Seattle Press on Line - Challengers Vie for Port Positions

Seattle Press Election Coverage

Challengers Vie for Port Positions

By Adam Richter

Oct 25, 2001 -- As far as political careers go, it's hardly a glamour job. Port of Seattle Commissioners, elected every four years, get paid about $6,600 a year for part-time positions where they have to decide the policy for one of the region's biggest economic development authorities. Even so, few people seem to know who the commissioners are, let alone vote for them.

The Port of Seattle runs the SeaTac airport and much of Seattle's waterfront activities. The huge orange cranes that load and unload cargo ships are run by the port. The Port of Seattle owns most of the piers that run along the downtown waterfront. It also owns and manages Fishermen's Terminal, the cruise ship dock, Shilshole Bay Marina, and the Bell Street Pier, to name a few.

But the port's drawn a great deal of criticism for some of its activities over the past several years. Hot-button issues such as SeaTac Airport's infamous third runway, labor disputes with the crane maintenance workers at the container facility, and the controversy over how to preserve Fishermen's Terminal have drawn their share of critics who say it's time for a change at the Port of Seattle.

Three of the port's five commissioners have reelection campaigns this year. Two of them, Pat Davis and Paige Miller, face opposition from strong--if politically inexperienced--critics who say it's time for the port to change its ways.

Position 3

Richard Pope says the Port of Seattle makes too much money. The attorney-turned-political candidate alleges that they have over $700 million in investment funds, their operations make plenty of money, and other government entities could use the Port's tax levy. Pope says it's time to eliminate the port tax.

" Their operations are not only self-supporting, but profitable," he says.

And some of those operations, according to Pope, need improvement in how they are run. He would like to see improved security at SeaTac Airport--after September 11, who wouldn't?--and proposes changes such as increasing pay for security workers and making the Port of Seattle police more visible at the airport. The federal government is considering legislation that could increase pay for airport security guards, who are among the lowest-paid workers at the airport. Pope says, "If Congress doesn't change that, I will."

Pope also opposes the third runway, calling it unsafe, environmentally unsound and "completely unnecessary." "I don't see it as being of any great benefit," he says. "It's a losing proposition from my point of view." On the issue of whether to let recreational boats use Fishermen's Terminal to raise money for needed repairs, Pope reluctantly supports it, but not at the cost of losing the facility's character. He chose to run against Paige Miller because strong opposition candidates were already running in the other port races, says Pope. But he's critical of the entire Port Commission.

"I certainly have issues with the whole board because of the port's policies," says Pope.

Paige Miller has been involved with the third runway project for over 11 years. From 1990 to 1992, she sat on a panel that tried to come up with alternatives, but that panel concluded that building a third runway would best solve capacity problems at SeaTac Airport. "Nothing I have heard since has indicated that [decision] was incorrect," she says. Miller, first elected to the Port Commission in 1987, says Pope's allegation that the Port of Seattle has plenty of money is nonsense. In fact, the Port of Seattle faces across-the-board budget cuts. This is partly due to the slowing economy, and partly due to the slowdown in the airline industry in particular after September 11. Any reserves the port has, says Miller, are actually used to cover losses and keep the Port of Seattle's bond rating up.

" Our bond rating is the best for any airport," she says. The port tax, which Pope wants to eliminate, pays for physical infrastructure such as road improvements and environmental cleanup. "There is no vast sum of money" that the Port of Seattle keeps, she says. Miller acknowledges that Fishermen's Terminal needs repairs and upgrades, but says the port wants to find ways to do that without charging the fishermen.

" We need to find a way to pay for that work without asking the fishing industry to pay for it," she says. No final decision has yet been made--the port wants to wait until the fishing season ends--but she recognizes the sensitivity of the issue. "You don't want yachts cheek by jowl with fishing vessels," she says.

Her biggest hope for the next term is to see the third runway issue go away after over a decade. "I would like to see the third runway issue not be an issue four years from now," says Miller.

Position 4

Christopher Cain, like Pope, is a first-time office seeker. But he has experience as a grass-roots activist supporting union workers and protesting police brutality. He says he wants to improve the Port of Seattle Commission 's public responsiveness.

"There's a serious problem with accountability" at the Port of Seattle, says Cain.

Cain says the port has its priorities on the wrong issues. He opposes the third runway at SeaTac airport, and thinks the port has neglected Fishermen's Terminal for too long. Maintenance of the facility should be a priority to the Port of Seattle, says Cain, considering Fishermen's Terminal's economic contributions to the region. "The fact is, Fishermen's Terminal brings in about half a billion dollars into the local economy," he says. According to the Harbor Development Strategy report issued in March, Fishermen's Terminal annually brings in $256 million, including wages and salaries. But Cain recognizes that the Port of Seattle has to balance serving the public interest with meeting the needs of businesses that depend on the waterfront. What he would like to change, though, what he calls the port's "lack of transparency, lack of fiscal accountability, and lack of responsibility." To do that he'll have to beat the incumbent, Pat Davis--which would be quite a feat for a first-time politician.

Pat Davis disputes the charge that the Port of Seattle is not accountable, but acknowledges that public outreach has been a problem. "I think we could do a better job of getting out and about," she says of the commission. Part of the low visibility hurts at the ballot box as well, where the port commissioner races tend to receive the fewest votes. In fact, says Davis, several issues that came up in the press this year have been on the port's table for a while.

"We've done everything we could do to keep the fishing fleet here," she says about the proposed changes for Fishermen's Terminal. While Davis says the fishermen have legitimate concerns, something must be done to upgrade the facility. The port originally agreed to wait until the fishing season ended before deciding what to do. Davis says that since September 11, the port's plans will likely be delayed even longer. Davis says she's campaigning hard for her reelection. "I don't take anything for granted," she says. She hopes to see the SeaTac airport expansion through, including building the third runway and renovating the south terminal, the central terminal, and the access train--four projects already underway--as well as increasing public awareness of the port's attention to security issues.

"That outreach, I think, is really important," she says. In the coming months, according to Davis, how the port manages the airport and works with struggling airlines will play a huge role in the economy of the region.

"We're in a very competitive environment" to keep jobs and businesses in the area, says Davis. She hopes to spend the next term helping the Port of Seattle stay in the thick of it.

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