It's a big day for port-watchers. This afternoon, the five-person Port Commission—with two outgoing port commissioners, John Creighton and Tom Albro—will take a vote to confirm a new executive to run the multi-billion dollar engine that is the Port of Seattle.

The vote arrives in the midst of a makeover. The last person who held the job, former trucking executive Ted Fick, was known as the port's CEO, not its executive director. But the title changed after Fick resigned from his position in February. Fick's last performance review revealed a flurry of concerns about him, including criticisms about how he handled a DUI charge, accepting gifts from port tenants, a family conflict of interest, and a $24,500 raise Fick gave to himself as part of a bigger seven percent pay-raise for non-union port employees. Port commissioners said Fick, whose starting salary was $350,000, didn't disclose this raise, and said that they hadn't anticipated that the raise would apply to the CEO. In a letter to the Seattle Times, Fick said the pay-raise was no secret to the port commission, that the apparent conflict of interest had no bearing on port business, and that the gifts didn't violate the port's code of conduct.

One port commissioner also raised concerns in the performance review about a possible sexual harassment complaint, an incident that Fick later said was "all a misunderstanding".

The CEO name-change, according to the port, was meant to highlight "a track record that demonstrates the ability to work collaboratively with an elected Commission and responsiveness to community interests in addition to the bottom line." In a 503-person survey about qualities the new executive director should have, "personal integrity" ranked the highest. After that: "public servant/community minded." During the port commission races this past fall, incoming port commissioners Ryan Calkins and Peter Steinbrueck also stressed that they hoped the new executive director would have a record of public service and leadership outside the private sector.

The search for a port ED was taken up by commissioners, port staff, and an executive headhunter firm. We'll find out who the executive director nominee is around 1 p.m.