In 2016, voters across King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties made a historic commitment: they approved Sound Transit 3, a $54 billion investment to build a world-class light rail network connecting our communities. They voted for trains to communities like West Seattle, Ballard, Tacoma, Everett, Issaquah, and Kirkland. They voted for a region where everyone can get where they need to go without a car.

That vote was a promise. And we expect Sound Transit to keep it.

We know Sound Transit is facing real financial pressure. Rising construction costs and revised revenue projections have opened a significant gap in the ST3 program. But hard times don't change what voters were promised, and they don't justify canceling or scaling back the system our region approved. Before any project is cut or deferred, the Board must exhaust every available option: maximizing revenue, reducing costs through smarter design, pursuing permitting reform, and leveraging public land.

We are deeply concerned by proposals to restructure or scale back the ST3 network. Cuts don't just mean fewer stations. They mean broken trust, wasted time, and a slower, less equitable region for decades to come.

We call on the Sound Transit Board to:

• Deliver ST3 as voter-approved. Don't cut light rail lines and abandon what riders were promised.
• Exhaust every option before cutting. Maximize revenue, streamline costs, and use every tool available.
• Keep projects moving. Delays cost us more. Don't let deferred projects stall out. Keep moving planning and design forward.

The Puget Sound is ready and waiting.

Build the damn trains.