SEATTLE — The CEO of Sound Transit is resigning after just 16 months, sending the agency back into a search for a new chief executive.
Julie Timm, who became CEO in September 2022, will “return to the East Coast to take care of family matters,” Sound Transit said in a statement on Tuesday, Dec. 12. Her final day will be Jan. 12. The Sound Transit board is expected to appoint an interim CEO in coming weeks.
The website The Urbanist reports Timm informed agency staff of her decision in a Tuesday email, writing that she had come to the “difficult, but I believe the correct, conclusion that my family needs more of my focus. While not impossible, it would be incredibly challenging for me to maintain a split focus while maintaining the intense level of support and stability Sound Transit deserves from its CEO as we enter into a historic level of openings and new construction.”
The agency has faced significant construction issues, delays, and cost overruns during a massive expansion of its light rail system [see “Construction delays push back opening …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 22, 2022, and “Delays to Sound Transit’s East Link light rail to impact other expansion projects,” News Wire, Dec. 13, 2022]. The Urbanist reports the Sound Transit board was expected to take an official vote on Timm’s performance this week, reflecting frustration over various issues.
Timm had previously led Virginia’s Greater Richmond Transit Co.
When things go wrong, cost over runs, etc. use the spend time with the family cover story.
Totally agree John, fare compliance here is definitely lacking. The light rail also has safety issues the times I have ridden the light rail. Less safety issues with the commuter rail when I have ridden it.
Sound Transit? Safety Issues? Tell me it isn’t true.
“But as CEO she has served at the pleasure of the Sound Transit board, where many representatives of suburban cities have been waiting for rapid transit investments to come to them for over two decades. With their disparate (and sometimes parochial) interests, it is no easy matter to keep this entire group happy. For example, some boardmembers are focused on stricter fare enforcement and want to add fare gates, while others stress social equity and want to avoid changes that will exacerbate racial disparities in fare enforcement and transit access.”
The Pacific Northwest being parochial? NEVER!
-sarcasm-
I agree John this is a really difficult area to live in and manage. Congestion, traffic, and condition of the roads are difficult at best If it wasn’t for family living here, I would be heading back to the upper mid west, Minnesota, at least would get more sunshine and not the constant cold rain like here.
A couple of things here….the Sound Transit board is about to be overhauled. Many of the existing members are leaving and will need to be replaced. Also I suspect her current board was attacking her (and each other) from 2 sides.
A new board is going to want “their person” running the show, and if she wasn’t getting top shelf reviews then she had no reason to hang around. And I have been around long enough to know that “more time with family” or “family concerns” has been the #1 corporate way to resign when they can’t get things done or they feel the rope has reached its end.
Having ridden Sound Transit, frankly I was appalled at the fare compliance regimen in operation (like none at all). I did pay for my tickets via mobile, but lack of gating, lack of bar code scanning, no one doing headcounts to measure the unpaid ratios, (to me) makes the total enterprise completely untenable.
I wouldn’t take the job unless I had 100% support from my board that a fare should paid first, hardship cases come second.