Rob Holland is an outstanding candidate for the Port. On the trail, he hypes the fact that he’d be the first African-American and the first gay person on the Port. Shrug. What we find convincing is his dynamite resume.
His work experience includes management jobs at the Port of Tacoma, Horizon Lines shipping, and Momentum Partners, a trade marketing company. Holland currently works directly with the Port as a biofuels salesman for green innovators, Seaport Petroleum and Biofuels.
He’s also a longtime community leader—he was the chair of the 37th District Democrats in Southeast Seattle—and a good government advocate, serving as a commissioner on the Campaign Public Financing Advisory Committee in 2008.
Holland’s pitch goes beyond cleaning up the Port’s environmental record. He wants to use the Port proactively, as an engine to create green-collar jobs. He suggests getting to work retrofitting the million square feet of Port buildings.
Additionally, he’s not shy about criticizing the Port’s current foray into real estate development, saying he wants to get back to the Port’s primary job—moving goods and supporting industrial jobs.
His donor list isn’t weighted with business or labor interests. Rather, he’s netting contributions from a range of civic activists—including an impressive $800 contribution from the environmentalists at the Washington Conservation Voters Action Fund.
Holland’s opponent, David Doud, is an eastside real estate broker who has gotten no organizational endorsements, other than the Eastside Business Alliance, the Seattle-King County Association of Realtors, and the Port’s big corporate client SSA Marine.
PubliCola picks Rob Holland.
