Submitted by The Port of Olympia
Port Commissioners George Barner and Bill McGregor appointed Michelle Morris to the vacant District 3 Commission seat at their June 10 meeting.
Of the eight applicants for the appointment, the Commission first narrowed the field to the four who are not running in the election to fill Sue Gunn’s unexpired term. They agreed that the voters should make the choice in that election, and that their appointment of a candidate could give that person an unfair “leg up” as an incumbent.
Morris is a principal in Sound Resource Management Group, Inc., Olympia. Previously she served as executive director of Sustainable South Sound, founder/director of Thurston County Critical Areas Ordinance Coalition, founder/director of Concerned Citizens of Thurston County and information analyst/global code of conduct for Levi Strauss & Co., San Francisco. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Finance and a Masters in Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College.
The four applicants who sought only the temporary appointment are Fred Finn, Michelle Morris, Dick Pust and George Sharp. The four running in the election to fill the unexpired term are Jerry Farmer, Larry Goodman, Bob Jones and E. J. Zita.
All eight applications are available at http://www.portolympia.com/89/Commission under Commissioner District 3 Vacancy.
Sue Gunn resigned April 1, 2015, due to personal health matters. By law, the Port Commission has 90 days to appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy. If the Commission failed to make a timely appointment, the responsibility for appointment would go to the Thurston County Commission.
