The Port of Bellingham held a special public hearing on Tuesday to discuss redistricting plans that will expand the commission from three to five members, a change approved by voters in the November general election.
The port will become the seventh in Washington state to have five commissioners, joining Tacoma, Seattle, Olympia, Edmonds, Orcas and Anacortes. Staff proposed drawing new district boundaries along existing Whatcom County Council lines, a plan that received broad support from commissioners and the public.
“I do want to say that I appreciate the districts being drawn along the county lines,” said Dan Tucker of the Working Waterfront Coalition. “From our membership, we have heard, by and large, that is what they desire.”
The proposal includes a numbering adjustment required by state law. Because incumbent commissioners must remain in districts one, two and three, staff recommended swapping the numbers on county council districts three and five. Commissioner Bobby Briscoe, who resides in what is currently county District 5, would remain in port District 3 under this arrangement.
Briscoe asked why the port could not simply mirror the county numbers from the start. Port attorney Holly Stafford explained that state statute requires incumbent commissioners to occupy districts one through three when expanding, leaving no flexibility.
“When the statute says ‘shall’ for redistricting, you shall follow it,” she said, citing case law where a court invalidated a redistricting plan that deviated from statutory requirements.
The transition creates a complication: after redistricting, commissioner Michael Shepherd and outgoing commissioner Ken Bell will both reside in the same district. Commissioner-elect Carly James, who will succeed Bell, will also live there. State law requires the overlapping commissioners to draw lots to determine who represents which district.
That drawing will occur at the December 16 meeting, when commissioners will also formally adopt the redistricting resolution. Staff confirmed the process will involve a coin flip, with Shepherd calling the toss.
Local government watchdog John Servais, who has advocated for the expansion for decades, expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
“It’s a good day. It’s been 30-some years trying to get here,” Servais told commissioners.
He also sought clarification that primary elections would remain district-only, with only the general election open to countywide voting. Staff confirmed this follows state law, and commissioner Bell moved to add explicit language to that effect in the final resolution.
The two new commissioner positions, districts four and five, will be filled in the 2026 election. In an unusual provision of state law, the winner who receives the most votes in those two races will serve a three-year term, while the other serves just one year. This staggered approach aligns future elections with the port’s existing odd-year cycle.
“It’s an imperfect process, and we’re all doing the best we can to fit the Port of Bellingham within that imperfect process,” the port attorney noted.
The commission will vote on the final redistricting plan December 16 at 4 p.m.
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