The Port of Bellingham may explore expanding its commission. Here’s how that might work.

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At an upcoming meeting, Port of Bellingham commissioners plan to discuss the potential of speaking with community members about increasing the number of commissioners.

The board currently includes three commissioners — Ken Bell, Bobby Briscoe and Michael Shepard.

Commissioner Bell proposed the idea at a September 17 meeting to facilitate an open discussion and support informed decision-making about the possible increase from three to five.

“It’s my desire to have this commission debate the pros and the cons of a five-commissioner Port Commission and have that discussion in an open forum to have people come here and express their opinions in this environment, face to face with us,” Bell said at the Sept. 17 meeting.

“I’d like to have that discussion here, in front of us, with us able to respond about what’s good and what’s bad about both structures because then it’s in front of the body. Then at the end of the day, we as a commission have the ability to put it on the ballot if we choose,” Bell said.

In response to Commissioner Bell’s request, port staff will add the discussion item to an upcoming meeting agenda, but it has not yet been scheduled, according to Port of Bellingham spokesperson Mike Hogan.

But how hard would it be to make a change like this? We looked into it.

The process

The Washington State Legislature outlines the legal requirements for increasing the number of port commissioners.

A ballot proposition would be proposed for Whatcom County community members to vote on the increase to five commissioners after either:

▪ The port commission adopts a resolution proposing the increase.

OR

▪ A petition proposing the increase is submitted to the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office after being signed by at least ten percent of the number of voters who voted at the last general election.

The ballot proposition must be submitted at the next general or special election occurring sixty or more days after the petition was submitted or resolution was adopted, according to the RCW.

At the next general or special election following the election in which an increase in the number of port commissioners is authorized, candidates for the two additional port commissioner positions shall be elected.

Voters may be asked to approve the nomination of commissioners from district-wide commissioner districts.

A second attempt

This is not the first time the discussion of increasing the number of port commissioners has been considered in Whatcom County.

The Port of Bellingham Board of Commissioners adopted Resolution 1310 in June 2012 to submit a proposition to voters to increase the number of commissioners from 3 to 5, Hogan told The Herald.

But this proposition failed on the November ballot that year.

Community impact

The Executive Committee of Save The Waterfront, a local group that has opposed heavy industrial operation along Bellingham’s waterfront, has voted unanimously to support any efforts the port makes to place a five-commissioner proposition on the ballot in 2025.

“The port is more than just a waterfront organization,” the group said in a release about their support for a larger commission. “It is an engine for powerful economic development throughout Whatcom County. Port Commissioners are highly responsible for not only the marine trades, but industry, housing, tourism, recreation, technology, jobs and business development countywide.”

“Given the county’s growth since the port was established in 1920, and its expanding range of responsibilities, increasing the number of commissioners by two would enhance the Port Commission’s expertise and improve representation for the growing population,” the release stated.

In 2016 the Center of Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University found that the port’s economic impact is felt broadly across Whatcom County, where it facilitates roughly 6,000 jobs or about 7% of the total workforce , according to previous reporting by The Bellingham Herald.