Now that the U.S. Department of Justice has concluded its investigation into certain incidents that occurred at the Port of Seattle in the years prior to our new CEO Tay Yoshitani being hired and me being elected, I would like to share with you how much we’ve changed the port in just two years.

The state auditor’s report that was issued in December 2007 included dozens of recommendations; those have been implemented. The internal fraud investigation that I chaired and concluded in December 2008, recommended internal reforms; those have been implemented.

In addition:

• The port commission reasserted its oversight authority and rewrote the division of responsibility between the CEO and the elected commission.
• The port’s internal auditor now reports directly to the commission and the CEO, no longer to the commission through the CEO.
• Port contracting was centralized under a single authority with clear lines of accountability. Advertising, bidding and contracting policies and procedures were revised to increase competition, management accountability, commission oversight and public transparency.
• The commission revitalized the port’s internal audit committee and added a public member.
• The commission hired its own independent policy analyst, and asserted control over the agenda of commission meetings by having the port records supervisor report to the commission, not the CEO
• A new ethics compliance and workplace responsibility program was implemented with ethics and new policy training for all port employees.
• The commission’s use of executive sessions has been circumscribed.
• Members of the public, stakeholders and local experts now are often invited to sit with the commissioners and publicly discuss major issues and policy options. Like all commission proceedings, these discussions are televised and available to the public on the Internet.
• The same day I receive policy briefs from port staff, those same briefs are to be posted on the port’s website so that the public may read what commissioners are reading.
• Commission meetings are no longer limited to downtown Seattle and SeaTac airport, but are held around King County.

Transforming an institution and changing a culture is not easy, but it is what we have done and continue doing at the Port of Seattle.

If you have a question or comments, please email me at bill.bryant.washington@gmail.com.

Regards,

Commissioner Bill Bryant