Port looks to extend commissioner terms

The Port of Camas-Washougal wants to lengthen commissioner terms from four to six years now that state law permits it.

The port commission will vote on the proposal July 30, which would refer the question of six-year terms to the November ballot.

“By changing to a six-year term, one person can turn over every two years, and the new commissioners will have time to get settled into a position before anything comes up,” Commissioner John Spencer said during a July 16 port meeting.

Spencer, Sen. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, Washington Public Ports Association Executive Director Eric ffitch and Port of Lopez Airport Manager Rick Hoffman spoke in favor of Substitute Senate Bill 5370 during a Senate hearing in Olympia on Feb. 3. Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the bill into law May 17.

The law, which goes into effect July 27, states that the proposed term length change must be submitted to voters via a ballot proposition, which requires a simple majority vote for approval.

If the proposal is approved by voters, newly elected commissioners will serve six-year terms. If two commissioners are elected at the same time, the candidate receiving the most votes will serve a six-year term and the other will serve a four-year term. Future successors will then be elected to six-year terms.

“I am the poster child for this,” said Spencer, who is not running for reelection in November. “I am championing this because I have no skin in the game outside of wanting what’s best for the community.”

Many port districts that are not countywide and do not have a population of 100,000 or more already have six-year terms for their commissioners.

The majority of the 75 ports in Washington, including Vancouver and Ridgefield, are run by three commissioners serving six-year terms. Seven port districts, including Camas-Washougal, have three commissioners serving four-year terms, meaning that every other election cycle, two-thirds of the commission is up for reelection.

“I think it’s really important that the port has consistency, so the community knows what it is that we’re doing,” said Commissioner Larry Keister, who is up for reelection this fall.

The port’s resolution states that six-year terms, already used in most port districts, provide “stability, ensure continuity for long-term infrastructure and economic development projects, and maintain institutional knowledge, especially in mid to smaller communities where it may be difficult to recruit candidates.”

Doug Flanagan: 360-735-4669; [email protected]