After suffering more than a hundred years of repression at
the hands of King County taxpayers, Seattle Port Commissioners will finally
earn a living wage. Last month, while the rest of the country was discussing
the federal budget and sequestration cuts that would decimate parts of the
federal government, the Seattle Port Commission voted itself a seven-fold
increase in pay.
Currently, Seattle’s part-time commissioners,
who are elected to office by the voters of King County after having spent tens
(or hundreds) of thousands of dollars campaigning for the post, receive $500 a
month plus a $12,500 annual per diem. Following last month’s vote,
commissioners will now “earn” $36,000 a year, for what one commissioner
estimates at less than 25 hours a week, becoming the only salaried port
commission on the West Coast. With the per diem, their compensation rises to
$48,500.
According to a recent article in the Seattle Times,
Commission President Tom Albro proposed the increase as a way to attract more
people to the five-member body and make it feasible for people who have to work
for a living to serve.
An average campaign for Seattle Port
Commission costs in the neighborhood of $150,00, and requires a fair bit of
time and effort. Currently, the people who serve on the commission have
successful careers, many as attorneys. (For the record, Albro will not take the
increase he proposed).
Even before the pay raise, there were almost
30 applicants to fill two vacant positions on the commission – one left by Gael
Tarleton, who resigned to serve in her new position as a Washington State
legislator and one left by Rob Holland, who quit under a cloud of personal and
professional problems.
Commissioner Bill Bryant, whose term doesn’t
expire until 2015, was out of town and didn’t vote, but had made it clear he
opposed the increase. Commissioner John Creighton voted in favor of the
increase, although current commissioners won’t be eligible for the raise unless
they’re re-elected. Creighton’s term expires in December of this year, and a
number of credible applicants among the 30 who presented themselves could give
him a run for his money. One of these is attorney Courtney Gregoire, daughter
of former Governor Christine Gregoire, who was appointed to fill Ms. Tarleton’s
vacancy, and will run for election to the position in December.
Creighton worked alongside former
Commissioner Lloyd Hara in 2008 to try to raise commissioners’ salaries and
provide them with staff. That effort failed, and Hara subsequently was elected
to the full-time position of King County assessor.
According to the Times article, Creighton
believes the Seattle Port Commission “has long been dominated by rich old white
men and individuals whose employers financially benefit from their position on
the commission.” Creighton has most recently served with two women, a man of
Japanese heritage and Rob Holland, who describes himself as “young, gay and
black.” This makes Creighton the only “rich old white man” who stands to
benefit from this increase.
Welcome Aboard!
Pacific Maritime Magazine is happy to introduce
Pardise Amirshahi as our new advertising sales manager. Pardise has been in
marketing for more than 20 years, most of those in print advertising, so she’s
right at home with the Philips family of publications. Pardise is based in
Southern California. Give her a call to discuss your ad schedule at
949-293-9545 or email her at pardise@earthlink.net.
