Hullwork - November, 2025

Hullwork - November, 2025

Hullwork is a monthly digest from the Coalition's Executive Director on the work that goes on 'beneath the waterline'  of our programming to maintain it, and keep it all afloat.

Fresh planking along the hull of a ship in Seaview North Shipyard. Work completed by Dave Hartford. Photo: Dan Tucker

Hullwork – November, 2025

October saw us attending several events to promote our Coalition, as well as participate in important conversations both at the county level, but also state, national, and international levels.  Our staff worked to prepare for several key meetings, stakeholder engagement on upcoming legislation, and some upcoming events for November and December.
 
We’ve also tracked and seen the tallies of the election results from this week. The Port of Bellingham will be moving to five commissioners. This means that coming up soon, the Port will be required to disclose at a public meeting their proposal for district lines to be draw to include five districts. See below a few bullet points to help better understand the transition:

• The plan is to mimic county districts as they currently are.
• There is no County code that allows the Port to simply adopt the County-drawn districts, forcing them to draw those same districts from scratch, through the districting process. The desire is to have the Port districts match the County districts as closely as possible.
• The Port will submit those districts for public review, and comments will be heard on them
• The redistricting plan will need to be submitted by January 1^st, 2026.         
• Aug. 4^th will be the primary date for new candidates of new districts 4 & 5.
• In order to stagger the new commissioners into the term-rotation: Of districts 4 & 5, the commissioner who is elected for them that receives the most votes between those two districts, will serve a 3 year term, while the other commissioner will serve a 1-year term.
• For example, Commissioner of District 4 was elected in the general election with a tally of 100 votes, and the commissioner of District 5 received 90 votes in that same election to win their district. Since the District 4 commissioner received the most votes between them, they will serve a 3-year term, while the District 5 commissioner will serve a 1-year term, and then all commissioners will move to a 3-year term with the terms properly staggered.)
• District 4 & 5 Commissioners will be elected during the General Election on November 3, 2026. They will take office immediately after the election is certified.
• *IMPORTANT* - Commissioners who are currently already elected for districts 1, 2, and 3 will remain the representative of their districts, regardless how the borders shift in redistricting, through their current term. 
• When those terms are up, if they reside outside the district borders, they will need to run for the district they now reside in.

There is more information on the re-districting process via the Port’s website:
www.portofbellingham.com/redistricting

Highlights from the month of October:

1. We hosted our Port Commissioner Candidate Forum, helping community members connect to our commissioners. (We’ll be planning another one this coming year for our new district commissioners).
2. We attended Blaine Oysterfest, having conversations and representing our Coalition to our northern communities.
3. We attended the Leaders of Industry forum hosted by the Whatcom Business Alliance, as an invited guest.
4. We were invited by the Port of Bellingham to participate in a work-study conference for a day, regarding the Fairhaven Shipyard clean up and future visioning. At the meeting, with Commissioners, Port Staff, and other stakeholders present, we helped share the vision of a working waterfront for Fairhaven’s industrial plots.
5. We had meetings with County Council members, state legislators, and other organizations around Whatcom regarding an upcoming legislative effort at the state and county level, to make sure that our maritime and industrial lands are considered in developing areas, and during real property transactions. Look for more information on this effort soon as we move forward and get the final pieces in place.
6. Finally – we attended One-Ocean Week in Seattle, hosted by Washington Maritime Blue, and we collaborated and were listed as a partner with the Port of Seattle’s ‘Working Waterfront Day’, with discussions that focused the future of maritime trades and waterfront development.
7. We also participated by hosting a keynote speech, as well as being on a panel about our working waterfronts and their vital importance in the future of our region – putting our Coalition, and the work that you, our members, make possible, in the spotlight.
8. We met with community members who are opposed to commercial shipping in what are somewhat regular occurrences for our staff.
9. *Director's note: These are some of the most important chats we have, and I consider them a core reason we have a physical office. As a face of our working waterfronts, we often get inquiries and requests from the community to visit us at our offices as well as drop-in visits from passersby, to discuss what they feel is best for the waterfront. During these visits, we have raw conversations on their concerns, the needs of our maritime trades, the impacts, and how the web of our maritime industry is woven together into the net of economic impact and community pride. These visits are educational and positive for those those who come to chat with us, and where we see oppositional stances to maritime trades activity, we often see people leave these in-person drop-ins shaking our hands and better understanding the maritime trades, what they do, and who we are, as a Coalition. I enjoy these conversations for their candid nature, and they allow us to reach into parts of the community through those who take what they learn with them to their networks and connections.
10. We also invite our members to do the same!  Drop by, or call and schedule a time with us, as we want to keep up with all that you're doing, tracking, and concerned about on our waterfronts. Reach out to staff at Dant@whatcomworkingwaterfront.org or call us at 360-255-0447, ext 2.

Upcoming events:
We have several upcoming events that we hope to see our members at: 

1. Quarter 4 Board of Directors Meeting – Dec 10, 3:00pm, 708 Coho Way
2. Deep Blue Drinks Members’ Holiday Social – Dec 10, 5:30pm, 708 Coho Way
   (following our 4^th Quarter board meeting, which members are welcome to attend)
3. Holiday Harbor Happy Hour with the Waterfront Foundation – Dec 17, 5:30pm, Squalicum Boathouse
4. Blue Drinks Q4 Meet-up – Dec 29^th, 5:30pm, Stones Throw Brewery in Fairhaven (This is a Stones’ Throw Brewery ‘Good Neighbor Night’ donation event to the Coalition – come out, have a drink, and support your waterfronts doing it!)

Annual Member Meeting

Our annual membership meeting is approaching in January at the Squalicum Boathouse. This meeting is the most important meeting we do each year, where our membership comes out to hear about what we’ve been up to, as well as to share concerns, wishes, and directions of the Coalition for the next year. Stay tuned as we finalize the date and get more information out about it.

Board members are also elected at these meetings by all voting maritime members, so we ask that every member make time to come out that evening and participate in steering and providing input into your Coalition’s goals. We hope to see you there.

Mark your Calendars – Tide to Table is April 25^th

Our annual fundraiser date is set for April 25^th, Saturday, and we hope to see you all there for our annual fundraiser dinner. Like our Annual Membership Meeting, this is an important event for the Coalition, as it marks a large portion of our operational budget each year. Mark your calendars, and get ready for good seafood, friends, fun, and supporting our working waterfronts as we continue to grow our influence, advocacy, and network. 

Dan Tucker
Executive Director
Whatcom Working Waterfront Coalition