rob McKenna show," Sims said.
"These (new) people are real tough on oversight. They are not wallflowers. They are not cheerleaders. ... This board is stronger, not weaker."
In addition to the three new members, Sims also reappointed County Councilwoman Cynthia Sullivan, D-Seattle, and Kenmore City Councilman Jack Crawford.
The Sound Transit board has 18 members — 10 elected local officials from King County, four from Pierce, three from Snohomish — plus the secretary of the state Department of Transportation. Each county's representatives are appointed by its executive and confirmed by its county council.
McKenna, who has served on Sound Transit's board since 1996, has fought light rail for years. He was among the first to call attention to cost overruns that ultimately prompted the board to mothball a voter-approved, 21-mile line from Seattle's University District to SeaTac.
When the board authorized construction of a scaled-back, 14-mile line from downtown Seattle to Tukwila last month, McKenna was one of just two no votes.
He campaigned hard to stay on the board, saying he wanted to focus on Eastside issues. Eastside business and civic leaders and the mayors of 11 suburban cities wrote Sims urging McKenna's reappointment.
But some light-rail advocates lobbied against him.
McKenna said yesterday he was disappointed, but "if anything, not being on the board frees me up to be more vocal ... I've been fairly restrained, believe it or not."
Among the new members, Patterson, elected to the County Council last month, has been most critical of light rail. She said during her campaign that, while she had supported the project earlier, she could no longer back it because the revamped line stops a mile short of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Pelz has been a defender of light rail, which would run through the middle of his Southeast Seattle district. He withstood a tough primary challenge from a rival who criticized Pelz's support for the project.
Schell was not eligible for reappointment. But White, the Kent mayor, like McKenna, had sought another term. He said he was "a little disappointed," but wouldn't criticize Sims.
White may have fallen victim to a numbers game. Sims was required to appoint another County Council member to replace McKenna. Choosing Patterson while retaining White would have left the Eastside underrepresented on the board, and state law requires proportional representation.
Appointing Mosher instead of White solved that problem.
Tacoma Deputy Mayor Kevin Phelps, incoming chairman of Sound Transit's finance committee, said McKenna worked hard and asked good questions on the board. His departure may create a perception that Sims is trying to squelch opposing views, Phelps said, "but I don't think that was Ron's intention at all."
Eric Pryne can be reached at 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com.