Port races draw no opponents

  • Sue Waldburger<br>Enterprise writer
  • Monday, March 3, 2008 6:45am

Three incumbent commissioners have decided they want to remain on board to help the Port of Edmonds navigate its future.

Running unopposed for a four-year term are Frederick Gouge, district 1; Bruce Faires, district 3; and Mary Lou Block, at-large position 5. The posts are non-partisan ones compensated per state law in the amount of $200 per month and $70 per day a Port-related meeting is attended, to a maximum of $6,720 per year. Commissioners also receive health insurance.

All three candidates have expressed a desire to keep the Port’s focus on public accessibility to the waterfront and continued fiscal responsibility.

Gouge, 54, has served on the board since 2000. He favors ensuring Port properties are “managed responsibly and ultimately in the best interests of the residents.” Both he and Faires pointed to a tax decrease for those in the Port district over the past several years as an example of the board’s fiscal concern.

A recreational boater, as are Faires and Block, Gouge works as a self-employed aerospace engineer. He resides in Edmonds.

Faires, 64, seeks to “continue to run the Port in a prudent manner for the benefit of its owners … and that’s the truth.” The business-development consultant said he enjoys the job because unlike cities, which are “tactically driven … you have to keep those potholes filled,” Port commissioners can focus on long-range issues.

Faires, who insists the Port runs “the best marina on Puget Sound,” was appointed to the board in 2000 then elected in 2001. He lives in Edmonds.

Block, 65, is a former city of Edmonds planning director and management analyst in the office of past Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel. She is a Woodway resident who began serving on the board in 2002.

Given her background, Block said she is particularly interested in issues involving both the Port and Edmonds, such as the comprehensive plan concerning downtown and the waterfront.

She said she is impressed with the excellent rapport on the board and that “we almost never have split votes…we talk things out.”

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