First, the port commission received its annual report from Port Jobs—a program that lifts people into apprenticeship and training programs so that they may enter maritime and construction trades or secure airport employment.  Since 1993, Port Jobs has served more than 60,000 community residents and found jobs for more than 11,000 people.

The Port of Seattle funds 54% of this program, because our competitiveness depends upon having a reliable, qualified workforce, and since:

• 30% of Washington’s ninth graders will not graduate from high school (and if you’re a ninth grader of color your odds of graduating can be fifty-fifty),
• and since 25% of 18-24 year olds have no high school diploma, and
• 52% of Washington high school graduates who applied to community college did not have the skills needed to be admitted to community college, and of those who were admitted, two-thirds dropped out in their first year,

we can’t just assume the needed workforce will be there.

Tuesday’s second event highlighted why we can’t assume we’ll have the workforce we need to be competitive and keep jobs in Washington.

The Obama administration ranked Washington 32nd out of 36 states that applied for federal education reform funds.  Despite some recent small steps forward, Washington still has not transformed its post-World War II education system into one that will educate kids for this globally competitive century.  The above statistics reveal our system is failing too many kids who aren’t college bound.  Aside from individual tragedy and other increased social costs, that failure is creating a competitive threat to keeping jobs in Washington state.

Programs like Port Jobs can meet specific needs in the short run, but they are Band-Aids.  We need to transform our post-WWII education system into one that will meet the needs of all kids (college bound or not). Our competitiveness and tens of thousands of jobs depend upon it.

On Monday (Aug. 16), Seattle opened a new, widened Spokane Street and a new Spokane St. ramp to 4th Avenue.  The Port of Seattle contributed $3.4 million to this project as part of its commitment to helping move freight more efficiently.  Moving freight efficiently from our seaport to SR99, I-5 and I-90 is critical to our port’s competitiveness. 

Jobs depend upon us being a competitive port.  70,000 families in King County depend upon a vibrant working waterfront, and a vibrant waterfront needs a transportation system that supports our maritime, fishing and industrial sectors.

This Spokane St.  project, the first street improvement that is part of the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement/bored tunnel project, will help move cars in and out of downtown Seattle, and most importantly from the port’s perspective, will help separate those cars from rail traffic.

 Often, they are more than just curious.  Since the Port of Seattle generates over 100,000 jobs in King County, how it’s doing is one indicator of our economy’s health.  Here are facts and figures from the first half of 2010:

January-June 2010, overall port revenues are about 0.8% under budget, but operating expenses are 11.3% under budget[1].  As a result, after depreciation, the port’s net operating income is over budget.  (I expect some third and fourth quarter expenses will reduce this surplus somewhat by year’s end.)

SeaTac’s revenues and expenses are down.  Both rental car and concession income are rebounding; parking revenues continue to lag.  Air passenger traffic is about the same as 2009, but could be down as much as 2% by year’s end. More or less, SeaTac is about where it was last year.

2010 marine cargo is up 45%[2] over 2009 YTD.  Increased cargo volume and crane rental income have driven seaport revenues above projections.  (Whether this increased volume can be sustained in the third and fourth quarters will be an interesting indicator to watch and will inform our 2011 budget planning.)  Also contributing to positive revenue forecasts are grain terminal volumes that are 11% above 2009, and about 23% above  the 2010 projection.

Cruise business will set a record this year with 223 ship (up from 218 in 2009) calls.  While the port about breaks even on the cruise business, each of the 223 calls leaves $1.9 million behind in King Co. & WA state’s economy.  Cruise related revenues are anticipated to be on budget or maybe slightly higher than projected.

Real estate is operating about on budget, but despite 89% occupancy (Seattle’s average is 87%) revenues will be below 2009.  It is important to remember that some port properties, such as Fisherman’s Terminal, are not operated to maximize profit, but are supported for public benefit and as private sector job generators.

I know this is a very general overview.  If you have specific questions, please send them to me at: http://www.bryantforport.com/contact/

 [1] An aside: The port commission decided to self-insure medical and dental coverage starting this year.  That decision is paying off: medical and dental costs have only increased about 4%. Under the old plan they would have increased by more than 12%. That translates into about $1 million in savings.

 [2] LA is up about 32%; Long Beach up 19-20%; Oakland up 12-13%; Vancouver, BC up 11-12%; Prince Rupert up 60%-but from a very low base; Tacoma is down.

If we could get those passengers to spend one or two more nights in King Co. and Washington, we’d add millions to our economy; that means jobs!

Tourism already is Washington’s fourth most important economic sector and responsible for over 147,000 jobs.  85% of the companies providing those jobs are small businesses.

The Port of Seattle has invested in building a cruise terminal and upgrading SeaTac. We’re now exploring how to leverage those investments into attracting more visitors to our state, moving more passengers through our facilities, and generating more jobs in our community.

Watch KOMO News coverage of what they called my “fireworks” on the SR99 tunnel: http://tinyurl.com/3x6dfsb “Enough Already!”

If you would like to see how the new SR99 will be built and part of the viaduct removed, please click here: http://wsdot.wa.gov/projects/viaduct/simulations/

I presented City of SeaTac Police Chief Graddon with special recognition for the leadership he has demonstrated in working with the Port of Seattle police to reduce crime in our shared community and for his exceptional efforts to collaboratively focus the resources of Sound Transit, the Port of Seattle police and the City of SeaTac’s police department.

In May 2010, I was honored with the Norm Maleng award for Outstanding Washington Local Government Official of the Year.

My career has been in business, not politics, so to receive this honor after only two years of public service was quite humbling. Upon receiving the award, I briefly talked about my approach to governing, and our need to transcend partisanship.

I summarized my approach to governing when I said:

If a politician has supporters, as I do, who do not necessarily agree with each other, it can be a little bit tough. What I have learned is what you must not do in that situation is find a mushy, middle ground compromise that pleases no one and does not move the ball forward. What you need to do is figure out what is right, and come up with a bold, principle-based agenda, and then go out into that group of supporters who do not necessarily agree with each other and build a consensus for that bold principle-based agenda.

The port commission approved a $40 million project (largely be paid for by federal grants and the airlines) that will allow flight crews to turn off auxiliary engines at the gate and “plug in” to the electrical grid. This will reduce C02 and other emissions by more than 69,000 metric tons per year which is roughly equivalent to removing over 13,000 cars from the road. The project will also create 120 new jobs.

Watch my full remarks below: