Kenmore mayor Baker appointed to the Sound Transit board

Mayor David Baker will represent the east King County subarea, replacing Issaquah Mayor Fred Butler, who will retire this year.

Kenmore Mayor David Baker was recently appointed to the Sound Transit board of directors by King County Executive Dow Constantine.

Baker and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan are two new members to the board among five local leaders appointed by Constantine.

The remaining three appointees — King County Council members Pete VonReichbauer and Dave Upthegrove, and Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus — were re-appointments.

“I am pleased to appoint local leaders who share my commitment to creating a world-class regional transit system that knits together our rapidly growing region,” Constantine said in a press release. “They will provide the combination of valuable experience and new ideas we need to meet the strong demand for high-capacity mass transit.”

Baker, who has served as the mayor of Kenmore for 10 years, was appointed to represent the east King County subarea.

The area was previously represented by Issaquah Mayor Fred Butler, who will retire this year.

According to the release, Baker is active at the regional, state and local level on many boards and commissions and has recently served as president of the Sound Cities Association.

The release states that Baker has a strong interest in transportation and transit and has been a member of the Regional Transit Committee, Eastside Transportation Partnership and the SeaShore Transportation Forum in past years. He also worked to organize northern cities in support of bus rapid transit on State Route 522 as part of the Sound Transit 3 package.

Constantine’s appointments must be confirmed by the King County Council.