In just the two years I have served on the commission, with the support of the entire commission, port CEO Tay Yoshitani and port staff, we have been able to transform the Port of Seattle from what I think was one of the more arrogant and insular organizations to the most open and transparent government in our state.

Executive sessions are now kept to a minimum and we are the only entity in the state that tapes its executive sessions.  The briefing materials port commissioners receive prior to meetings now are also posted on the website for the public.  The commission has taken back some responsibilities that had been ceded to the CEO.  Contracting is centralized and nearly all contracts must move through a consistent and open process that involves public review and commission oversight.  Public meetings are held around the county to encourage participation from a broad array of stakeholders and interests.

It is now our responsibility to ensure these reforms increase our efficiency and competitiveness.

The Port of Seattle, as the largest property owner on Elliott Bay, has a special responsibility to ensure its activities contribute to the restoration of Puget Sound.

While the ports of Seattle and Tacoma over the last decade have invested to increase their cargo capacity, and while increasing cargo capacity would create new jobs in King and Pierce counties, that growth cannot come at the expense of the Sound.  That is why the port commission has been working closely with the Puget Sound Partnership on developing benchmarks that will help define the current health of Elliott Bay and that can be used to evaluate the possible impact of future maritime activity.

To watch a discussion between Puget Sound Partnership’s Executive Director David Dicks and the port commissioners on how the Port of Seattle and the Puget Sound Partnership can work collaboratively, click here.

Because of our port’s marine cargo facilities, its grain terminal, its bulk cargo facilities, industrial lands and Fisherman’s Terminal, King County has a vibrant maritime industrial cluster of companies.

According to a March 2009 study by professors at Seattle University and the University of Washington, King County’s maritime industries employ almost 17,000 people, many of whom are paid over $70,000 as year.

Just as important, the maritime industries support employment of over 60,000 workers in King County and generate over $10 billion in revenues.

To keep these jobs in King County, the Port of Seattle needs to continue supporting the North Pacific fishing fleet at Fisherman’s Terminal and appropriately using our industrial lands, and needs to work with local, state and federal authorities to ensure we have the road and freight infrastructure needed to move cargo to the Mid-West faster and more reliably than our competitors.

For a copy of the report on Seattle’s maritime cluster, click here.

About 70% of the cargo arriving in Puget Sound’s ports is destined for the American Mid-West and that cargo will move through whichever port (British Columbia, Puget Sound, California, Panama Canal) that will get it to Chicago or St. Louis the fastest.

While the ports of Seattle and Tacoma have spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the last decade transforming mid twentieth century ports into globally competitive twenty-first century ports, our state needs a twenty-first century freight transportation system if the Port of Seattle is to remain a competitive job generating engine for King County.

That is why the Port of Seattle is involved in the construction of 519, the expansion of the Spokane Street Viaduct and of West Marginal Way, the redevelopment of SR99 and the bored tunnel, and freight related traffic improvements in Kent and Auburn.

Jobs in King County depend on a road and transit system that moves people and freight efficiently.

To learn how many King Co. jobs depend upon the Port of Seattle, click here.

The Port of Seattle generates over 111,000 jobs in the King County area.

Those jobs are in businesses that exist because passengers and cargo move through SeaTac and Elliot Bay. That makes the port one of our region’s largest job generators. Now, the port itself isn’t employing 111,000 people; it only has about 1,700 people on payroll, but even if you only counted the jobs directly related to Fisherman’s Terminal, cruise ships, SeaTac and our sea container yards, you’d still count over 40,000 people who owe their jobs to port facilities and operations.

A recent study documents billions of dollar in port-induced payroll moving through King County and calculates that port operations generate over $800 million in state and local taxes.

Our port is a job generating engine. In economic times like these it is even more critical we keep this engine running efficiently and for all our benefit.

To learn more about how many jobs the Port of Seattle generates across Washington State, click here.