Feb. 7, 2008 at 12:22am

Seattle Seeks Again to Merge With Port of Tacoma

Today, the former Port of Seattle Commissioner wrote a strong op-ed piece in the Seattle Times attempting to influence lawmakers to merge the troubled Port of Seattle with the increasingly successful Port of Tacoma.  Here, the former port commisions decry the competitive nature of the ports in "race to the bottom" type arguments:

Competition between the ports has served only to decrease each port's rental income and add costs for marketing and tenant inducements, which benefit shippers and terminal operators only and in no way increase our region's revenues, employment, cargo or trade.

(Question: would former Seattle Port Commissioners have requested a merge if Seattle was beating Tacoma's port?). 

The former Seattle Port Commissioners omit two important issues.  First, that the Port of Seattle is undergoing a ciminal investigation.  Second, that the decrease in the rental income is only for the Port of Seattle which has been losing business to the Port of Tacoma.

The opinion piece then makes a socialistic form of a plea for the ports to merge to stop the perceived tragedy  "competition" between them:

That said, the ports of Puget Sound will never be able to effectively compete until the existing self-defeating competition is brought to an end.

Commentary:

The Port of Tacoma is "meaningfully competing" thank you very much.

With that said, the invitation to end the "self-defeating competition" between Seattle and Tacoma is a good one.  I think the proposal by the former port commissioners should taken seriously so long as Seattle first, as a sign of good faith takes the following steps:

1) Takes back its share of felons they have placed in Tacoma.

2) Returns our law school they took from Tacoma in year 2000 so that Seattle and Tacoma each have one (that's fair isn't it?).



3) Split the number of office buildings being built between the two cities in the last 5 years.

4) Require Paul Allen to spilt the investment between Seattle and Tacoma.

Tacomans are a reasonable people and may consider accepting Seattle's offer to end such "self-defeating competition," but only in a comprehensive manner, not just the ones Seattle is losing in.