Port Commission Releases Special Investigatory Report

Today, Port of Seattle Commissioners Bill Bryant and Gael Tarleton, who comprise the Special Investigatory Committee, released the results of a ten-month investigation into the Port’s contracting policies and practices. Former US Attorney Michael McKay led the investigation and authored the report, which lists ten incidences of fraud in Port contracting practices.

“This report exposes a port culture that in the past tolerated suppressing information from the elected commission,” said Commissioner Bryant who chaired the investigatory committee. “In the last year, under the leadership of the Port Commission and our new CEO, the Port has made significant changes, increasing our transparency and accountability to King County citizens.”

McKay and his team reviewed over 250,000 documents, hundreds of thousands of emails and conducted over 70 interviews. The report contains several recommendations, many of which build upon reforms implemented in response to a 2007 performance audit. McKay will present the report to the full Commission on Tuesday, December 9th, at 1:30 p.m. at the Port’s administrative offices at 2711 Alaskan Way. At that time, CEO Yoshitani will also present his plan for responding to the findings.

“The results bring serious violations out into the open,” said Commissioner Tarleton. “Now we have to work to make sure this never happens again.”

Read the complete report, as well as a statement from Port CEO Tay Yoshitani, here.