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Ensure Port of Portland Hires Director Who Values Environment and Community

The Port of Portland is seeking a new Executive Director.This is a really important opportunity to get new leadership at the Port that is more responsive to community values. The Port has consistently been on the wrong side of local conservation and environmental justice issues, including recent fights over Superfund, West Hayden Island, and the Portland fossil fuel infrastructure ban. Too often, it has led the fight on behalf of corporate interests and forgotten its role as a public agency.

The search firm that is overseeing the search is seeking comments on the job description for the new Port Director. We are using this opportunity to not only comment on the job description but also to send a broader message about what we want in a new Port Director and how we want them to conduct the search. This is an important opportunity to improve an agency that is critical to the health of our environment, our communities, and our economy.

Please take action and submit comments by January 27 using the key messages below. Comments can be submitted here.

Key messages:

  1. The search process should be open, transparent, and inclusive. There should be real community representation on the search committee and the community should have a chance to meet and give input on the finalists.
  2. The new Port Director should have a proven track record building strong relationships with local communities and neighborhoods.
  3. The new Port Director should have a strong track record of leadership on environmental issues and should be committed to supporting Portland’s ban on new fossil fuel terminals and making the Port a leader in sustainable energy technologies.
  4. The new Port Director should be committed to protecting and restoring the Portland reaches of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, including taking a strong leadership role in cleaning up the Portland Harbor Superfund area, cleaning up brownfields, and restoring habitat.
  5. The new Port Director should have a proven track record on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and should be able to articulate a vision for how the Port will promote DEI in its hiring, operations, tenants and its interactions with the surrounding community.

Comments are due by January 27. It only takes a few minutes to do it online. Bird Alliance of Oregon intends to stay actively involved in this hiring effort and to push the Port Commission and the Governor to bring real progressive leadership to the Port of Portland. To see a recent article on the hiring, click here.

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