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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, January 9, 2008 Port unsure if merger's suitable Combining operations with Seattle and Tacoma would mean the loss of local influence, Everett Port Commissioner Connie Niva says. Mike Benbow Herald Writer EVERETT -- Should the Port of Everett be combined with the ports of Seattle and Tacoma? A state legislator in King County thinks so, in part to make Washington ports compete more effectively against the Port of Vancouver, B.C. Vancouver recently combined with the ports of Fraser River and North Fraser, a move its director thinks will provide more land to boost the port's competitive ability. Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-Carnation, said combining the three Washington ports and lessening their local control would make them more competitive, rather then allowing them to fight each other over cargo. Anderson said he has a bill prepared that would create a single agency to make port decisions. The Washington Public Port Association opposes the idea, mostly for the lack of local control. Under Anderson's proposal, an 11-member commission would run the show with only two each of those coming from Snohomish, King and Pierce counties. The governor would appoint five more people. Port Commission President Connie Niva said the port will visit the Legislature in Olympia next week to check on legislative issues, including the superport proposed by Anderson. She said she understood the theory but didn't like the loss of local influence. "The idea of combining Tacoma and Seattle has been around for a decade," Niva said. "It's more strategic if they have one administration because we're in a very competitive place. Would it work better is the question. I don't know if that would work." Niva said throwing Everett into the mix would be combining ports in three separate counties, an idea she doesn't think will work. "The devil is in the details," Niva said. "I don't know if local government will go along with the state participating in their issues. My guess is that Everett will soon fall off the bill." The idea may have lost some of its luster Tuesday as the Seattle newspapers both led with stories about the federal government launching a criminal probe into the Seattle port based on state audits claiming millions of dollars were wasted because of poor contract supervision. Niva read from a letter Tuesday from state Auditor Brian Sonntag congratulating the port on a decade of clean audits and calling the port a "model for other entitities in our state." Because the Seattle port audit questioned whether port officials had delegated too much of their authority, Niva asked that a resolution approved at the beginning of each year that delegates certain authority to port executive director John Mohr be taken off Tuesday's agenda and studied to ensure it doesn't go too far. "It would behoove us to have a firm understanding of what we are delegating away," she said. "There's a fine line between management and policy."

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