Port action put agency over people

Washington state law (RCW 42.30.010) contains a specific expression of the people’s sovereignty over the public agencies serving them. In a perverse twist, the Olympia port commission recently voted 2-to-1 to negate this democratic tenet when it passed a code of conduct resolution.

This action was arbitrary in nature; the port’s legal counsel stated on the public record that such a code is not mandated by law. In this new code, the commission professes its loyalty to the port agency over the public interest.

There is a two-fold irony in this undemocratic action. Firstly, the port entity, to which supreme loyalty is now given, is completely dependent on a public subsidy to remain in business. One in three dollars of port revenue comes from the tax levy subsidy.

Secondly, this port-over-people measure was championed, and ultimately decided by an unelected commissioner.

Many in this community are concerned about subsidizing the never-ending operational losses at the port. Now, to this financial injury, comes the insult of being subordinated to a public agency that is supposed to serve us.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Port action put agency over people."