VIDEO: From transit safety to international angst, here’s what the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce heard from King County Executive Dow Constantine
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Whether he is or isn’t Sound Transit‘s next CEO, King County Executive Dow Constantine didn’t say much about ST when he spoke to the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce this past Thursday.
Not that they asked him to – the announced theme was “King County Conversations,” and it was likely the last time Constantine would speak to the group as County Executive, a job he’s leaving after four 4-year terms. Here’s our video of what he said, after the Chamber’s executive director Rachel Porter introduced him; our summary follows:
He opened with some personal info, as if he were a new arrival introducing himself for the first time, rather than a quarter-century-plus veteran of elected office. He noted his dietary discipline (vegan, as was the lunch buffet catered by Peninsula Soul Food), his first job (Alki Spud), his daughter and parents’ ages (10 and nineties), among other datapoints. And he noted that he’s served as county executive through “global financial meltdowns, the pandemic, three governors, four presidential administrations, seven (Seattle) mayors … It’s been an interesting experience … the challenges we face are significant and often daunting.” Those challenges are ever-changing, he added.
First one he addressed was public safety, particularly on transit.
“What’s happening on our streets will” invariably spill onto transit, Constantine said, so he said action is being taken, including testing “secure metal doors” that transit operators can lock, though he said that’s “been controversial” with drivers. He also touted the plan to add “a team of 14 behavioral-health specialists” to deal with people who need those interventions. A safety task force is convening this Thursday (March 20).
He did not address the challenges facing the King County Sheriff’s Office, which provides law enforcement officers for unincorporated King County (including White Center and Vashon/Maury Islands as well as for transit. But he did detour into a brief note about the longrunning overhaul of the regional public-safety radio system (which, though he didn’t mention it, includes the big tower in Myrtle Reservoir Park).
He moved fleetingly through other issues – homelessness (he stressed housing as the solution and acknowledged slower-than-hoped-for progress) and climate change (he touted the battery-backup system that has made the West Point treatment plant less prone to overflows).
The latter also provided a segue point into transit, first Metro, “moving toward 100 percent zero emission transit fleet” and with ridership “growing by leads and bounds”; Constantine said it’s the nation’s seventh-largest agency with the second-largest growth rate, and that its eight RapidRide lines (including two serving West Seattle, C and H) account for about 20 percent of Metro’s ridership.
Then he moved on to Sound Transit, his possible future employer, where he’s been on the board since becoming King County Executive 15 years ago (that’s one of the elected offices with a guaranteed seat on the board). “Remarkable growth in a remarkable period of time,” he gushed, with the system up to 43 miles now and expected to grow to 61 miles by next year. “I’m optimistic about our ability to keep opening (service),” he insisted, while acknowledging that the federal tariff situation is a problem, though in his view “not insurmountable.”
Before wrapping up, Constantine spoke about a favorite topic – the arts – and the Doors Open initiative, before moving to a dream that he acknowledged will take “decades and decades” to come true, transforming blocks of county-owned downtown property into “a whole new neighborhood,” with housing and businesses replacing “underutilized” government buildings.
In a short Q&A period, he was asked what sent him on the path to public service; it was a last-minute decision to run for school president, he said, a race he managed to win. Then: What about the federal situation is keeping him up at night? Transit, replied Constantine, since historically both Metro and Sound Transit have had a sizable infusion of federal funding. It’s not just a money thing, though, he continued – the current delay in the federal environmental decision that’s needed for the West Seattle Link Extension to move into final design seems to be in a troubling “yeah, we’ll get back to you sometime” mode. But he went on to say he’s worried about the international situation too: “I’m desperately worried about the people of Ukraine (and) our friends in Canada,” who he said (noting a recent trip north) are bonafidely “perturbed … it’s visceral … to have your greatest trading partner mad at you is not a good thing.” But he said the Canadians seemed toknow our area doesn’t share the White House’s sentiment: “They understand it’s not us … they’ve pulled Jack Daniels (from liquor stores) but Washington wine is still on the shelves.”
The event ended with a round of community announcements, and one theme emerged: Inflation isn’t just a grocery thing. Support local nonprofits, because increased expenses are hitting them hard too.
Watch wschamber.com for the organization’s upcoming events.
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