Port of Olympia’s McGregor to say farewell after 15 years on the commission
Longtime Port of Olympia District 2 commissioner Bill McGregor on Monday offered some reasons he isn’t seeking re-election this year.
McGregor, 73, who has served for 15 years on the commission, said before the regular commission meeting that it is time to do something else. That means checking a few things off his bucket list, including visiting family now that the pandemic is in a safer stage, he said.
“The port has been my passion,” McGregor said, adding that he plans to keep track of port matters and may even take advantage of the port’s public comment process in the future. McGregor’s current term runs through the end of the year.
McGregor was appointed to the commission in 2006 to replace former commissioner Steve Pottle, who resigned.
He named a number of things he is proud to have accomplished during his tenure: the creation of the port’s small cities program, the purchase of a warehouse in Lacey’s Meridian Campus, the addition of a fuel dock at Swantown Marina and taking over the operations of the Harbor Patrol after the city of Olympia could not continue to fund it.
The small cities program awards $10,000 nearly every year (there was no funding in 2020, due to the pandemic) to the communities of Bucoda, Rainier, Tenino and Yelm for economic development purposes, McGregor said.
But McGregor also named some disappointments: Two recent missed layberth opportunities. One would have brought two, 600-foot U.S. Maritime Administration ships to the marine terminal; the other would have brought a similar-size cargo ship to the port.
Before he was a port commissioner, McGregor spent 27 years working for port districts in Tacoma, Olympia and Grays Harbor County. He later went to work for Saint Martin’s University as director of facilities management.
Two people have filed to run for his District 2 seat: Jessie W. Simmons and Bob Iyall.
District 3 commissioner E.J. Zita also is not running for re-election. Her seat has attracted three candidates, which means there will be a primary in August. The three are Amy Evans, Joel Hansen and Melissa Denton, according to the Thurston County Auditor’s Office.
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
