In this year’s race for Port of Tacoma commission, a key issue is the economy – how to weather the current downturn and how to set up the port for financial security in the future.

Next week’s primary election has incumbent commissioner Connie Bacon vying for a spot on the general election ballot against Bill Casper, president of a local engineering firm, and Bernardo Tuma, owner of a Tacoma cafe.

Casper and Tuma both ran unsuccessfully for port commission seats in 2007. The five-person port commission has three seats up for election this fall.

The economic downturn has hit ports up and down the West Coast, and Tacoma is no exception. The total volume of containers coming in and out of the port was down by almost 15 percent this year as of June compared to last year, and international imports were down almost 26 percent.

To accommodate the shrinking business, the port recently laid off staff and offered voluntary buyouts.

If re-elected, Bacon said her first focus will be on the port’s finances and making sure the agency is fiscally conservative now and making the right decisions about projects for the port’s future.

“I think we need to ask more questions,” Bacon said. “I don’t think we have done that as well in the past.”

Bacon said she was specifically referring to the commission’s approval of building a new terminal for NYK Line on the Blair-Hylebos Peninsula and developing the east side of that waterway for shipping. The estimated cost of the peninsula’s development ballooned to beyond $1 billion because of unanticipated environmental cleanup and utility costs. The project has since been significantly downsized following the downturn in trade.

“The information given to us was given so strongly and with such affirmation that it didn’t raise any red flags,” Bacon said. “In the future, we need to raise our own red flags.”

When Casper ran two years ago, he was focused on a single issue – preventing a nuclear device from entering the port in a shipping container.

If elected this year, he said his priority would be what he calls the “economic tsunami.” His idea for creating a system to screen containers for nuclear materials comes back into play as a way to generate more jobs.

Casper is president and an owner of Casper, Phillips and Associates, a local engineering firm that specializes in container handling equipment such as cranes. The company has done work for shipping lines and ports around the world.

Casper said he’d like to pair the container screening system with a longshore training facility and then make the project a prototype for other ports. Casper said such a plan would likely require government funding and “he’s not holding his breath.”

Casper is also concerned about the effect a widened Panama Canal may have on diverting business from the Pacific Northwest.

“I feel that when boxes leave, they will never come back,” he said. “We need something other than containers.”

That could be break bulk cargo – cargo that doesn’t fit in containers – or grain, he said.

Tuma, owner of Bernardo’s Aroma Café in downtown Tacoma, said the port should concentrate on maximizing the capacity it has before making any decision about building new terminals.

With the port losing its customer Maersk this past spring and with the number of containers coming through the port being so far down, Tuma said there’s likely room for new business in the port’s current facilities.

Tuma also envisions the port working to attract more and varied businesses to lease the property it owns in the Tideflats and beyond.

Bacon has a similar take. She’s pushing the port to look for new revenue streams, possibly from a “new Frederickson” – property the port bought and developed into an industrial business park in East Pierce County.

She said the port needs to “understand the new economy and be competitive in it.”

In addition to the port commission, Bacon also serves on the Governor’s Economic Development Commission and was former executive director of the World Trade Center Tacoma.

Though Casper and Tuma are running against Bacon, neither said they have a particular concern with the incumbent.

Casper said his engineering skills would come into use if elected. He could read over work proposed by consultants and act as an adviser.

“I don’t mean to micromanage, but act as an adviser,” he said.

Tuma said his small business perspective would benefit the port commission.

“All businesses live and die by getting repeat customers,” he said. “I believe the commission and the port has a need to run like a small business.”

He’s also served on the Metro Parks board and the North End Neighborhood Council.

Kelly Kearsley: 253-597-8573

Kelly.kearsley@thenewstribune.com

Connie Bacon

Occupation: Port commissioner

Experience: Twelve years on Port of Tacoma commission; member of Governor’s Economic Development Council; former executive director of the World Trade Center Tacoma; special assistant to former Gov. Booth Gardner

Residence: Lakewood

Education: Bachelor of Arts in journalism/economics, Syracuse University; Master of Public Administration, The Evergreen State College

Age: 77

Bill Casper

Occupation: Owner of Casper, Phillips and Associates, an engineering company

Experience: Owner of engineering firm that specializes in container handling equipment such as cranes

Residence: DuPont

Education: Master of Science in civil engineering, University California, Berkeley

Age: 73

Bernardo Tuma

Occupation: Owner of Bernardo’s Aroma Cafe in downtown Tacoma

Experience: Former Tacoma Metro Parks commissioner; former board member of North End Neighborhood Council

Residence: Tacoma

Education: Bachelor of Science in international marketing, Portland State University; Bachelor of Finance & Law, Portland State University

Age: 50