The five port commissioners currently representing King County function like one white, rich sphincter of indifference that will open for anything that throws the port money. The only problem with this sphincter is that it HUGELY shapes everything that surrounds it—like the $300 million in port money going to that FUCKING DOWNTOWN TUNNEL and the not-yet-paid-for Duwamish River cleanup, par exemple.
The port commission answers to hardly anyone but the big maritime and airline interests that fuel its campaigns, which is how Seattle ended up hosting a Shell drilling rig that will go probe the melting Arctic for oil and gas. Courtney Gregoire, the daughter of former governor Chris Gregoire, made impassioned speeches about the fragility of Arctic ecosystems, Shell’s boneheaded mission, and the role of elected officials to stop it. But she didn’t use her position to force a vote—or a longer public process—that might have kept Shell’s drilling rig from parking on port property.
So, yeah, Gregoire screwed that up. (But hey, nice speeches!) So why endorse her?
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