PORT ANGELES — Port of Port Angeles commissioners will consider selecting candidates for a vacant elected port commissioner position today.
The candidates will be identified in public only by letter, not by name.
The meeting to consider a replacement for the District 2 position vacated by Port Angeles-area District 2 Commissioner Jim Hallett is at 4 p.m. at the port office, 338 W. First St.
The six-year term expires in 2017.
Commissioners initially will meet in executive session to evaluate the candidates’ qualifications before going into open session to select interviewees who will be “selected and identified by letter,” according to the agenda.
The port refused Wednesday to release the candidates’ names in response to a Peninsula Daily News public records request for their applications, citing a state public records exemption for “all applications for public employment.”
Port Angeles lawyer Simon Barnhart, who represents the port, did not return calls for comment.
Port commissioners are paid up to $13,992 annually and receive medical, dental, vision, long-term disability and life insurance coverage.
Nancy Krier, state assistant attorney general for open government, said Thursday she urges government entities to make applications for vacant elected positions public.
“The application process is the functional equivalent of a campaign,” she said.
“Once they take the position, they are in the same shoes as other elected officials.”
Steve Burke, part-time executive director of William Shore Memorial Pool and treasurer of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce, confirmed Wednesday that he has applied for the position.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
