Ken Rogers, left, and Marion Yoshino[/caption] by Jack Mayne Two South King County residents have filed for election to the Port of Seattle Commission Position 5 to replace incumbent Commissioner Bill Bryant, who is said to not be seeking re-election. Former Normandy Park City Councilmember Marion Yoshino and Delta Airlines pilot and board member Ken Rogers of Des Moines filed on Monday. Yoshino is also a former economics development official for Des Moines, and is also a partner with her husband in an import/export business for European auto parts, according to her election website. She says supporting her “is an opportunity to choose leadership that is experienced, but free of political obligations.” Rogers has been a resident of the area since his days as an Air Force pilot at McChord Air Force Base, and is a Delta pilot who has for eight years been a member of the Delta Board of Directors. He lives in Des Moines and is married to Catherine Carbone Rogers, Chief Communications Officer for Highline Public Schools. Rogers says he is running because it has been “too long since the Port has had a commissioner with significant airport and airline experience” and the Port Commission “needs a fresh perspective” to policy making and that “South King County should have representation on the commission,” something it has not had “for many years.” The only other port contest this year is Courtney Gregoire’s position 2, and no candidates had filed for that race as of Tuesday (May 12) at Noon.]]>

14 replies on “South County’s Ken Rogers and Marion Yoshino file for Port of Seattle race”

  1. The Port of Seattle is the driving engine not only for our states economy but for our country’s economy as well.
    The Port of Seattle and it’s commissioners will have a number of extremely serious decisions that will need to be made in the very near future, from the alliance with the port of Tacoma, the Funding and modernization to Terminal 5 and the preservation of Pier 46 as a working cargo container terminal as well as the upgrades and expansions to the airport, these are all profound decisions that will need to be made and each of them have serious consequences that will come with them.
    It is imperative that our Port Commissioners be highly skilled and capable in making these decisions.
    As a career Longshoreman on the waterfront in both the ports of Long Beach CA and now the port of Seattle WA, I question that either one of these two individuals possess the skills and qualifications that are required to be a sitting port commissioner in our port as well as what has even lead them to believe that they do, now is not the time to have an unqualified individual on our port commission relying only on the job training to get the job done.

    1. Wow, while I respect your credential as a Longshoreman, I’m not sure that qualifies you to dispense an opinion we should value above anyone else’s. I have a passing knowledge of both candidates, consider them both eminently qualified, and look forward to an intelligent debate during this election cycle. Perhaps you missed the years where candidates for this position were wildly supported based strictly on their position on the conveyor belt in Des Moines or the third runway. Rogers and Yoshino are far and away more qualified than the candidates of past years, and I’m grateful that they are willing to run.

    2. My Mr. Castronover, I also disagree with your comments about the qualifications of these candidates. I agree with Mysty that while I would respect your opinion on what a longshoreman does,I don’t value your opinion over anyone else’s on complex matters of public governance or matters that require strategic planning and the management of large budgets and spending priorities. Subjects which you have chosen to exert your opinion on very freely in the public sphere, such as now regarding the Port of Seattle, or in your past participation in the SSOS campaign about schools, construction plans or budgets for schools and their financing. Naturally, as a citizen you have the right to express your opinions, but it does not necessarily make them correct or more valuable than anyone else’s.
      On the other hand, the two candidates mentioned are experienced leaders who have demonstrated abilities in understanding large organizations, and public policies and their impact. I look forward to hearing more from them about their vision for a sustainable and vibrant Port of Seattle.

  2. The Port of Seattle is the driving engine not only for our states economy but for our country’s economy as well.
    The Port of Seattle and it’s commissioners will have a number of extremely serious decisions that will need to be made in the very near future, from the alliance with the port of Tacoma, the Funding and modernization to Terminal 5 and the preservation of Pier 46 as a working cargo container terminal as well as the upgrades and expansions to the airport, these are all profound decisions that will need to be made and each of them have serious consequences that will come with them.
    It is imperative that our Port Commissioners be highly skilled and capable in making these decisions.
    As a career Longshoreman on the waterfront in both the ports of Long Beach CA and now the port of Seattle WA, I question that either one of these two individuals possess the skills and qualifications that are required to be a sitting port commissioner in our port as well as what has even lead them to believe that they do, now is not the time to have an unqualified individual on our port commission relying only on the job training to get the job done.

    1. Wow, while I respect your credential as a Longshoreman, I’m not sure that qualifies you to dispense an opinion we should value above anyone else’s. I have a passing knowledge of both candidates, consider them both eminently qualified, and look forward to an intelligent debate during this election cycle. Perhaps you missed the years where candidates for this position were wildly supported based strictly on their position on the conveyor belt in Des Moines or the third runway. Rogers and Yoshino are far and away more qualified than the candidates of past years, and I’m grateful that they are willing to run.

    2. My Mr. Castronover, I also disagree with your comments about the qualifications of these candidates. I agree with Mysty that while I would respect your opinion on what a longshoreman does,I don’t value your opinion over anyone else’s on complex matters of public governance or matters that require strategic planning and the management of large budgets and spending priorities. Subjects which you have chosen to exert your opinion on very freely in the public sphere, such as now regarding the Port of Seattle, or in your past participation in the SSOS campaign about schools, construction plans or budgets for schools and their financing. Naturally, as a citizen you have the right to express your opinions, but it does not necessarily make them correct or more valuable than anyone else’s.
      On the other hand, the two candidates mentioned are experienced leaders who have demonstrated abilities in understanding large organizations, and public policies and their impact. I look forward to hearing more from them about their vision for a sustainable and vibrant Port of Seattle.

  3. it’s a shame Mr.castronover a so called grown adult has to use e-mail campaigns and social media outlets and other trickery just to get people to vote people comments down here on this blog and the b-town blog and most likely others. It really show how he thinks of people and there opinion. It’s not surprising do to lack of moral’s the ssos crowd has shown.

  4. it’s a shame Mr.castronover a so called grown adult has to use e-mail campaigns and social media outlets and other trickery just to get people to vote people comments down here on this blog and the b-town blog and most likely others. It really show how he thinks of people and there opinion. It’s not surprising do to lack of moral’s the ssos crowd has shown.

  5. I think that Mr Rogers should be disqualified. As a former member of Delta Airlines board of directors and as a pilot for Delta Airlines he has a vested interest in the success of Delta Airlines in Seattle and their stated objective of putting Alaska Airlines out of business. What better position could Delta have with their guy be in this position at the Port of Seattle. This appears to be a classic conflict of interest case.

    1. If that attitude were widespread in the technology industry, we wouldn’t have one. More than a quarter of the computer engineers/software engineers work for multiple competitors within their working life. It’s EXPECTED. During the time they work for one company, they do what their job requires, and are vested in that company. When they leave and work for another company, competitor or not, they behave the same way…no matter the position or amount of power that they have. It’s business.
      You actually have no real evidence that Ken Rogers would, if elected to the Port Commission position he is seeking, be biased against Alaska Airlines just because he worked for Delta. And we have every evidence that we would, for the first time in years, have someone on the Port Commission that has some real experience in dealing with an airport, especially one that is just getting ready to deal with a higher than capacity density problem. There’s no reason to believe that Rogers wouldn’t put his all into working for the people of King County.
      Other than, perhaps, an old and dying attitude that employees must give their lives to one company only. That is NOT the modern world.

  6. I think that Mr Rogers should be disqualified. As a former member of Delta Airlines board of directors and as a pilot for Delta Airlines he has a vested interest in the success of Delta Airlines in Seattle and their stated objective of putting Alaska Airlines out of business. What better position could Delta have with their guy be in this position at the Port of Seattle. This appears to be a classic conflict of interest case.

    1. If that attitude were widespread in the technology industry, we wouldn’t have one. More than a quarter of the computer engineers/software engineers work for multiple competitors within their working life. It’s EXPECTED. During the time they work for one company, they do what their job requires, and are vested in that company. When they leave and work for another company, competitor or not, they behave the same way…no matter the position or amount of power that they have. It’s business.
      You actually have no real evidence that Ken Rogers would, if elected to the Port Commission position he is seeking, be biased against Alaska Airlines just because he worked for Delta. And we have every evidence that we would, for the first time in years, have someone on the Port Commission that has some real experience in dealing with an airport, especially one that is just getting ready to deal with a higher than capacity density problem. There’s no reason to believe that Rogers wouldn’t put his all into working for the people of King County.
      Other than, perhaps, an old and dying attitude that employees must give their lives to one company only. That is NOT the modern world.

  7. I think that Mr Rogers should be disqualified. As a former member of Delta Airlines board of directors and as a pilot for Delta Airlines he has a vested interest in the success of Delta Airlines in Seattle and their stated objective of putting Alaska Airlines out of business. What better position could Delta have with their guy be in this position at the Port of Seattle. This appears to be a classic conflict of interest case.

    1. If that attitude were widespread in the technology industry, we wouldn’t have one. More than a quarter of the computer engineers/software engineers work for multiple competitors within their working life. It’s EXPECTED. During the time they work for one company, they do what their job requires, and are vested in that company. When they leave and work for another company, competitor or not, they behave the same way…no matter the position or amount of power that they have. It’s business.
      You actually have no real evidence that Ken Rogers would, if elected to the Port Commission position he is seeking, be biased against Alaska Airlines just because he worked for Delta. And we have every evidence that we would, for the first time in years, have someone on the Port Commission that has some real experience in dealing with an airport, especially one that is just getting ready to deal with a higher than capacity density problem. There’s no reason to believe that Rogers wouldn’t put his all into working for the people of King County.
      Other than, perhaps, an old and dying attitude that employees must give their lives to one company only. That is NOT the modern world.

Comments are closed.