by Kent Warner Palosaari

Most people aren’t paying much attention to the Port of Seattle commissioner race, but as a father of a spunky 6 year-old girl who lives a half mile from Seatac International Airport, I have to.

For many, the role of a Port commissioner is to manage the business of the Port so that it can make billions of dollars for the Seattle area and be a major engine of commerce. I’m all for economic growth. The airport has grown from the 14th busiest to the 9th busiest -- just in the last 11 years that I have lived in SeaTac.

But as a loving parent, I’m more concerned about the health impact that the airport has on my child, and I’m looking for commissioners who put children’s health first and foremost in the decisions they make.

In the last year, I have read dozens of articles and studies that describe a horrific future for my daughter. I have talked with life-long residents of the airport communities, like those in the Flight Pattern Kids. There are people in their 40s and 50s who have the health of people in their 70s and 80s. They tell me that if I continue living next to the airport, there is a great chance that my daughter’s lifespan will be significantly shortened, that she will have a greater likelihood of respiratory diseases, cancers, autoimmune diseases and heart disease. These stories have kept me up crying in despair and hating myself for being so stupid to raise my child next to an airport.

Rather than sitting in a place of victimization, my daughter and I have met with government officials, Port officials, testified at the Seatac and Burien City Halls, as well as in Olympia, and at the Port.

My daughter is the youngest person on record to testify at the Port of Seattle. She said, “No” to them cutting down trees, especially when we found out from the Port that it would take 15 years to replace their emission sucking benefits.

This is my constant theme with the Port. They have expressed concern for the impact that they have on children’s health, but most of their solutions, such as another regional airport, bullet trains, or biofuels, will take years to implement. As a father, I need action now -- because my daughter’s life may depend on it.

With that in mind, I helped create a candidates debate about a month a go at Highline College. At that event, all the candidates expressed concern for the negative effects that the airport had on local communities and children’s health. Afterwards, I told them my daughter and I would be creating follow-up questions specifically around children’s health issues.

All the candidates expressed interest when I talked with them. However, when I sent out invites to meet, candidates Creighton, Bowman and Steinbrueck didn’t get back to me.

Candidates Calkins, Abdi and Sridhar all made appointments to meet. When speaking to the candidates, how they interacted with my daughter was just as important as what they said.

Candidate Shridhar was the first to arrive. She was very gracious towards my daughter Mira and seemed genuinely interested as Mira showed her around the garden. She was respectful of my daughter’s questions that included, “What will you do to make the world a better place?” and “Why do you need to cut down the trees?”

Ms. Shridhar said all the right things. She expressed concern for my daughter, but it was the fact that she came down from Woodinville, just for the interview, and stayed a half hour longer than what was scheduled, that really struck a chord with me. She talked about the importance of community engagement, but more importantly, demonstrated it, proving that she was willing to go the extra mile for my child and all children.

Candidate Calkins had to cancel last minute because of a family emergency, and had to take care of his kids. Even though I didn’t see how he treated my daughter, to me it still showed that he put family first, which was impressive.

Candidate Abdi blew me away as a person and as a father. He was very gracious towards my daughter. Just before we were to film the interview, my daughter, who was climbing a small tree, started screaming. We rushed over and found that she had been stung by a wasp. I got her down and comforted her and had her stick her hand in the water to help cool off the sting.

Ahmed put his hand on her back and gently blew on her wrist where she had been stung, while praying for her. She calmed down and the interview commenced.

I discovered that Ahmed had lived in refugee camp before coming to America and had become politically involved as a community organizer, just like my hero Barack. He has a daughter six months younger than my daughter, and he had treated my daughter like she was his own.

Maybe we don't need candidates that truly care. Maybe we need lawyers in office to protect them from impending lawsuits or business people who can make as much money as possible.

The candidates who didn't reply to my invitation were smart politicians in not worrying about a father's endorsement. However, I believe that the communities and children of the airport need a commissioner who cares. I understand that candidates have to be selective about who they give their time to, but the fact that candidates Abdi, Shridhar, and Calkins were willing to care about an average citizen’s concerns, means a lot to me.

I know my endorsement doesn’t matter as much as an organizations, a paper, a union or other people in power. But those candidates have my endorsement, for what it’s worth. I need a commissioner who cares about my child as if they were their own, the community as if they were their community, and all people's health and well-being as more important than their political future.

An update from Kent -- After the article went on line, Commissioner Creighton reached out to me expressing regrets that he hadn't seen my email invite. He came down to meet with me, even though it was, too late for the article, but because he really valued my opinions. We talked about how the Port needs to have good relationships with the community members, and I was impressed with his effort to do so with me.