Sound Transit Board Abruptly Removes Key Committee Chair Ahead of Pivotal Year

Claudia Balducci, the second longest serving member of the Sound Transit board, was removed from her post as chair of the board’s System Expansion committee last week, just as the board prepares to fully reorient its system plan to address a $34 billion budget hole. Balducci, a King County Councilmember, had been leading that committee since 2018, but she will not even serve on the body tasked with making critical decisions about light rail extension projects going forward.