Analysis of Northwest Port Commission Races
By Jordan Royer, Vice President, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
It’s not just temperature that differentiates Washington State Ports from those in California. The Golden State’s port commissions are appointed by the mayors of the cities in which they are located. Their colder counterparts in the Pacific Northwest must be elected by voters in the counties in which they reside. This poses some interesting challenges for the customers of the ports and the public at large.
For the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle, out of a total of 10 commissioners in both ports, four seats are up for re-election, and two seats are open and up for grabs.
Ports of Tacoma and Seattle – A Tale of Two Cities
In Tacoma, there is an open seat vacated by longtime Commissioner Connie Bacon. There are three candidates vying for the seat: John McCarthy, James Jensen, and Eric Holdeman. Two other commissioners are up for re-election, Dick Marzano and Don Meyer. Neither of the incumbents has a challenger as of this writing.
There is an unusual development in Tacoma’s open seat, however. For the first time in many years, a candidate is self-funding a campaign to the tune of $120,000. That candidate is James Jensen. He and his family are active in political circles in Pierce County.
John McCarthy is a former Tacoma commissioner and retired judge. His wife is the State Auditor, Pat McCarthy, and their son is on the Tacoma City Council. In low profile port elections name familiarity is a powerful force. (Full Disclosure: PMSA has contributed to Judge McCarthy’s campaign)
In commission races that rarely raise much money and are rarely contentious, these candidates promise a competitive race. Will Mr. Jensen be able to use his financial resources to get his message out or will the well-known local Judge McCarthy carry the day? Or can Eric Holdeman’s government experience in King County as Emergency Preparedness Director and port of Tacoma security chief translate into victory after failing to reach the finish line four years ago?
The August 1st Primary will give us some idea of levels of support and most importantly, which two will make it to the November ballot.
In Seattle, what once promised to be a sleepy election cycle with an incumbent mayor cruising to victory and three incumbent port commissioners receiving little in the way of big name challengers, the water has risen, and turbulent times are ahead.
Commissioner Tom Albro has decided not to run again, leaving a wide open field for that seat. So far, six candidates have filed, with likely more to come before the May 19 filing deadline. Most are relatively unknowns with the exception of former Seattle City Councilman Peter Steinbrueck. Others include Longshoreman John Perzak, Jacob Richardson, Preeti Shridhar, Brooks Salazar, and Fernando Martinez. (Full Disclosure: PMSA has contributed to Mr. Steinbrueck.)
The incumbents, Stephanie Bowman and John Creighton, have both drawn challengers. Commissioner Creighton will face off against two challengers, former State Senator Claudia Kauffman and political newcomer, Ryan Calkins. Kauffman was the first Native American woman to be elected to the Washington State Senate and now works for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. Calkins previously ran the family business, a tile import company in addition to working on political campaigns.
Commissioner Bowman’s challenger, Ahmed Abdi, is a Seattle Housing Authority Commissioner and Outreach Manager at Fair Work Center, where he conducts “Train the Trainer” & “Know Your Rights” workshops for community partner organizations around King County. He has worked at SEIU 775, Working Washington, Jewish Vocational Service and Crest Services. (Full Disclosure: PMSA has contributed to Ms. Bowman.)
Because it is difficult to get any media attention on these port races, power of incumbency and name identification plays a major role.
Port of Seattle races in King County see a steep drop off in votes that go to other races. For instance, in 2015, there were 467,608 total votes cast countywide. There were two Port of Seattle Commission races that year. Both races saw a drop off in voters from the top of the ticket.
This is a consistent trend over the years – voters leave port races blank after filling out the rest of the ballots. The average voter knows little to nothing about the candidates. Financially squeezed local media doesn’t cover port issues or candidates in any meaningful way, preferring to steer reporters to more high-profile races.
This is why incumbency and name familiarity are so important. It also makes these races notoriously difficult to predict.
The bottom line is that these commissioners make a lot of important decisions starting with hiring CEOs and approving of infrastructure spending. And with the merger of the container facilities at Seattle and Tacoma into the NW Seaport Alliance the cultural and political differences in both places will create both challenges and opportunities for both.