Unanimous Pick For New Head Of Port Of Seattle

The Seattle P-I reports that Tay Yoshitani, who will succeed Mic Dinsmore, "was the Port of Seattle Commission's unanimous choice from more than 70 possible candidates generated during a 6-month-long national search." Does this mean he'll help the Port understand that it's not got a monopoly, as Bill Virgin was saying the other day?

The Northwest Progressive Institute emphasizes his consultant/lobbyist credentials, without mentioning that what he's been doing for the last two years is working as Senior Adviser for the Coalition for Secure Ports. We like the idea of port security. He can lobby for that all he wants.

We'll introduce Yoshitani with the Oakland Trib column when he resigned as the executive director of Oakland's port:

At the time, it seemed Yoshitani was groomed specifically for the Oakland [Seattle] job. His background allowed him to relate to Oakland [Seattle]'s cultural diversity, and his job experience gave him instant credibility within the maritime trade and a business sense that helped him navigate the sometimes-turbulent political culture of the city, former and current port commissioners said.

Born in Japan, Yoshitani is a Vietnam War veteran. Before being hired by the port in 1998 as deputy executive director, Yoshitani had served as second in charge of the Port of Los Angeles and director of the Port of Baltimore. His graduate degree from the Harvard University School of Business helped Yoshitani in his quest to make the port more friendly to its neighbors, officials said.

"People with his array of experiences are very, very hard to find," said Phil Tagami, a former port commissioner who lobbied for Yoshitani's hiring when he was on the board. "He really cleaned up the port's bottom line."

In fact, Yoshitani molded and created a new theme for the port now found in almost every piece of literature the organization releases. It is based on the "Three E's:" environmental responsibility, social equity and economic stability. "What I brought to the table was a much greater emphasis on getting the organization to focus on the bottom line," Yoshitani said. "The hardest task of this job is that you have so many stake holders that have a vested interest ... it's a real balancing act."

It's probably worth noting that Yoshitani left the Oakland job to return to Baltimore with his family; his daughter has Down syndrome and he believed the programs and support there were best for her. So on top of everything else, he's a mensch. We're cautiously optimistic, which, where the Port's concerned, is completely unexplored ground for us.