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Port                        PO. Box 1209
Seattle, WA 931111209
Of Seattle
Tel: (206) 7373000

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February 26, 2013

Fellow citizen,

My core belief as an elected leader is that my efforts must foremost be driven by what best
serves the public interest. Like anyone in elected ofce, I am also mindful of how things might
play politically when I consider my actions. Regardless, I am always compelled to take that path
that best serves those that have elected
me.

Folks, we have to raise Seattle Port Commissioner salaries, which
are now set at a token $6000
per year. We must do this not for the benet of commissioners, but for the public good. There
are two reasons this change must be made.

First, we intend our government to be a representative democracy - that is "of the people, by the
people, and for the people". For this to be true, average citizens must be reasonably able to
serve
in elected ofce. But that is not the case when it comes to serving
on the Port Commission. The
vast majority of us simply can't afford to give
away half our working hours, no matter how much
we might be drawn to public service.

The triing salary imposes an unstated, but all too real, nancial hurdle for those who
might
otherwise wish to run for the ofce. If you have to work full time to pay your bills,
you will not
apply. As a citizen, this notion offends me. We are a diverse county -- geographically,
ethnically, culturally, politically, and economically. We need the port commissioners to embody
and reect this diversity.

Second, the work of a Seattle Port Commissioner is critical to the continued job and economic
growth in this region. It is not a ceremonial ofce. The role requires
a substantial commitment
of time and effort and we need it to be done well.

The jobs we create through the Port may well be the
reason our kids decide to stay here and are
able to make a good living. Well-educated, globally astute, technically savvy graduates can be
paid livable wages thanks to the role the Port plays in our economy. Today, almost 200,000 jobs
around our region depend on the public assets created by the Port  shipping terminals, SeaTac
airport, passenger cruise facilities, and Fishermen's Terminal. Our plan is to add another
100,000 jobs more while reducing our ecological footprint as
we do.

The citizens created the Port of Seattle for just that
purpose a hundred years ago to insure that the
economic growth spawned by our natural harbor served the residents of King County and
not
just the prots of railroads, timber companies, and shipping lines. The Port is
a voter-
empowered economic development agency of vital importance to our State. There are 75 ports
in Washington, doing everything from developing data centers to incubating
startup wineries and

ours is by far the largest and most signicant. Our Port has an annual operating and capital
budget of around a billion dollars, about 1,800 employees, and
over 6 billion dollars in assets.

The port district is ALL of King County and includes almost
two million residents, over one
million voters, and just under 40 cities. The job of
an elected Commissioner is more than
overseeing the Port  it is serving all of these constituencies and advancing
our collective
economic interests. We need the Commission to be
a leading voice on issues across the region
from transportation policy, to shoreline
management, to air quality, to tax policy, to workforce
training, to name just some. Our region's economy is an ecosystem that must work together. It
is a big job to be thoughtfully and usefully engaged everywhere it
matters. In my opinion, that is
exactly thejob ofa Seattle Port Commissioner and ifit is not done well, we'll all be
worse off.

At the February 26''1 meeting of the Port of Seattle Commission, I announced that
I will introduce
a resolution proposing that salary for a commissioner be set at the
same level as a part-time
Washington State legislator, starting 2014. If adopted by the Commission, those elected to ofce
at this year's general election in November would have
an annual salary of $42,106 versus the
current salary of $6,000.

If re~elected, I intend to personally waive the increase, which state law
specically allows. I do
this not because I don't want a pay raise, but because I want it to be clear that I am motivated to
take action because I believe it is in the public's interest to do
so. As one who's served in this
ofce for over three years now, I can attest to the reasonableness of the salary I'm
proposing. It
is appropriate and it has precedent with other part time elected ofcials. I hope more civically-
minded citizens agree and will consider candidacy for
a Port position. It is an important,
challenging ofce worthy of their talents and the public investment.

I make this proposal now because
we will have four out of the ve commission seats on the
ballot this year due to Commissioner Tarleton's election
to the legislature and her subsequent
resignation from the commission. And, I'm one.

In the last election cycle, only
one of the two Port positions on the ballot had an
opponent in the
primary and the cycle before that one of the three positions had only
one candidate. This is a
poor recipe for an effective government.

Voters deserve choices - and we all need an effective Seattle Port Commission. I believe this
change will help in both regards.

Sincerely,


Tom Albro