October 31, 1997

Schell's Port job may be advertised

By LAURA T. COFFEY
Journal staff reporter

Wanted: One Port of Seattle commissioner willing to work long hours for $6,000 a year, attend lots of dry, technical meetings, and look chipper at early-morning breakfast functions. Job does provide overseas travel opportunities and other benefits.

That may not be the exact wording you'll see, but if Port Commissioner Paul Schell becomes the next mayor of Seattle, the remaining four commissioners say they plan to advertise his former job in daily newspapers around the county in early December.

Schell

Grant said he and other Port commissioners would winnow the number of applicants down to 16 to 20 finalists, who would be called in for interviews in a public setting. Then the four commissioners would decide privately which person should replace Schell, Grant said.

"I believe we can have a private discussion about that because this is a personnel issue," he said.

Grant said the Port Commission would announce its decision by the first of the year. The person appointed to the job would have to run for the position in the next general election.

Some people already are jockeying for Schell's current job.

"There are obviously people who aren't waiting for the ad," Schell said in a telephone interview yesterday. "They're circling the carcass, so to speak."

Schell would not name the people who want to fill his seat on the Port Commission.

Grant said he and other commissioners could simply appoint someone to replace Schell, but he explained: "We do want to open it up ... so those we're not aware of can make themselves known to us."

A recent poll shows that Schell holds a 12-point lead over mayoral rival Charlie Chong, an indication that his job as Port commissioner may in fact be up for grabs soon.

But the Port Commission could be shaken up to an even greater extent this year. With three incumbents up for re-election, a total of four of the five current commissioners could be replaced after the Nov. 4 election.

Two of those incumbents -- Jack Block and Paige Miller -- enjoyed comfortable leads over their opponents in the September primary election. Block received 44 percent of the vote, while his opponent David Ortman received 28 percent; Miller captured 62 percent of the vote, while her challenger Jim Bartlemay got 21 percent.

Similar figures are not available for the race between Commissioner Pat Davis and challenger Dan Caldwell. Because they are the only two people vying for Position 4, they did not have to run in the primary election. But Davis, a commissioner for the past 11 years, has raised more campaign contributions and garnered more endorsements than Caldwell has.

So, the possibility exists that Schell's replacement may end up being the only new face on the Port Commission next year.

Schell described the job of Port commissioner as a difficult and important one that requires "internal strength" to make tough decisions.

If he is elected mayor, Schell said his replacement should be someone who can work well with the other four commissioners.

"I also think having some business background is a really good idea," Schell said. "The Port needs to be businesslike in achieving its goals. ... It truly is a publicly-owned enterprise."

Port commissioners have the job of establishing Port policy. They get to authorize funding for some of Western Washington's biggest public projects, including the $1.7 billion expansion of Sea-Tac International Airport, the $300 million expansion of Terminal 18 on Harbor Island, and the $270 million expansion of Terminal 5 in West Seattle.

In addition to the $6,000 a year commissioners earn, they also can receive up to $6,000 a year for travel, meal and other expenses.

"The trips are the glamour and the drudgery," Schell said of the Port's overseas trade missions. "It sounds glamorous going to Singapore or Hong Kong. But going to Asia for three days ... is no fun. You never get adjusted to the time change or the food or anything."

Even though the job of Port commissioner is considered part-time, Schell said it's very demanding.

"It's at least a third- to a half-time position, if you do it right at all," Schell said. "You have to do a lot of learning. It's a lot of work.

"If I am successful, I'm going to miss it."

The last time a Port commissioner had to be replaced was in early 1985. That's when the Port Commission appointed Henry Aronson to fill the position of Ivar Haglund, owner of Ivar's Restaurants, who had died.