Mayor Greg Nickels was unanimously elected chair of the Sound Transit board.

Nickels is a long-time advocate for a regional light rail system, first as a King County councilman and later as Seattle's mayor, where he lead effort to get construction moving on the first line connecting downtown Seattle to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

"This is both an exciting and important time for Sound Transit as we prepare to open Link light rail service in 2009," Nickels said. "We must have regional solutions to our transportation challenges. That's why I'm committed to expanding light rail and other transit options that will connect our communities and help reduce global warming pollution."