Read a Pacific Northwest, liberal perspective on world, national, and local politics. From majestic Redmond, Washington - the Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog.

Friday, April 20, 2007

What about bid rigging allegation at Port of Vancouver?

Amidst questions about a possible sweetheart deal for a retired Port of Seattle executive, the P-I reports that a wider discussion is brewing:
The most recent flap at the Port of Seattle spread from the waterfront through local political organizations and into Olympia, where lawmakers and port representatives on Thursday discussed options for making port governments more accountable.

The discussion follows a scandal this week over a memo signed by Port of Seattle Commissioner Pat Davis to extend retired port chief Mic Dinsmore's $339,841 salary by up to one year past his retirement date in March.

---snip---

State Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz, emphasizing that he was speaking as a political observer and not as party leader, said the Dinsmore salary flap "could be a watershed in port politics, where the commissioners are realizing they've just got to pay more attention to how the public perceives the port.

"And it was very refreshing to see (Tay) Yoshitani immediately say, 'No, we're not going to do this,' " Pelz added, referring to the new port chief executive's blocking of Dinsmore's attempt to be paid the post-retirement salary extension. "There could be a new dawn at the port, and that's good."
The Port of Seattle story reminds me of a late March report involving allegations of bid-rigging at the Port of Vancouver. From the March 30, 2007 Columbian:
A former Port of Vancouver employee filed a lawsuit Thursday in Clark County Superior Court that alleges she was fired after raising concerns about possible bid rigging on port contracts.

Rebecca Eisiminger was terminated as a contracts officer Jan. 10 for a negative attitude and unprofessional communication style despite receiving exceptional performance reviews, the lawsuit said. Eisiminger's departure from the port came three months after she alerted officials to possible violations of state regulations that included her supervisor manipulating payments to avoid port commissioner oversight, allowing a real estate consultant to participate in port bid-related decisions that involved potential clients, letting a railroad employee possibly influence contract decisions, and being pressured to accept a proposal after the deadline passed.
The Port of Vancouver has vigorously denied those claims and says it intends to defend itself fully in court.

I don't claim to know anything at all about the internal workings of port districts. It is fair to say that they tend to fly far below the radar, and many citizens tend to be surprised that they even live in a port district, as was the case when the Port of Vancouver raised taxes this year to purchase land. That led to something of a public outcry and a promised referendum drive by some political novices.

So while it's not clear what reforms might be needed, and port officials deserve the same presumption of innocence that anyone else would receive, it's good that attention is being brought to these special districts. State lawmakers may need to review all port districts, to the extent feasible, over the rest of 2007.

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