As we’ve written many times, Port of Seattle Commissioner is the most consequential vote on any ballot for airport community voters. But it is also the most difficult choice because position information on the issues we care about most is so difficult to find. Candidates focus on issues of concern to every constituency except airport communities. And that goes double for Primaries.
It is important to understand that WA has a ‘top two’ primary system. We suggest that you do not make your ‘final choice’. Rather, use your Primary vote only to set up the the most vigorous possible campaign heading towards election day in November.
Therefore, for the August 1st Primary only, SeaTacNoise.Info recommends Todd Curtis.
- Mr. Curtis’ extensive background in aviation and aerospace engineering sets him apart from any candidate in recent memory. Sea-Tac Airport generates 80% of the Port’s revenue and is by far the most complex division of the empire. However most new Commissioners are unfamiliar with this world and frankly spend their first term getting up to speed on basic terminology. In this case, expertise matters.
- With the exception of 1one notable factual error, there is a lot to like in Mr. Tam’s candidate statement. He rightly points out that, as happens with every large capital project, the airport is in the midst of another terrible set of cost overruns. However, we’ve heard this pitch many times before from pro-business candidates. And sadly, commissioners from that world have had no better track record in promoting good governance than anyone else. We hope that Mr. Tam will work to develop a relationship with airport communities, establish his bona fides, and return again in two years.
- Two-term incumbent Fred Felleman is certain to make it through and does not need support from South King County at this point.
Obviously, no amount of knowledge is any guarantee of empathy for airport communities. Some of the most difficult conversations we have in finance and aviation and environmentalism are with unsympathetic experts. And thus far, no Commissioner has pushed anywhere near hard enough on our behalf.
So at the end of the day, a large factor in all our recommendations is “try something different.” If nothing else, voters should make it clear to incumbents that we will no longer tolerate the status quo, which to us, currently looks like this:
Emphasize DEI and greenwashing and how much the region needs the ‘jobs and growth’. Downplay the fact that the Port has done nothing of substance to compensate airport communities in decades.
We’re sick of it. And you should be too.
We want to say again that this recommendation is only for the Primary. The conversation starts again once the ballots are counted on August 1st.
1Mr. Tam claims “A staggering $83 million of new tax levy.” Not quite. The Port’s Property Tax Levy has increased to $83 million in 2023 from $81 million in 2022, an increase to be sure, but far from staggering. What is staggering is how much of that fund goes to expanding airport capacity and how little redounds to the benefit of airport community taxpayers. We literally pay the Port to fund more flights over our heads.
Why cant the port be self supporting? We are the poorest group of homeowners in the south end of the airport runway and yet we have to pay taxes to run a billion dollar business. Why? I’ve been asking that question for 59 years. The growth of that airport sees no end while my environment sees no end of negative impact and I am forced to pay for it. Makes no sense to me and no one listens. I see no benefits or riches so why must I endure the negative impact? AND there seems to be no end.