Kevin Wallace has only been a Bellevue councilmember since December, but he already has positioned himself at the center of the light rail debate advocating for the "Vision Line," a downtown route he helped dream up.

Wallace, part of an established Bellevue family and president and chief operating officer of Wallace Properties, says the line that would run parallel to I-405 is the best, most affordable choice for downtown. Sound Transit agreed late last year to study the line.

The Council's downtown light rail recommendation to the Sound Transit board has major implications for the future of transportation in Bellevue, and council members are meeting with the Sound Transit board Thursday for a workshop to discuss the various light rail route options, with the Transit board making the final decision later this year.

I talked with Wallace more about his views on light rail and winning his council seat.

Q: What is your general approach to the downtown light rail route decision and the funding required for a tunnel?

A: In the downtown, it gets back to the balance of interests with budget. We're struggling for the money to continue expanding park system and road system and utilities, things Bellevue raises tax revenue for and should spend money on. Light rail tunnels should be paid for if at all by Sound Transit.

Q: How did you come up with the concept for the Vision Line?

A: The original Vision Line coalition was trying to evaluate of the five options Sound Transit had put on the table [for downtown], which was the best one. What could we do to create an option that both protects the homes businesses and roads and also fits within the Sound Transit budget?

Q: How do you gauge the chances for the route with the Council and Sound Transit board?

A: I'm hopeful we can reach consensus on an alignment, but unified consensus is always difficult to achieve. With the downtown segment, it's going to come down to a choice between whether the tunnel is justified given the cost, or whether it makes more sense to have the station next to the freeway [under the Vision Line proposal] and save hundreds of millions of dollars. Until new information comes out and we've had a chance to discuss it at the Council, and the Transit board and region has chance to absorb information, it's hard to say where things come down.

Q: If the other six council members favor a downtown tunnel and not your line, how would you vote?

A: It would depend on Sound Transit's view of who pays for the extra cost for the tunnel. If there are opportunities to pay for that tunnel other than with Bellevue resources, I would have a much different view than if the expectation was for Bellevue to foot some of the bill.

Q: As a new council member with a big new proposal for light rail, how did the others respond to your idea?

A: I've known all six of them for years. It's not like I'm a stranger walking in trying to convince them of something. We have an incredibly smart group of council members who are passionate about the city and have principled stances on this, all seven. It's challenging because we're a year down the path and people already have taken positions one way or the other. But I think at the same time the recession has put us in a new reality. I hope all of us will step back and take a fresh look at the light rail alignment and try to make a prudent decision going forward based on the reality that we have going ahead.

Q: You won with a relatively thin margin of less than 4 percent over Patsy Bonincontri, who was appointed to her seat. Was it an advantage or a disadvantage coming from a well-known business family?

A: We won narrowly, but we won. I think if I hadn't paid my dues to neighborhoods by being out and providing leadership with respect to light rail, it would have been a challenge for me to win. I could demonstrate it's not just the business community I care about, it's the neighborhoods too.