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Letter to the editor

Port authority board to gain two members

Amid some late lobbying, Gov. Jeb Bush signs a bill that adds members with "maritime industry experience."

By STEVE HUETTEL
Published June 11, 2005

TAMPA - By year's end, the Tampa Port Authority board will include people who know the shipping business firsthand.

Gov. Jeb Bush signed into law Friday a bill that adds two members with "maritime industry experience" to the governing board of the agency that oversees public land at Tampa's port.

It was a victory for traditional shipping-related companies that argued port commissioners didn't understand their businesses. That led to decisions that favored real estate developers over maritime industries, they said.

The proposal sailed through the House and Senate in unanimous votes but ended with a flurry of behind-the-scenes lobbying.

Bill sponsor Rep. Ed Homan, R-Temple Terrace, wrote Bush last week that there was "a mounting effort by some politically "connected' people to urge you to veto the bill."

He enlisted Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, to call Bush in support of the bill Friday afternoon.

The five-member port board didn't take a position. But chairman Gladstone "Tony" Cooper wrote to Bush aides that putting maritime professionals on the board created potential conflicts of interest and "a number of board members" did not support the bill.

Leaders of groups that pushed for the legislation were elated by Bush's decision Friday, saying the new members would balance out board members who prefer condos and warehouses to the gritty businesses that built the port.

Trade with Latin America is expected to triple in the next 20 years and the port won't be able to take advantage if it keeps losing prime waterfront land to developers, said Tad Humphreys, incoming president of the Propeller Club of Tampa.

"We're expecting these (new) people to put maritime interests ahead of real estate users," said Humphreys, president of International Ship Repair & Marine Services at the port.

The port board consists of three members appointed by the governor and two elected officials: the mayor of Tampa and a Hillsborough County commissioner. None receive a salary from the port authority.

After the law takes effect Oct. 1, Bush has 90 days to appoint two port commissioners recommended by a nominating committee selected by the Propeller Club and the Port of Tampa Maritime Industries Association.

Those commissioners must have a "maritime industry background." That could include experience in shipping, ship repair and building, port management, maritime law or international trade.

Opponents of the bill said industry executives serving on the board would repeatedly face conflicts of interest. The board regularly votes on land leases for tenants and fees for ships using public docks.

On Friday, Cooper said he pointed that out in response a question from the governor's staff about whether the port authority supported the legislation.

Staffers also asked if the agency believed a maritime background is needed for some members of the port board.

"Certainly strong business acumen and strong governmental expertise and insight are needed but a maritime background is not a required skill," Cooper wrote in a document released by the governor's office.

The owner of a apartment development and management firm, Cooper said he was simply expressing his opinion. "There's not a right answer or a wrong answer," he said. "You can debate it."

Al Austin, chairman of state Republican Party's finance committee, also weighed in against the bill.

Port director Richard Wainio and former interim port director Bill Starkey expressed concerns to him, Austin said Friday, and he mentioned them to Bush.

"They indicated to me they didn't feel too comfortable with the idea . . . and I told the governor these guys are pretty credible," Austin said.

Homan and bill supporters rallied support, too. They got port businesses to send e-mails and urged legislators to call the governor's office.

"I know some developers . . . say the downtown is expanding and say, "What can we do to get the port out of here? This is waterfront property,' " Homan said.

"But the port is an economic engine for the whole region."

Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or 813 226-3384.

[Last modified June 11, 2005, 00:25:17]