Port of Tacoma commissioners Dick Marzano and Connie Bacon were cruising toward victories in Tuesday’s election, each holding a significant lead in early results.
The five-person commission will also have a new member in Don Meyer, now the executive director of the Foss Waterway Development Authority. Meyer was winning by a wide margin Tuesday night over former Pierce County Auditor Cathy Pearsall-Stipek.
Despite rough waters at the port over the past few years – a recession, layoffs, project missteps and now a search for a new executive director – voters seemed to retain their confidence in the incumbents.
Marzano was challenged by Tacoma businessman Charles Kelly Creso. Marzano, a longshoreman, has been elected four times before.
“It’s always nice to know that you still have the confidence of the majority of Pierce County residents, but there’s a lot of work to be done to bring back the port to where it was,” Marzano said.
Bacon was running against Bill Casper, a local engineer who has vied twice for a seat on the commission. She was pleased to be returning to her post for a fourth time.
“We have a lot of work to do and a clear path to do it and I’m very excited,” Bacon said.
Her to-do list for her next term includes making sure port staff members are excited about the port’s future and finding more ways for the port to be involved in the community.
Meyer, too, is returning to the port, but in a different capacity. He was the agency’s executive director from 1985 to 1999. The News Tribune was unable to reach Meyer on Tuesday night.
The first order of business for the new commission will be finding somebody to lead the organization. Executive Director Tim Farrell will leave his post by the end of the year as part of a transition agreement between him and the commission.
The last several months have been challenging for the agency.
The commission voted to cancel a $1 billion project to develop the Blair-Hylebos Peninsula for shipping, including building a new terminal for customer NYK Line. The shipping line called the project off because of the recession, but the port made many missteps in the project’s planning including initial cost estimates that were far too low.
Kelly Kearsley: 253-597-8573
kelly.kearsley@thenewstribune.com
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