1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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First Name |
Middle Initial or Nick Name |
Last Name |
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
3. Are you the incumbent? Yes No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
5. How long have you resided in King County?
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31 years since 1970 |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Committee to Re-Elect Alec Fisken |
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1. Beginning with the most recent position, please list public offices which you have held. Include positions on appointive Boards or Commissions.
Public Office |
Elective or Appointive? |
Dates Held |
Leadership Role (if any) |
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Chair
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2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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SECTION III
In this section, we are seeking responses that reflect the four ratings criteria: involvement, effectiveness, character, and knowledge. These are defined as follows:
1. In a page or less, why are you running for this office? (Note: the interview committee will be given a copy of this statement before your interview; at the beginning of your interview you will have the opportunity to expand on this statement in any way you wish.)
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I ran for the Seattle Port Commission in 2003 because I was concerned about the Port's growing emphasis on real estate development at the expense of support for traditional maritime activity.
My prior career left me with experience in the Port's finances, and a thorough knowledge of maritime operations at other West Coast ports. I was able to run in opposition to some redevelopment proposals with confidence that I could also understand and contribute to broader port issues.
My initial effort on the Commission was focused on preserving Terminal 46 as a container terminal. Subsequently, much of my work has been directed at encouraging the Commission to act in a more financially responsible manner, and to begin serious efforts to resolve environmental issues.
I am running for re-election because the Port is now at a critical juncture. We have a new, experienced CEO, two new commissioners who have a genuine concern with financial management, and a new emphasis on solving the environmental issues associated with port operations. The two big decisions facing the Seattle Port Commission over the next few years are whether we will take a leadership role in reducing environmental impacts, and whether we will demand that the Port operate in a financially responsible manner.
1. Environmental Issues
Air emissions from port activities at the seaport and airport have a negative impact on Puget Sound and the air quality in our communities. That’s the bad news. The good news is that we can solve the problem. The technology exists, the key shippers and vessel operators understand the urgency of the problem, and the Port of Seattle has a CEO who is unusually knowledgeable about the steps that lead to a solution.
If we have a majority on the commission in the next few months, we will begin working with airlines and other North American seaports to establish achievable emission-reduction standards that will allow trade to grow while the Port’s environmental footprint shrinks.
I know a lot about the technical options, the pressures that confront other ports, and the concerns of the large shippers. I can make a real contribution to the resolution of these issues.
2. Financial Management
The Port of Seattle is a publicly-owned business, more like a utility than a city, county or other general government. It has an important role to play in bringing jobs to the region and being an advocate for key segments of our economy. At the same time, the taxpayers, the owners of the Port, have a right to expect that it will be run prudently, and that tax dollars won’t be distributed unnecessarily to either senior port staff, or port tenants and contractors.
The Port has been financially irresponsible, but we have a chance to turn that around. It takes commitment and some real understanding of the port’s business, but the Commission can move the Port in the direction of financial success. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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The first characteristic that allows me to work effectively as a port commissioner is that I have no agenda or motive for serving on the Commission other than a commitment to open, effective government. The second is that over the past thirty years I have built up a network of friends and colleagues who are very knowledgeable about all aspects of ports in North America.
On the first point I think it is important to understand that the port commission pays $6,000 per year plus a small amount to cover expenses. People don’t run for this position for the salary, but they do run as a steppingstone to other political office or because they are involved in a business that will be enhanced having the title. Neither motive is conducive to an honest, energetic defense of the public interest.
I have no further political ambition, there is no professional benefit that I will enjoy as a result of serving on the Port Commission, and so the responsibility that I have to my constituents is not clouded by any other consideration.
On the second point, the years that I spent as an investment banker working on port and other municipal debt, and the decade of work on Marine digest and the Marine Regulatory Bulletin have left me with many good friends who are still active in various aspects of trade and port management. If I want to get more information on a port development in Vancouver B.C., an environmental question in Long Beach, or an airport finance question in Oakland, there are plenty of people I can call to get an informed perspective on the issue at hand.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t rely on the Port of Seattle staff. I do. But it is invaluable to be able to enhance the staff response with a perspective from other knowledgeable sources. |
3. Please describe in sufficient detail, one to three accomplishments or contributions of which you are most proud. These examples should illustrate effective skills and capabilities you think apply to the office you are seeking. These accomplishments may have occurred at any time in your personal, professional, or public life.
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The three accomplishments of which I am most proud are the establishment of the Seattle Sun, the financial plan that I wrote for the City of Seattle, and my work in Africa.
The Seattle Sun was a group effort. We all worked hard on that project – raising money, defining the editorial product, and getting to know the urban neighborhoods that we covered. The paper did have a significant impact on Seattle in those years and it brought growing urban issues to the attention of the rest of the media. Some of the best reporters at the local papers (and the current Investigative Editor of the Washington Post) got their first job in journalism at the Seattle Sun.
In Africa I was hired by Crossroads Africa to arrange projects for integrated groups of American college students who worked with African University students. In 20 countries I found the relevant government officials, identified appropriate (funded) projects, and worked with local universities to recruit student volunteers. Conditions were sometimes very difficult and keeping track of the status of diverse projects was daunting.
On the other hand, the results were gratifying, and a lot of people had good and enlightening experiences.
I am also proud of the City of Seattle Financial Plan. I wrote that when I was an investment banker as part of a contract with the City of Seattle. The City Council at that time wanted an assessment of what the right level of tax and utility costs should be in the City – whether the City should be undertaking new projects or cutting back on old ones.
I worked a lot of hours over a year one that project – many more hours than the fees would ever have justified – and produced an exhaustive review of the history of taxes and utility costs in Seattle, along with a comparison with other cities. I believe that it proved to be a very useful guide for policymakers grapping with these issues. |
4. Please list or describe your current and past activities in the community in which you have acquired skills that relate to the office you seek. Include your role in the activity and the year(s) in which you were involved. Involvement consists of many areas such as family, neighborhood, community, employment, or public life.
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I have served on the boards of numerous local non-profit groups, including
County Doctor Ciommunity Clinic (1970's) Environmental Works (1970's) Metrocenter YMCA (1981-84) Grater Seattle Hhamber of Commerce, City Budget Task Force 1982-1985 Propeller Club (Board member and treasurer) ( 1996-1998) Thornton Creek Legal Defense Fund (2000-2003) Elevated Transportation Company (Board member and finance chair) (2000_2003) Sanctuary Art Center (2000-2003) Town Hall (2002-2003) Puget Sound Finance Officers Association 2007
But the most relevant has been my recent work on environmental issues in the community of ports and shippers on the West Coast.
Over the past three years I have spent hours with various local and regional environmental groups, including the National Resources Defense Council, Puget Soundkeeper and People for Puget Sound, as well as industry groups like the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, and each of the large ports on the West Coast – all in an effort to resolve the key environmental issues that are threatening the continued growth of port activity in North America.
I know many of the experts around the country who are involved with this issue. Earlier this year I gave a presentation on the topic to an industry group in South Carolina, and in September I will be chairing the “Clean Pacific” discussion on the subject here in Seattle.
I have continued to work on this issue because it it is becoming increasingly critical to the future of all the larger U.S. ports, the solutions are largely within reach, and the time to begin solving the problem is now.
It will be a common effort, however, that requires the participation of environmental and industry groups, ports and politicians, and shippers and vessel operators.
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The Port Commission is a policy-making body. Its role is not to manage the Port, but to make the broad decisions and establish direction. The commission has three major levers to implement that policy - the hiring and firing of the CEO of the Port, the annual approval of the budget, and regular votes on major projects.
Hiring the CEO is an infrequent decision, although one that has a huge impact on the direction of the institution.
In the case of the Port of Seattle, approval of the annual budget tends to be a less policy-setting act than it should be, because the mountains of detail tend to overwhelm commissioners. At the same time, the budget is the one annual decision that brings the Port’s level of taxation into sharp focus.
Much of the actual policy-making occurs in the commission discussions over particular projects or expenditures – should the Port build a new cruise terminal, should it buy Boeing field from King County, and so forth. In reality, the discussion around those decisions generally sets policy direction, and the budget becomes a compilation of the decisions that have been made during the year.
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EDUCATION BACKGROUND SUMMARY
The Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Report is distributed to voters in print and/or on our website. It includes a summary of the candidate’s education. Please summarize your education in 120 characters (letters, punctuation, and space all combined). The League will delete material that exceeds the space limit by beginning with the last entry. Suggested order is (degree) (subject) (school) (year, if desired).
Note: If this question is left blank the League will not include education information in your candidate profile.
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Yale Univesity - BA History Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government - Masters in Public Administration |
FOR PUBLICATION IN CANDIDATE EVALUATION REPORT
The Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Report also includes a summary of each candidate’s civic involvement. Please summarize your civic involvement in the space below. We will make every attempt to include the information in the Candidate Evaluation Report as submitted. Due to space restrictions in the Report, your response is limited to 500 characters (letters, punctuation, and spaces all combined). It is important that you list your involvement beginning with the most important and ending with the least important. If you exceed the length of response permitted, or if the League should find it necessary to shorten responses for publication purposes, deletions will be made beginning with the last item listed.
Note: This information will appear verbatim on the League’s Candidate Evaluation Report. If this question is left blank, the Municipal League will not include information on your civic involvement in the Report.
Check here if you would like the Municipal League to copy the first 500 characters from Question 4 to paste into this section.
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I worked with a number of non-profit and civic groups in Seattle, in areas that range from homeless youth to creek restoration. I have helped those groups with fundraising, some with financial work. When I worked at Rainier Bank, I won an annual award for the employee most involved in the community. Beginning in college, participating in local activities has been important to me. Nothing is more critical to our city than the sense of community that develops from people volunteering together. |
Finished!
If at all possible, send your response to the Municipal League electronically as an attachment, or insert it into an e-mail message (cec@munileague.org). Mail and fax numbers are listed below. If the League has not contacted you to schedule an interview, please call the League office at your earliest convenience.
Don’t forget to send the following to the Municipal League: a resume, a photo, campaign literature, and, if you are an incumbent, constituent newsletters and other materials. Please use the check-off list on the cover sheet of this packet to indicate which items you have sent.
Candidate Evaluation Coordinator: Jason Thibedeau
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: (425) 671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org