Six apply for open port seat

Six people are interested in succeeding Bill Macrae-Smith as the next Port of Camas-Washougal District 3 commissioner. They are Michael Conway, Bruce Fuerstenberg, Eric Gibson, Larry Keister, Joshua Seeds and Lucia Worthington. Conway, a former public works director for Washougal, is a project manager for Wallis Engineering, in Vancouver. Fuerstenberg, former owner of Vancouver Granite Works, Inc., is chairman of the Parkersville National Historic Site Advisory Committee. Gibson, a certified project manager, is an information technology project manager and business systems analyst for Cadet Heat, in Vancouver. Keister, a retired water quality technician for the Portland Veterans Administration Medical Center, is on the Cape Horn Conservancy board and is a is a member of the port's Washougal Waterfront Committee. Seeds, a former adjunct professor at Portland State University, is a nonpoint source pollution analyst for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Worthington, a professor of business and management at Clark College, is the director of development for the Two Rivers Heritage Museum, in Washougal. The six candidates will be interviewed Friday, March 17, beginning at 1 p.m., in the port office meeting room, 24 S. "A" St., Washougal. The interviews will be open to the public. The port commission has scheduled a special meeting to appoint one of the candidates Tuesday, March 28, in the port office meeting room. The time of the meeting has not been finalized. Macrae-Smith, 75, announced his resignation Feb. 7. After serving on the commission from 1984 to 1987, he was elected in 2009 and re-elected in 2013. Macrae-Smith's most recent term was scheduled to end Dec. 31, 2017. If his successor is interested in continuing to serve on the commission, he or she will need to file with the Clark County Elections office during candidate filing week May 15-19. The primary election will be held Aug. 1, and the general election is set for Nov. 7. Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey said the new appointee would serve until the general election's results are certified Nov. 28. The person elected to the District 3 commission seat will serve the remainder of this year and the next four years. For more information, visit www.clark.wa.gov/elections.

Related Stories