PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend resident Steve Tucker has announced he will run for the Port of Port Townsend commissioner seat now held by John Collins, who is retiring after one term.
“I am running for port commissioner to keep our precious maritime culture from being hijacked by outside interests,” Tucker, 61, said Friday.
“For instance, filling our marina with huge yachts from somewhere else, then putting up locked gates, would change the entire character of this town which I love so much.”
Tucker said there’s “no eminent danger” of that, but he wants to ensure the Boat Haven remains available for smaller-boat owners.
“It needs constant vigilance to keep the lure of out-of-town money from coming in and taking away the affordability and the character of our town,” Tucker said.
One seat is open on the port commission. No other candidate has declared candidacy for the post.
The candidate filing period will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. June 6-10 at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend.
Tucker, who has lived in Port Townsend for 30 years, has been active in the local boating community for 25 of those years.
He previously served in the Coast Guard Auxiliary as the operations officer and taught boating classes as the education officer for the U.S. Power Squadron.
He said the current port commissioners “are doing a good job,” and he would not run if Collins were seeking another term.
“Collins had excellent conversations with the public,” Tucker said, adding he heard during those public meetings “loud and clear that they don’t want Port Townsend to turn into ‘Shell shoal’ in Seattle.
“They want to keep it small for the common guy in Port Townsend’s affordable type of boat.”
Tucker has been active in activities related to the Port of Port Townsend, specifically helping design the Boat Haven’s new A/B docks and spending a year on the port’s strategic planning committee.
He said he worked to ensure the new A/B docks would have predominantly small slips.
Tucker said many marinas have locked gates to protect possessions aboard the large yachts docked in big slips. He doesn’t want to see that happen in Port Townsend.
He also likes the fact boat owners are permitted to work on their own vessels, saying many large marinas insist the work be hired out.
“Those are two crucial aspects of our Boat Haven that’s unique in our area,” he said. “My goal is to keep that maritime culture in Port Townsend intact. It’s so easy to lose it, and once it’s lost, it’s hard to come back.”
However, this view doesn’t mean Tucker is against economic growth, he said, adding he “knows what it takes to create and run a successful business in Port Townsend.”
He opened Hilltop Texaco in 1992 and later built Auto Works — the second 5-star-rated EnviroStar business in Port Townsend, Tucker said — operating it until 2004.
Prior to opening Hilltop Texaco, Tucker worked at the Port Townsend Paper Corp. mill lab “doing environmental monitoring, testing and helping . . . to keep emissions low.”
Tucker has attended port meetings for several years, both as an observer and a participant.
He said he has “some new ideas that I don’t want to share just yet.”
He is keeping private his opinion about a proposal to build an aquatic center in Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park.
Make Waves! seeks to build a $10 million facility — which would accommodate more than 2,000 swimmers a year with a public pool and other recreational options — on 1.9 acres owned by the port next to Kah Tai Lagoon and Jefferson Transit’s Haines Place Park and Ride on 12th Street.
The port land is now leased to the city of Port Townsend until July 31, 2012.
Even if Tucker becomes a port commissioner, he may not have a say in the matter.
“I think this matter will be decided by the lawyers and not the commissioners,” he said.
He said he would work to support local businesses as commissioner.
“This port district was created by and paid for by the residents of Jefferson County,” he said. “As your port commissioner, I will work to promote the local industrial base, help local business get established and protect our unique maritime character.”
If no other candidate files before June 10, Tucker will automatically assume the office at the end of Collins’ term Jan. 1.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
