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.
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