Todd Shipyards joins call for feds to reconsider NOAA move

Under the hottest-day-of-the-year-so-far sun, in Herrings House Park on the Duwamish River shore, the citywide media came to West Seattle to see a ceremonial letter-signing by Mayor Mike McGinn, U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, City Councilmembers Jean Godden and Nick Licata, Harbor Island-based Todd Pacific Shipyards‘ Adm. (retired) John Lockwood, and King County Labor Council‘s Dave Freiboth. The letter (read it here) asks Commerce Secretary (and ex-Washington governor) Gary Locke to reopen the process that resulted in NOAA moving ships from Seattle to Newport, Oregon. Adm. Lockwood had the most fiery rhetoric – calling the move “bureaucratic arrogance” among other things:

The shortest speech – Councilmember Godden, who chairs the council’s Budget Committee, kept it to 30 seconds, ending with a vow:

A little cold water was thrown on the proceedings when a reporter told the mayor during Q/A that he’d just received a statement from Commerce reiterating they have no intention of reopening the process, but the mayor reiterated in turn that “it’s not over.” More shortly; the reason they chose Herrings House is that Federal Center South, right across the Duwamish, is considered to be a prime spot if NOAA did reconsider and stay in Seattle. (added) Here’s the official news release about the event.

6 Replies to "Todd Shipyards joins call for feds to reconsider NOAA move"

  • sa July 8, 2010 (12:44 pm)

    McGinn is wearing a tie on a 90 degree day! Definitely trying to look mayoral for the photo

  • Forest July 8, 2010 (2:10 pm)

    For newer residents who might not know, it’s worth noting that Gary Locke was King County Executive before he became WA State Governor and (now) U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

  • LAintheJunction July 8, 2010 (6:53 pm)

    Where were these folks before the decision was made in August 2009? It’s great that they’re trying to reverse it now, but it’s pretty clear there was a lot of time to weigh in before the DOC made the initial call. (Granted, McGinn wasn’t in office yet. But many of the others were.)

    I think our politicians just assumed that we’d get the bid and pretty much phoned it in back then…and now they’re scrambling because another port outbid and outclassed us. Pretty embarrassing that Newport got the drop on Seattle. And I’m also pretty grumpy that some friends are being reassigned out of the area. Boo.

  • Gee S July 8, 2010 (9:33 pm)

    Hmmmmm …. payback for boycotting Arizona maybe???? How’s the shoe on the other foot??

  • Neal Chism July 8, 2010 (10:02 pm)

    So big white ships turn out to be pretty easy things to relocate, who would’a thunk it……

  • John QP July 9, 2010 (12:09 pm)

    Why now is all this coming up? If the Duwamish and other sites were such great ideas, why weren’t they proposed earlier? If the contest had such obvious flaws why didn’t these same politicians scream blood murder then? What changed?
    .
    Oh, right, an Oregon port won. Well that’s obviously a flawed choice, we must have a redo!
    .
    Give me a break. The more this decision is reveiwed, the more it looks like a good one. Even the IG report that was waved in the fists of these guys the other day, that same report concludes that even if the process issues identified hadn’t existed, Newport in all likelihood STILL would have won.
    .
    The time to complain is not after you’ve lost a competition that you willingly entered and promoted. No, instead its time to move on — NOAA to the best and least cost option, Newport, and the politicians to real issues.

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