Port of Camas-Washougal Commissioner John Spencer is advocating for a invoice within the Washington Legislature that might give voters in seven port districts, together with Camas-Washougal, the choice of extending the phrases of their port commissioners from 4 to 6 years.
The state Senate handed Substitute Senate Invoice 5370 — sponsored by Sen. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, and 4 Senate Democrats — on Feb. 26. The invoice now awaits a vote from the state Home of Representatives, which had a primary studying Feb. 28.
“If the bill passes all the way through, I will bring it to the commission to put forward to the voters that change for us, because I feel very strongly that this would be a good thing for the port and for the community,” Spencer mentioned.
Spencer — together with Harris, Washington Public Ports Affiliation Govt Director Eric ffitch and Port of Lopez airport supervisor Rick Hoffman — spoke in favor of the invoice throughout a Senate listening to in Olympia on Feb. 3.
“We are a very small port,” Hoffman mentioned through the Senate listening to. “We don’t have the big projects that our friends at Camas-Washougal have, but still, the institutional knowledge that our commissioners have is very important to us. The possibility of losing two-thirds of our commission at one time would be a very big obstacle to overcome.”
Nearly all of the 75 ports in Washington, together with Vancouver and Ridgefield, are run by three commissioners serving six-year phrases. Seven port districts, together with Camas-Washougal, have three commissioners serving four-year phrases, which means that each different election cycle, two-thirds of the fee is up for reelection.
“The turnover for some in our ports is really staggering, and it’s difficult as they make big capital budget requests and (work on) projects that will carry on past their terms,” Harris mentioned through the listening to. “It would help not to have so much turnover at certain times and to lengthen the stay for some (commissioners).”
Spencer mentioned the Port of Camas-Washougal is “the poster child of the dangers of the current situation,” referring to CEO Trang Lam having lower than a 12 months of expertise in her present function and two commissioners — Spencer and Larry Keister — being up for reelection in November.
Keister has mentioned he intends to run for one more time period, whereas Spencer mentioned he is not going to.
“There’s that possibility of losing two-thirds of your institutional knowledge while having a new executive,” mentioned Spencer, a commissioner since 2015. “I’m not truly worried that something’s going to go horrible with the port … but we want to protect ourselves from these eventualities. And we’re also the poster child for wanting to change it with zero self-interest. I’m the one pushing for it, and I’m not going to be around. This is not me wanting to extend my term. This is me wanting what I think is best for the port and the community.”
Washington statute says that commissioner phrases might be decreased from six to 4 years with an affirmative vote from the residents of that district. No corresponding language permitting voters to increase phrases but exists.
“(This bill) also helps in smaller communities, where port commissioners often run unopposed and it can be difficult to solicit two candidates for two seats in one election cycle,” ffitch mentioned through the Senate listening to.
