Port Commission
Under
Title 53 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW),
the powers of the port district are directly vested in its board
of commissioners. Like a city council, the port commission
is the district's policy making and regulatory body.
Commissioners are responsible for making decisions concerning
discretionary policies and operations of the district in both
internal and external matters. Port commissions are independent
of the cities and counties in which they are located. Examples
of commission responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
-
adoption
of harbor improvement plans
-
establishing
employment policies and work positions
-
real
property management, purchases and sales
-
constructing
and maintaining facilities and equipment
-
establishing
rates, charges and regulations applicable to facility users
-
adopting
periodic and supplemental budgets
-
levying
taxes
-
borrowing
funds when necessary
District
1: John N. Collins
Current
Term: January 2008 - December 31, 2011

John Collins
is a retired professor of public service and a collegiate rower
now active in the
community's
rowing club.
Collins spent more than 35 years as a
professor of public service at various schools around the country,
including almost a decade at Seattle University, where he headed
the Institute of Public Service. He has taught courses on strategic
planning and financial management for both local government and
nonprofit sectors.
All three of his degrees are in political
science. Collins holds a bachelors degree form the University
of Washington and attended Northwester University for his masters
and doctorate degrees, specializing in the study of governance
processes.
Collins rowed crew in college with a
team that advanced to the National Championships. After moving
to Port Townsend from Vashon Island in 2004, he was the founding
president of the Rat Island Rowing and Sculling Club when it formally
organized in 2005. He still serves on the club's board, gets out
on the water often and races occasionally.
District
2: David W. Thompson
Current
Term: January 2010 - December 31, 2013
1st
Term: January 2006 - December 31, 2010

Dave Thompson is a shipwright, a
caulker and a marine surveyor. His business, Charlie Noble Enterprises,
is a leaseholder in the Port's boatyard.
Thompson was born and raised in Spokane
where he spent 3 summers during high school fighting forest
fires in WA, MT and ID for the Department of the Interior. After
a tour of military service in the Far East he pursued additional
education at several west coast colleges and universities. He
also worked as a pulmonary therapist; in an insurance accounting
office; and in real estate sales.
He arrived in Port Townsend by boat
in 1974 and took permanent moorage as a liveaboard. He was employed
by the Port hauling boats, pumping gas and cleaning restrooms.
He then worked at Port Townsend Boatworks repairing wooden boats,
and in 1982, with 7 others, founded Port Townsend Shipwrights
Co-op. Upon leaving the Co-op he worked on military and private
projects in Miami and San Diego, and worked a planking contract
on the Lady Washington in Aberdeen.
Thompson recently chaired an advisory
committee for a student boat building project at Chimacum High
School and teaches the occasional caulking class
at the Northwest School for Wooden Boat Building in Port
Hadlock. He did a caulking demonstration at the first PT Wooden
Boat Festival in the 1970s, and for the next 30 years was an
annual presenter.
District
3: Leif W. Erickson
Current
Term: January 2010 - December 31, 2013

Leif Erickson
is the production manager for
Townsend Bay Marine, a company specializing in building and
refitting high-end yachts that is the largest employer in the
Port's shipyard.
Erickson was raised in Bellevue,
served in the Marines, and came to Jefferson County in the mid-1990s
on a marine trades career trajectory that has included work
at Kvichak Marine Industries in Seattle as a mechanical manager,
Delta Marine Industries in Seattle as an owner's representative,
Falcon Marine in Port Townsend as an engineering department
manager, Admiral Marine in Port Townsend and Port Angeles as
a mechanic, and since 2000, Townsend Bay Marine in Port Townsend
as the production manager.
At Townsend Bay Marine, Erickson manages
the workflow of the jobs and helps develop budgets and project
plans. He also does outside sales to bring in new business.
An early riser, he's the one who unlocks Townsend Bay Marine's
doors at 6:00 a.m. each day.
In 2005/06, Erickson took a leadership
role in forming the Port Townsend Marine Trades Association,
an advocacy organization for the local industry. He helped develop
the by-laws, served as the board secretary, and held the position
of vice president when he resigned due to potential conflict
of interest after being elected to the Port Commission.
His District 3 residence is in Mats
Mats, near Port Ludlow.
Regularly
scheduled meetings of the Port Commission include (please note
changes, effective February 10, 2010):
-
the
second Wednesday of each month at 3:30 p.m.
in the Commission Chambers, Port Administration Building,
375 Hudson Street, Point Hudson, Port Townsend, WA, and the
fourth Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m.
in the same location
-
a
workshop preceding the regular meeting on the fourth
Wednesday of each month at 3:30
p.m.
You can
find public notice of special meetings and workshops, meeting
locations, and time changes at either the Peninsula
Daily News, The Leader
or on this website.
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