Citizens for a Healthy Economy, the big business PAC that has raised $115,000 to support status quo candidates in this year’s Port Commission races, sent out a glossy campaign mailer last week. In the mailer, which cost $84K to send out, the PAC endorses John Creighton, Pat Davis, and …. Rich Berkowitz.

Berkowitz, a union guy, has played himself as a reformer in the election, so it’s a bit weird that Citizens for a Healthy Economy has his back.

However, I got my hands on an email exchange between Port CEO Mic Dinsmore and one of Citizens for a Healthy Economy’s biggest contributors that may shed some light on the PAC’s pro-Berkowitz position.

The big contributor is Robert Wallace, CEO of Bellevue real estate company Wallace Properties, who has given $5K to Citizens for a Healthy Economy.

The e-mail, written last July, when Berkowitz was seen as a threat to the status quo, appears to show Wallace, the developer, telling Dinsmore, the Port Exec, that Berkowitz aint such a threat.

(BTW: I think it’s a little sketchy that a major contributor to an “independent” political group is talking about a port campaign with the port CEO)

Anyway, here’s the e-mail exchange:

“I met with Berkowitz today,” Wallace wrote. “[He] says he would not support dumping [you].”

Dinsmore wrote back the following morning (sounding a bit like Harriet Miers to George Bush): “You are such a great…..You will be repaid in another life….Have a wonderful week and THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I asked Berkowitz wether he pledged to retain Dinsmore. He said he did, and then explained that while he has disagreements with Dinsmore (particularly over Port plans to prioritize real estate development at Piers 90 & 91 rather than prioritizing maritime work), he doesn’t think it would be “appropriate” to fire Dinsmore. Berkowitz points out that Dinsmore only has 2 years left on his contract and it would be “useless” and a waste of tax payer money to get into that “legal morass.”