Mill Creek City Council member John “Jack” Start was confirmed by the Snohomish County Council for a position on the Sound Transit Board of Directors of Sound Transit April 14.
Start was approved 3-0, with Council members Dave Gossett, D-Mountlake Terrace, Kirke Sievers, D-Everett , and John Koster, R-Arlington, voting in favor of appointing Start. Council member Gary Nelson, R-Edmonds, was out of town while Council member Jeff Sax, R-Snohomish, was at another meeting.
Start was the appointee that County Executive Aaron Reardon had nominated for the position, one of three Snohomish County has on the Sound Transit board.
Start’s nomination drew some criticism not so much because of the selection of Start, but because Reardon opted not to interview any other candidates after talking to Start. Nonetheless, Start’s confirmation easily passed the County Council’s public works committee as well as the overall Council.
“(The Council) only asked me if I had anything else to say, and I told them I was looking forward to serving Snohomish County,” Start said.
Start will attend his first Sound Transit board meeting in May. He will be appointed to at least one subcommittee, which meets regularly and makes recommendations to the overall board. Until then, Start is reading numerous documents he received from Sound Transit.
“Right now I’m in listening mode, just trying to understand what’s going on,” he said.
The other two seats belong to Reardon and Everett City Council member Mark Olsen. Start’s seat is the only at-large representative from Snohomish County; the other two are reserved for the county executive and a representative from Everett.
Start is a retired manager for the Federal Reserve in San Francisco and Seattle and recently joined the Community Transit board representing Mill Creek. His Sound Transit term runs through Dec. 31, 2007.
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