PORT ANGELES — Port Commission President Colleen McAleer had the port release Saturday the names of seven applicants for the seat vacated by Port Angeles-area District 2 Commissioner Jim Hallett, who resigned effective Feb. 1.
They include marine surveyors Brent Berry and Thomas Pope; Steve Burke, part-time executive director of William Shore Memorial Pool; Jim Haguewood, owner of ONE Group Consulting and former executive director of the Clallam County Economic Development Council.
Also, Randy Johnson, president of the timberland and wood products company Green Crow Corp., and who also is board chairman of the county Economic Development Corp., formerly the Economic Development Council; Melvin Rudin, a retired CEO; and David Sellars, who has written a weekly maritime column for the Peninsula Daily News.
McAleer and Commissioner Connie Beauvais will interview candidates for up to 45 minutes each in a meeting that begins at 9 a.m. Friday in the port commission meeting room in the administrative building at 338 W. First St.
They had agreed at a special meeting Friday to release the candidates’ names after all of them had been contacted.
But McAleer had the port release the names Saturday because Berry is out of town and could not be reached.
She said Saturday that waiting would not have given the public enough time to review information about the candidates and give input to the commissioners before Friday’s meeting.
Questionnaires
Candidate questionnaires and conflict-of-interest disclosure statements are at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-portapplicants.
Each candidate’s cover letter — two did not submit one — and a separate “application for appointment to the port commission” are not included in the information that McAleer had the port release Saturday on its website.
McAleer said Saturday the applications for appointment include addresses, telephone numbers, personal emails and whether any had committed crimes — she said none had.
It also included space for schools attended, degrees earned, a work history and activities in social, civic and charity groups.
She said Saturday that the information would not be released because the applicants were not informed “up front” that the port would do so and that some of it contained private information.
Port officials have refused to fulfill a PDN public records request for the candidates’ full applications, citing an exemption that applies to public employees.
The elected position of port commissioner pays up to $13,992 annually and offers medical, dental, vision, long-term disability and life insurance coverage.
Hallett’s term expires in 2017.
McAleer and Beauvais discussed the vacancy during a late Friday afternoon special meeting that included an executive session.
Before meeting behind closed doors, and in a discussion McAleer said was prompted by the public records request, the commissioners decided to release the candidates’ names after they accepted the port’s invitation for an interview.
Then, McAleer and Beauvais met for an hour in executive session to evaluate the candidates’ qualifications, ranking them with numerical scores and identifying them by letters of the alphabet.
Back in open session, they combined their two sets of scores, resulting in candidates receiving 23 to 32 points.
Beauvais said she would rather interview three or six candidates than seven.
“Twenty-three is way far away from 32,” Beauvais said.
McAleer stuck with all seven.
“I just prefer to be transparent and have everyone have the opportunity to be interviewed,” she said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
