Councilmember Irons had served as an alternate for Councilmember Rob McKenna on the Executive Board since the RTID body was formed more than two years ago. Councilmember McKenna’s departure last month for his new role as state Attorney General left the RTID seat vacant. Irons was the unanimous choice of the RTID Planning Committee, made up of all Councilmembers from the three counties, to fill the vacancy. In addition, King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert (R-Redmond) was chosen unanimously to fill Irons’ previous position as an alternate on the Executive Board.

“It is an honor to represent the interests of King County residents and businesses in regional efforts to improve transportation,” Councilmember Irons said. “We’ve made some progress, but a large body of work remains to be done in obtaining and prioritizing transportation funding. To meet the region’s mobility needs, it is more urgent than ever for transportation infrastructure to catch up with growth.”

“I am eager to step into this role working toward transportations solutions,” Councilmember Lambert said. “We are now at the next step in solving our severe transportation problems. The years of planning and research done by all three counties together in a collaborative fashion is ready for public review and input. Soon, the public will be able to vote on the regional package. Then, we all can move literally on the road to transportation solutions.”

Last month, Councilmember Irons also was elected as vice chair of the Eastside Transportation Partnership, a consortium of representatives from Eastside cities and agencies advising regional officials about transportation needs.

RTID currently is working on compiling a list of the most urgent regional transportation projects and obtaining cost estimates toward developing a ballot measure to fund road improvement and transit projects.