• Editor’s note: The time for change and fiscal responsibility is now for the Port of Olympia. Property owners in Thurston County fund the port through property taxes and should take a vested interest into seeing this asset is properly managed. Continued losses and doing business the same way for years is not working.
• I am pleased to endorse the leadership, experience and vision exhibited by Helen Wheatley.
• A former Fulbright scholar with a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, Helen taught history at Seattle University and has worked for over two decades as an advocate for cleanup of the Hanford nuclear site in Eastern Washington. In 2018 she was honored as Thurston County Democrat of the Year.
• “The Port loses money every year. Port taxes have increased 27% since 2016. Let’s stop using taxes to make up for losses and debt. $6.5 million a year is too much to pay for poor decisions. We can turn the Port around with better transparency and more rigorous oversight,” quoting Wheatley’s Voter’s Pamphlet statement.
• Please consider casting your vote for Helen Wheatley, Port of Olympia Commissioner!

From the website of Helen for Port:

Helen’s Vision for Improving Governance at the Port

Judicious Oversight

Commissioners oversee the annual budget and approve significant capital expenditures. As your Commissioner I will demand transparent reporting and require that all budget information be available to the public. I will hold the Executive Director accountable and act to spare the Port from making costly mistakes with taxpayer’s funds.

Accountability

Minutes, policy documents and financial reporting should be accessible for the public to evaluate and respond. As your Commissioner, I will make sure that better shared information results in better practices and decisions.

Plan for the Future

The Port’s strategic planning is years out of date. As your Commissioner I will work to develop a financially sound strategic plan for the next decade based on an environmentally sound and economically sustainable vision with broad public input.

Teamwork

Commissioners must be able to work together in order to move the Port forward. As your Commissioner, I will work to make the deliberations of the Port Commission productive and civil, even when individual commissioners don’t completely agree.

Collaborate

The Port of Olympia serves its community best when it collaborates with other governments and agencies to achieve our common goals. As your Commissioner, I will make sure that the Port is an active participant when our communities address important issues.

Read more from Helen for Port.

Please consider casting your vote for Helen Wheatley, Port of Olympia Commissioner!