By Lindsay Peyton

While Ryan Calkins has long been involved in public service, his interest in running for office only surfaced recently. 

“I’ve volunteered for campaigns for a long time and have always been around politics,” he said. 

Last fall, Calkins dedicated his time to helping a congressional campaign. “That really sealed the deal for me,” he said. “Even the parts that aren’t so glamorous, I feel like I’d be good at and enjoy. I jumped in.”

When looking for a place to focus his political energy, Calkins settled on the Port of Seattle. 

He owned a business that relied on the port for import and distribution. He now serves as a business counselor for the nonprofit Ventures. He holds a master’s degree in international relations from Yale and earned his bachelor’s degree in religious studies at Willamette University. 

Calkins believes his experience with the Port has prepared him for the role of commissioner. He is running for Position 1 against incumbent John Creighton. 

By running for election, Calkins said he hopes to shake things up – and to challenge his opponent to be forward-thinking.

“I come from a progressive, Democratic background,” he said. “I want to see things change for the better at the Port – particularly when it comes to transparency, the environment and economic equity.”

He said that the Port is at an interesting crossroads. “On the seaport side, we’re struggling to generate demand,” he said. “On the airport side, we’re struggling to accommodate demand. We’ve got more people than we can accommodate with our infrastructure.”

Calkins said that all of the Port Commissioners will need to build a long-term vision to handle the growth at the airport – and push for more use of the seaport. 

“The mission of the Port of Seattle is to drive economic growth,” he said. “We should work at the base of the economic pyramid, helping those with the lowest income. When you put money in pockets of the poorest, you generate much more economic opportunity than when you put money in the pockets of the wealthiest – and that makes the most difference locally.”

Calkins is convinced that money will not “trickle down” if invested at the top of the pyramid. 

“They put their money in hedge funds in New York or in real estate somewhere else,” he said. “Communities in south King County have the most need for economic growth in the region.”

Calkins hopes to stimulate economic growth in a number of ways. He wants to foster the development of career and technical education at the Port. 

He said the Port could provide countless opportunities for industry training, internships and apprenticeships. 

“That’s a perfect job for government – to facilitate public-private partnerships,” he said. 

His top priority at the airport would be establishing an intermodal regional transportation plan, which would include encouraging passengers to use other forms of transportation in addition to the airport. 

Calkins also believes the seeds for high-speed rail should be planted today. “We have to make those decisions now,” he said. 

Finding a tenant for Terminal 5 is another high concern for the Port currently, Calkins said. 

Recently, he has met with residents in Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way and Beacon Hill to listen to complaints of noise from the airport. 

“You’re not elected to Port Commissioner to make easy decisions,” he said. “You become Port Commissioner to make hard decisions. The key is getting good information and using good judgment.”

And sometimes, Calkins said, changing perspective – and looking at things in a fresh way -- is essential. 

“It can be easy to get swept up with the stakeholders, and forget it’s the voters of King County who you work for,” he said. “But the voters of King County don’t want the status quo. We want the Port of Seattle to be the greatest and greenest in the country.”

Calkins said there are a number of progressive candidates running for the Port that could push the organization in the right direction. “We could get an incredibly pro-environment, pro-worker, pro-transparency slate of commissioners that could make changes that are essential,” he said. “It’s pretty exciting.”

Stacia Jenkins, chair of the 33rd District Democrats, has spoken with Calkins a number of times. 

She explained that the airport is right in the middle of the 33rd District Democrats’ area.

“We are really concerned about the negative impacts of the airport,” she said. “We want to accrue the positive impacts. We’re looking for a chance on the Port Commission.”

Jenkins said Calkins said the qualifications to take on the job. 

“We like his strong environmental position and his experience setting up micro-businesses,” she said. 

Jenkins said that his experience fits the 33rd District Democrats goal to encourage the Port to foster local businesses – and hire locally when contracting work. 

“He won our endorsement easily,” she said.