Four new faces are joining the Community Transit (CT) Board of Directors for the next two years, including Terry Ryan, who was elected to the Snohomish County Council last November. Ryan represents County Council District 4, which includes Mountlake Terrace and Brier.

The CT board is composed of elected officials from Snohomish County and the cities and towns within the transit agency’s service district.
In addition to Ryan, the new CT board members include Lake Stevens Council member Kim Daughtry, Snohomish Council member Tom Hamilton and Stanwood Mayor Leonard Kelley. Daughtry and Hamilton served as alternate members to the board the past two years.

Members who were re-elected to the board include Mountlake Terrace Mayor Jerry Smith, Edmonds Mayor Dave Earling, Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring, Mill Creek Council member Mike Todd and Snohomish County Council member Stephanie Wright. Smith has been a CT Board of Director since October 2009.

The new CT board will elect officers at its first meeting on Thursday, Feb. 6.

Three new board alternates were chosen as well: Mukilteo Council member Emily Vanderwielen, Arlington Council member Jan Schuette, and Sultan Council member Joe Neigel. Lynnwood Council member Sid Roberts and Snohomish County Councilmember Dave Somers each served as an alternate the past two years and were re-elected.

The Community Transit board is chosen every two years. The County Council names its two members and an alternate, and at a special meeting representatives of Community Transit’s member cities gather to select their board members and alternates. The board is comprised of two representatives from the Snohomish County Council; two representatives from large cities, with more than 30,000 residents; three representatives from medium-sized cities, with 10,000 to 30,000 residents; and two from small cities, with fewer than 10,000 residents.

Earling and Nehring represent the large cities and Roberts is the alternate. Smith, Todd and Daughtry represent the medium cities, with Vanderwielen and Schuette as alternates. Hamilton and Kelley represent the small cities and Neigel is the alternate.

Former Snohomish County Council member and Mountlake Terrace resident Dave Gossett left the CT board after becoming ineligible to run for re-election to the council post he had held for 12 years due to term-limit laws. Sultan Councilmember Steven Slawson and Stanwood Mayor Dianne White left the CT board by deciding not to run for re-election to their respective offices. After five years serving on the board, former Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine left as a result of Mukilteo’s elections last fall.