EVERETT— Incumbent Phil Bannan and neighborhood activist Valerie Steel will square off Nov. 4 for the Position 1 seat on the Everett Port Commission.
Bannan and Steel were the top vote-getters in a three-way race that also included Ritch Carbaugh, former chairman of the Riverside Neighborhood group.
Bannan, who is seeking a second six-year term on the commission, is a former port director who now operates Scuttlebutt’s, a brew pub on the Everett waterfront, with his wife, Scuttle. He ran unopposed six years ago.
A long-time critic of the port’s tax levy, Bannan has said his emphasis is on economic development and fiscal management.
He said he was pleased with Tuesday’s early results and looks forward to the general election.
"We have about six or seven weeks," Bannan said. "We have a lot of work to do to get our message out."
Steel, a real estate agent, is a member of the city’s Bayside neighborhood who has attended most of the port meetings for the past three years. She, too, opposes the property tax levied by the port and has long advocated more public access on the city’s waterfront.
"I’m absolutely thrilled," Steel said, referring to early results, which showed her close to Bannan.
Tuesday’s primary covered the north end of the port district. In the general election, the candidates will have a larger area to reach out to voters. The full district stretches from the Tulalip Indian Reservation to part of Mukilteo.
Carbaugh has said he only entered the race when it appeared Bannan might run unopposed. He ran a quiet campaign that focused on waterfront access.
The port commission has three members who set port policy and general direction.
In recent years, the port has launched a number of major projects, from creation of an industrial park along the Snohomish River to the planned $200 million redevelopment of the port’s north marina area now under way.
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