Metropolitan King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, who represents Kirkland, released this statement on the firing of State Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson on Saturday:

“Having served on the Sound Transit board, I witnessed firsthand the passion, dedication, and skill that made Lynn Peterson the world class leader that she is. She deserves to keep working for the people of Washington.

“Erratic politics and our seeming inability to come together to tackle issues like transportation and education are consistently identified as the biggest risks to our future competitiveness. This kind of precipitous, partisan action is extremely disheartening.

“The Senate’s decision must be reversed swiftly; we deserve better than this.”