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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Politics Joining a Colleague, Tarleton Tells Port CEO to Resign or Quit Side-Job

Posted by Dominic Holden on Thu, Aug 30, 2012 at 11:48 AM

Yesterday, I reported that Port of Seattle Commissioner Rob Holland asked port CEO Tay Yoshitani to pick one or the other: continue taking his annual $367,000 government salary or $230,000 a year for serving on the board of shipping logistics firm Expeditors International. But not both.

Then later yesterday afternoon, Port Commissioner Gael Tarleton (who is also running to represent the 36th legislative district), sent this email to her campaign supporters making the same challenge to Yoshitani and saying that she want to change the law:

Yesterday I asked the CEO to step down from the board. Today I'm asking my fellow commissioners to join me in asking him to choose: step down from the board or step down from the Port. The people of King County want their elected officials to do what's best for the public. So do I.

But unfortunately, state law is silent about this. It's all-too-common to find high-level public servants in our state walking the halls of corporate America and sitting in boardrooms. We need to change this situation. If I'm elected to serve in the state legislature, I will introduce a bill to prohibit public officials from serving on for-profit boards for compensation... I know this position may not make me popular with my fellow commissioners.

Any other port commissioners willing to stand up to their CEO? Tom Albro? Bill Bryant? John Creighton?

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As beautiful as this is to contemplate it will never happen. But just for a moment, imagine a country where people work in the government out of altruism instead of avarice.

Posted by Skye Blu on August 30, 2012 at 6:48 PM

Three questions for Dominic:

1) Did Holland vote for the 2011 contract that raised Yoshitani's salary and allowed him to moonlight for Expeditors?

2) Did Tarleton vote for the 2011 contract that raised Yoshitani's salary and allowed him to moonlight for Expeditors?

3) How does Dominic persuade himself that the above two answers are irrelevant here?

Posted by Relling on August 30, 2012 at 7:22 PM