2026 Primary: Meet the candidates for Port of Bellingham Commission District 5
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2026 Primary Election Coverage
A collection of articles introducing candidates for Whatcom County’s Aug. 4 primary election.
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Whatcom County voters will have the opportunity to choose between six candidates running for the Port of Bellingham Commission’s District 5 position in the Aug. 4 primary election.
It’s a newly added position — along with a District 4 position that’s also on the ballot — after Whatcom County residents voted overwhelmingly last year to approve an expansion of the Commission from three to five seats.
There are currently three non-partisan Port Commissioner positions that each represent a different district in Whatcom County. After voters approved the expansion, the district map was redrawn to align with the Whatcom County Council district map, although it is numbered differently.
The two candidates in each race who receive the most votes in the primary election will move forward to the Nov. 3 general election. The regular term for the new commissioners will begin Jan. 1.
The new commissioner receiving the highest number of votes in the general election will serve a three-year term, according to the Port’s website, and the other commissioner will serve a one-year term. The two new positions will be up for re-election in odd-numbered years.
Whatcom County elections officials were expected to mail ballots July 15.
Todd Lagestee
Candidate-provided bio:
Todd Lagestee is a retired firefighter who currently serves on the Whatcom County Board of Equalization (quasi-judicial county board hearing property valuation appeals) and the Whatcom County Ethics Commission. He also serves on a local credit union board of directors, where he holds a fiduciary responsibility for over $400 million of member assets. He previously served an interim appointment as a Whatcom Public Utility District Commissioner. Lagestee lives outside of Bellingham. He has been an elected local political party chair and also held an elected union office.
Why are you running for this position?
I am running to bring better efficiency and effectiveness to the Port of Bellingham. I seek to do this through increased transparency and implementation of a Port Public Development Authority that can utilize public funds to create local affordable housing projects.
What do you believe is the primary issue currently facing the Port?
Using public funds to benefit the local public is what the Port should focus on, using actual data. I believe my significant financial experience is exactly what the Port needs as it expands and looks to the future for the next 100 years of sustainable economic development.
Randall Wood
Candidate-provided bio:
Randall Wood is a commercial and marine electrician who works on ships, piers and other industrial sites. He is a member of the VFW.
Why are you running for this position?
I am running for Port Commissioner to bring practical leadership, accountability and a strong commitment to our community. As a Navy veteran with nine years of service, I understand discipline, teamwork and the importance of protecting critical infrastructure and public resources. My experience taught me how to lead under pressure and make decisions that put people first. As an electrician, I have spent my career working hands-on to keep systems running safely and efficiently. I understand the challenges facing working families, small businesses and skilled tradespeople because I live them every day.
What do you believe is the primary issue currently facing the Port?
I believe our port should create economic opportunity while maintaining transparency, fiscal responsibility, and long-term sustainability. I will work to strengthen jobs, support local industry, improve infrastructure, and ensure the port serves the entire community — not just special interests. I am ready to bring real-world experience, integrity, and a service-first mindset to the Port Commission.
Editor’s Note: This information was pulled from the candidate’s VoteWA Candidate Statement. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Spenser R. New
Candidate-provided bio:
Spenser R. New is a certified welder and fabricator, master builder and business owner/operator. He attended Mt. Baker High School and Bellingham Technical College. He has assisted in Eastern Whatcom County with clean-up and removal of debris after flooding events, helping our community stay safe in times of crisis.
Why are you running for this position?
As a construction business owner and someone who has worked in the blue-collar trades, I understand the importance of responsible budgeting, infrastructure investment, workforce development, and practical decision-making.
What do you believe is the primary issue currently facing the Port?
I want to bring that hands-on experience and accountability to the Port Commissioner of District 5 to help support family-wage jobs, economic opportunity, agriculture, and responsible industrial growth throughout East County and Whatcom County as a whole.
Editor’s Note: This information was pulled from the candidate’s VoteWA Candidate Statement. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Jerry Burns
Candidate-provided bio:
Jerry Burns was raised on a family farm in Stanwood. He is a doting uncle, a passionate proponent of liberty and a man of deep and abiding faith. His professional experience includes work on various family farms, in heavy industry in petroleum refineries and at Alcoa Intalco. He was also a medical detox counselor and a state-licensed counselor in both residential and outpatient settings for 14 years. He has honorably served in both the U.S. Coast Guard and Merchant Marines. He is a current Whatcom County Precinct Committee Officer for Precinct 148 and a board member of Friends of the North Fork Library.
Why are you running for this position?
I stand resolved to lead our port in becoming the economic dynamo that our residents need moving our county forward to prosper by preserving waterfront and airport industrial space, and as a first step work to torpedo the new waterfront hotel project that was reduced from a larger hotel with a convention center.
What do you believe is the primary issue currently facing the Port?
I will actively pursue expansion of port revenues, thus assuring economic vitality and move to clear all hurdles to bring Carnival Cruise Lines to our Port’s Fairhaven Terminal, thus boosting tourism revenue and increasing jobs while broadening and increasing robustness in our tax base. I will also work to ensure that the $18 million dollars Congressman Rick Larsen got dedicated to build a rail spur is used only for that purpose. I will lead our Port to bring municipal broadband Internet to Rural East County, providing our rural and small-town residents with the access they need to thrive, and to attract more maritime companies to use our Port and to expand industrial and light-industrial business space at our airport.
Editor’s Note: This information was pulled from the candidate’s VoteWA Candidate Statement. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Shawn Ensley
Candidate-provided bio:
Shawn Ensley, 48, lives in Deming. He has no prior political experience. He served 21 years in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, retiring in 2019, and currently works at BP Cherry Point as the instrumentation and electrical shop foreman.
Why are you running for this position?
I’m running for Port Commissioner because it’s an opportunity to serve the community I’ve lived in my whole life. I want to help strengthen living‑wage jobs, support the businesses that rely on our working waterfront and expand air travel options at Bellingham Airport.
What do you believe is the primary issue currently facing the Port?
The Port’s mission is to promote sustainable economic development, support our transportation gateways, and manage public assets responsibly. One of the primary issues facing the Port is staying focused on that mission while addressing aging infrastructure, supporting local industries, and planning for long‑term economic growth. Many people don’t realize how important the Port is to Whatcom County’s economy and transportation system, and I want to help bring more attention to that role. My background in airport operations, logistics, and infrastructure gives me a practical perspective on the day‑to‑day responsibilities of the Port and how to support its mission moving forward.
Chris Elder
Candidate-provided bio:
Chris Elder, 44, is a resident of Acme. He has been living in Whatcom County for 20 years (12 years in the South Fork Valley). He worked in agriculture, grocery, finance, food service, and education before being hired by Whatcom County Planning and Development Services, where he administered the farmland preservation program, served as the primary staff for long range natural resource planning for terrestrial wildlife, agriculture, and climate action, and also supported forestry and bicycle pedestrian planning. He moved over to Whatcom County Public Works where he served as the senior watershed management planner supporting water supply and watershed health planning as well as sea level rise and future riverine planning and forest resilience planning. He supported the preservation of roughly 1,000 acres of farmland and supported restoration of over 300 acres of critical watershed habitat and served as the lead staff for the County on the Stewart Mountain Community Forest effort. He currently works as the Farmland Preservation Program Manager for King County.
Why are you running for this position?
I’m excited to represent the Foothills and Rivers District and ensure the Port uses its economic development engine to invest in all of Whatcom County. In District 5 I hope to support investments in our agricultural and forestry industries, in our Nooksack Tribal communities and businesses, in our flood impacted communities of Sumas, Nooksack, Everson, Deming, and Acme, and to support the businesses that employ, feed, and house our neighbors. We need to steward and invest in our natural resources, improve trails and public access, build resilience to floods, fires, drought, and other natural hazards, and bring the Foothills and Rivers District to the table.
What do you believe is the primary issue currently facing the Port?
I’m excited to support the transition from three to five commissioners and continue the good work of preserving a working waterfront, enhancing public uses and access of the Waterfront, increasing trade at the shipping terminal and airport, and bolstering our local goods economy (think farm products, forest products, seafood, etc). The Port has the opportunity to really support the kind of economic growth that focuses on community and living wage jobs while stewarding our environment and natural resources.
