PORT ANGELES — Bob McChesney, executive director of the Port of Port Angeles since 2004, has been offered the top job by the Port of Edmonds.

Retiring Edmonds executive director Chris Keuss said commissioners there interviewed the final three candidates on Friday and made a decision at that time to offer the job to McChesney.

The port had previously said commissioners might decide on a new leader at a meeting on Monday, but that meeting was canceled when the decision was made on Friday.

The minutes to the meetings had not yet been posted on the port’s Web site.

McChesney said he has not formally accepted.

“It is something that I would say is still under discussion,” he said.

“I don’t feel comfortable making any comment.”

Port of Port Angeles Commission President John Calhoun said he spoke with McChesney on Monday morning.

“The outcome of their negotiations appear to be uncertain at this point,” Calhoun said.

“I am still hopeful that we have enough things of interest going on here to keep him.”

The other two candidates for the job were Grant Dull, executive director of the Lynnwood Public Facilities District, and Steve Burkett, former city manager of Shoreline.

“We have five port commissioners, and they are the ones that make that decision,” Keuss said.

“But I think they felt — what they talked about during the review process anyway — was that his background in the port industry was important.

“The other two really didn’t have that type of background, and that was one of the things they really liked about Mr. McChesney.”

Keuss said the commissioners would work on negotiating a contract with McChesney and that ratification of a contract was set for April 13 at the 7 p.m. meeting.

McChesney declined to comment on why he applied for the job.

Both he and Calhoun declined to say whether last year’s firing and rehiring of David Hagiwara had anything to do with the job search.

Calhoun voted against Hagiwara’s firing on Sept. 22, which was approved by a 2-1 vote.

The commissioners temporarily suspended McChesney’s hiring and firing authority so that they could enact the immediate firing and permanently remove the job at the same time.

Not speculating

Commissioner Jim McEntire said he wouldn’t speculate to McChesney’s reasons for applying for a new job.

“People can make speculations on all sorts of things,” he said.

“I would defer to Bob on that.

“But you know, it is a free country and people can stay at a job or seek a new one — that is their prerogative.”

McEntire said he hadn’t heard that McChesney had been offered the job.

“It doesn’t surprise me with all of his experience and talents,” he said.

“He’s just that kind of guy.”

McChesney earns about $123,000 at his current post.

He moved to Port Angeles from the Port of Everett, where he was the director of properties and development.

Neither Port of Port Angeles Commissioner George Schoenfeldt nor Port of Edmonds Commission President Bruce Faires returned calls for comment.

__________

Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.