I am voting for Ally Pickard for Port of Centralia Commission Position 2.
Ally brings to the commissioner seat a background in finance management, budgeting, marketing and grant administration. She is well equipped to study proposals, work collaboratively with governmental agencies and vote on business pertaining to the port.
Ally will bring a fresh voice and a new perspective to the board.
In the years since the port was established, I do not remember a contested Port Director position. In the past, citizens who had ties to the school district or the business community were asked to fill empty commissioner positions. Ms. Shaffley has been on the Centralia Port Commission for 10 years. She was selected to fill a position that had been vacated. In those 10 years, Centralia has seen miles of warehouse land sited upon its major arterials clogged with large semi-trucks rumbling to and from the many distribution centers, which the port has encouraged to build here. Many of those businesses border long-established Centralia neighborhoods.
Do you really want to give Shaffley another six years?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a Port of Centralia, which is sited midway between Seattle and Portland, if all citizens get for their tax dollars is gridlock and a grocery store? It seems that, in the rush to get more businesses and more dollars, the port is driven to sell properties cheaply to companies who want to store and move their merchandise up and down I-5. This is and should be the business of the Port Commission to carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages against the needs of the community.
The port holds open meetings at 3 p.m. twice monthly at the Port of Centralia. I urge any citizen who has the time to attend one of these meetings. If a citizen is there to lodge a complaint or ask a question, the atmosphere is chilly. The meetings are conducted at rapid speed, with no discussion or comments from the board or director.
When Ally Pickard is elected, she promises to support collaboration and thoughtful decision-making as hallmarks of her position. She will be transparent in communications with the public and other public entities. In other words, Ally will truly represent the taxpaying citizens as their voice on growth and its effects on Centralia and its citizens.
Time for a change. Vote Ally Pickard for Position 2 on the Port of Centralia Commission.
Jan Leth
Centralia
