Commissioner candidates for the Port of Olympia's fourth district participated in a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters (LVW) of Thurston County in collaboration with Thurston Community Media.
Present at the forum on Thursday, June 29, were candidates Rose Chiu Gundersen, Joanna Manson, Bill Moomau, and Maggie Sanders, as well as two District Five candidates.
Candidates were asked a broad set of questions about the Port’s operations, including their views on the Port’s finances and how they would balance economic development with the needs of the environment.
The candidates also gave their opinions on the Panatonni lease option, the Deschutes Estuary restoration, and the modernization of Olympia Aiport.
Gundersen spoke about her experience in community development, executive management, and her work to combat human trafficking.
“I have bipartisan policy accomplishments on human trafficking legislation. Because of that, that's why many leaders in the community have endorsed me from both sides of the aisle,” she said.
“We know that at every port entry, there's a potential vulnerable point for traffickers to exploit and I'm going to advance training to identify vulnerabilities not only now in our area, but collaborate with other ports statewide,” she added in her closing remarks.
Gundersen said that she wants to continue the trend of the Port spending a large chunk of its non-operating expenses towards environmental protection while balancing the needs of the people.
She expressed support for the Panatonni lease option, saying there would be a lot of advantages to having Panatonni in Tumwater, as it would provide an additional tax base to the area, and added that any development would be subject to the city’s habitat conservation plan.
Gundersen is currently the vice president of operations and retail services of the non-profit trade group Washington Retail Association. She co-founded Washington Engage, a non-profit that works to prevent sex and labor trafficking. She also worked as a small business liaison manager at the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Washington in 1985 and has an executive juris doctor from Concord Law School at Purdue University Global.
Manson spoke about her experience as a community planner and the importance of considering the needs of various populations.
“As a community planner, my goal is to ensure that all the populations have consideration in terms of developments that impact their lands, their airspace, and their waters and the health and safety of our natural infrastructure,” Manson said.
Manson continued this idea when asked how she would balance economic development and environmental protection.
“ resides in a county that has 10 cities 11 jurisdictions that each has unique environmental and socio-economic conditions, and whose boundaries traverse four different watersheds that are divided into five distinct water resource inventory areas… These conditions and ecosystems must be taken into consideration by the port and appropriate conditions applied to its proposed and considered developments on its lands and waters.”
In terms of the Port’s finances, Manson spoke about the need for land holdings to be able to generate enough revenue to cover its maintenance and debt. She added that she favors short-term leases over long-term leases as the latter take longer to generate revenue and public benefit.
Manson is currently a community planner for the Federal Aviation Administration. She was also a planner for the State of Oregon for 14 years. She graduated with a master’s degree in Urban Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley in 2003.
Moomau expressed multiple times that he wanted to close the marine operations of the Port, saying that it was an unprofitable operation and that he would prefer to use the property for the development of condos and high-end apartments.
“I want to close the Marine Operations. It's an unsustainable operation,” Moomau commented. “We can sell the cranes we can sell the warehouses at Lacey to pay down some of our debt. And then, at the port, I want to use the land that's on the water for the development of condos and high-end apartments,” he said, adding that he wants to make an arrangement with Olympia to convert the warehouses into homeless housing.
Regarding balancing economic development and the environment, he said that climate concerns should not take away the need for the Port to promote economic development.
Moomau served in the army for three years and was stationed in Vietnam. He was the office manager at the marine operations where his team operated two dry docks and eleven T2 tankers. He also worked for the Northern Pacific Railroad and then at the Department of Labor and Industries for 30 years, where he became the supervisor of employer services.
Sanders spoke about committing to environmental and social justice as well as equity and inclusion.
“My career has continually prioritized work that supports social equity and the environment and equal access opportunities from employment to contracting, to the environment in protection of social environmental justice measures, to empower and provide evolution to the next chapter of representation, participation and a collective partnership,” Sander said.
Sanders said that real progress for the Port means reducing greenhouse gas emissions and that she can lead in regulating utilities and expanding clean energy resources. In terms of the Port’s finances, she said that the Port could diversify its economy by working with the Department of Agriculture to import and export goods.
She acknowledged that there were a lot of residents against the Panatonni lease option as they were concerned about the environmental impact and sourcing of water for a potential industrial site. She said that it was important to listen to voices in Tumwater and that the Port needs to support the local economy.
Sanders supports the restoration of the Deschutes Estuary, adding that she wants to secure wildlife habitat 250 feet from the waterfront.
Sanders worked at the Department of Natural Resources of the Nisqually Indian Tribe for 11 years, where she served as the executive secretary. She has also held various positions in other tribal groups. She was a committee member of the National Tribal Air Association in Arizona and worked for the Makah Tribal Council Office in Neah Bay for almost four years, where she became the HR director. She graduated with a master’s degree in Public Administration specializing in tribal administration at Evergreen State College in 2004.
District Five's Port Commissioner candidates will be featured tomorrow.
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JW
Moomau had me until the homeless housing in warehouses part...
Monday, July 10, 2023 Report this
TonyW33
First, I think that the League of Women Voters deserves our support as they hold these forums for most elected offices here every election.
As to the candidates, I like that two of them recognize that the marine port is unsustainable and will eventually fail completely. Better to close it now and leave the Weyerhaeuser relationship in the dust. It never really panned out at all and continues to be a waste of our tax subsidy dollars. I personally like Mr. Moomau's ideas best but there is an elephant in the room. All three of the current Port Commissioners, one former one, and some developers have endorsed Rose Gunderson and are backing her financially too. Once again, as has occurred before in Port elections, the money is trying to buy a seat for Weyerheauser. I should say another seat. I'll not vote for anyone that is endorsed by Joe Downing or Amy Harding, nor anyone that is greedy enough to support Panatonni's destruction of Tumwater. It's noteworthy that Rose Gunderson doesn't live in Tumwater, but in rural Tenino. No doubt she has substantial credentials but she is certainly not unencumbered. There are also two people running in District 5 and one of them is stellar. The other is another person willing to continue to tax the county to benefit Weyerhaeuser. And unmentioned here is the Bill McGregor is trying to slip back into a seat in District 1. He is being challenged by a couple of candidates that may be able to beat him and one of them has really forward thinking ideas. See them all. Look them up on their campaign websites and social media and vote wisely. It is time for change at the Port of Olympia and we have all that we need to make that change happen this year!
Tuesday, July 11, 2023 Report this