Port commissioners argue over timing to grow board to five

On Monday, Port of Olympia Commissioners Joe Downing and EJ Zita argued over when would be the right time to move forward with a plan to increase its three-member commission to five members.

Background

The board initially discussed their plan to add two members on June 21 during a commission work session. At that time, General Counsel VaLiesha Brown explained that one of the options is for the port to allow the citizens to decide whether there is a need for an increase in board membership.

To do this, the Port would need to prepare a ballot proposition that would create five districts.An alternative would be a citizen-led initiative; this would require signatures of at least 10 percent of the voters.

The port commissioners are in a stand-off as to whether they would pursue the plan for a ballot proposition this year or wait until the county finishes their census data for redistricting.

Commissioners' arguments

During the discussion, Commissioner Zita, who strongly opposes the timing of the plan said, “It sounds like we all agree that moving to a five member commission makes sense at the port and at the county.” She continued, “It makes sense for the port and the county to cooperate on setting up districts.  What we don’t agree on is the timing.”

Zita argued that the county, and not the port, should conduct the redistricting process since the county already has the staff and the information. Zita also believed that it is best for the board to wait until the county finishes its census data. “I still don’t get what your big hurry is, Commissioner Downing. You have yet to explain that,” she said.

Commissioner Downing responded, “I am not feeling rushed.” He continued by saying that if they wanted to push through with a ballot proposition for this year, the board would have to meet a strict timeline.

The commission needed to submit a ballot proposition to the county auditor by August 3, 2021 to make it in time for the November elections. If the voters agree with the proposal, the port would have to redraw the boundaries and have it submitted to the county within 120 days.

County steps in

Thurston County Commissioner Ty Menzer stepped in to express County Commissioners’ concerns and recommendations. Menzer shared that while the board understands the need to increase the number of commissioners, he believed that the port should postpone their proposal until the county finishes its census data.

Menzer urged the board to reconsider its plan as the county nears the 300,000 census thresholds.  The county commissioner said, “This is the reason I am here. This is an important piece of information that we weren’t sure you knew, when you made your recent decision.”

Commissioner Menzer confirmed that the county auditor already received data confirming that the county population is 295,000.

He also expressed the Board of County Commissioner’s opinion on the timeline, noting that it is “too aggressive”. He believed that instead, port could use the time to educate and inform the community on why there is a need to increase the number of port commissioners.

Menzer continued by saying that the county commissioners believe it is best for the port to delay their plan. “We suggest that in any case, you delay the election of any new commissioners until 2023 to allow adequate time to draw good, sensible, district boundaries, in collaboration with the county commissioners and the county auditor,” he said.

Port Commissioner Bill McGregor agreed with Commissioner Downing and responded that while the current census data is already at 295,000, he argued,  “it is best to put it out there and let the citizens decide which way to go.”

Former Olympia Mayor Doug Mah also spoke during the public hearing as a representative of Thurston County Chamber of Commerce. Mah shared that the commission should first submit a proposal to the voters to explain the reasons behind the need to increase the board membership.

The port commission also approved a motion to conduct a meeting with Thurston County commissioners within the next two weeks. “We’re here to be efficient, and get things done for the community. That gets in the way when we have a lot of turnover on the port commission level,” Commissioner Downing said.