Fisken concedes Seattle port commission race

Fisken concedes Seattle port commission race Port of Seattle incumbent Commissioner Alec Fisken on Monday conceded his tightly fought election for a second term to challenger Bill Bryant.
   Despite handily beating Bryant by 18 percentage points in an August primary, Bryant raised slightly more than $275,000 to oppose Fisken in the general election two weeks ago.
   Fisken, a policy analyst for the city of Seattle, managed to raise more than $150,000 for his campaign, but trailed Bryant throughout the general election. Fisken remained 3,451 votes behind Bryant on Monday with roughly 3,700 ballots left to count.
   During his one term Fisken, 59, pushed for numerous changes in the way the port operates including eliminating the port's property tax levy and increasing charges to shippers for using port facilities. Both measures failed. He was also a vocal critic of the port’s closed-door meeting policy.
   Throughout the race, Bryant portrayed Fisken's tenure on the board as divisive and unproductive.
   Bryant, 47, chairman of agricultural exporter lobbying firm Bryant Christie, will take his seat on the commission in January.
   In the other port commission race on the ballot, challenger Gael Tarleton edged incumbent commissioner Bob Edwards, 53.8 percent to 45.8 percent.
   The state Canvassing Board is set to convene on Nov. 27 to certify the election results.