Port of Seattle Commission Elects Officers for 2007

John Creighton was elected President of the Port of Seattle Commission by his fellow Commissioners at the Port's regular meeting today. Other officers for 2007 are: Lloyd Hara, Vice President; Alec Fisken, Secretary; Bob Edwards, Assistant Secretary; and Commissioner, Patricia Davis.

Creighton succeeds Davis, who was President in 2006.

"We began the year with two new Commissioners and a host of opportunities before us," Davis said. "I am quite pleased with the successes we achieved in 2006 and I look forward to another year of progress."

Highlights of 2006 cited by Davis included: A new lease for Terminal 30 that will expand the Port's capacity for container shipping; the completion of environmental work on the Terminal 30/91 project; another year of record cruise passenger volumes; the beginning of work to extend light rail to Sea-Tac Airport; completion of work on the embankment for the third runway; and growth in international services at the airport.

"I'm particularly proud of some of our environmental accomplishments," Davis said. She cited work on the first phase of a soil cleanup project at Terminal 117 and the conversion of the airport's cab fleet to 100 percent natural gas fuel, as examples.

Creighton, who was elected to the Commission in 2005, cited environmental issues as one of his top priorities in 2007 along with freight mobility and public accountability.

"We need to work toward making the Port's operations and the operations of our tenants and customers environmentally sustainable as we grow in the coming years," Creighton said. "Maintaining public support for the Port's activities relies in part on taking a leadership role on environmental issues within the transportation industry," he said.

In the arena of freight mobility, Creighton said the region needs to not only maintain but enhance the ability to move local and international cargo.

"Maritime industrial activity provides tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and we need to make sure those jobs stay in King County," he said.

Creighton and Davis both thanked outgoing CEO Mic Dinsmore for his 15 years of leadership and service and praised him for setting the Port on a path toward continued success.

"Mic has set a strong course for the Port, and I can think of no one better than incoming CEO Tay Yoshitani to help lead the Port toward even greater success in the future," Creighton said.