Port of Pasco commissioners have nominated farmer Hans Engelke of Mesa to fill the seat vacated after the retirement of long-serving Commissioner Jim Klindworth.

The position represents the northern reaches of the Port of Pasco.

Commissioners Jean Ryckman and Vicki Gordon selected Engelke during the commissioner’s regular Jan. 8 meeting after interviewing seven community members with a variety of professional experience who threw their hats into the ring to represent District 3.

Gordon said Engelke was selected for several factors, such as living in the more rural portion of the district, having a strong background in agriculture and experience in working with state and federal lawmakers.

The commissioners praised all the candidates who sought the position.

“It was a little bit of a tough decision,” Ryckman said.

Engelke’s nomination opens a 15-day window for registered voters of District 3 to submit other nominations for board consideration. Unless there are additional nominations and the board decides to interview them, Engelke is expected to be formally seated at the Jan. 29 regular port commissioner meeting.

Klindworth served as a commissioner for 37 years after first being elected to the position in 1987. During his tenure as a commissioner, the port grew from $31.5 million in assets in 1987 to $246.3 million as of 2023, according to a recent port newsletter.

Klindworth served for decades in elected positions, including 16 years on the Connell City Council, starting in 1967, six years as Connell mayor and two years on the Franklin County Cemetery District No. 2.

Engelke is a German immigrant who established JTE Farms in Mesa in 1984, where he grows row crops and sweet cherries. He ran for Franklin County commissioner in 2006 and 2010 against Rick Miller and has served on the Franklin County Farm Service Agency Committee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He has said he was an officer of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) prior to his immigration.

Ryckman and Gordon interviewed six other candidates for the position:

• Jim Arneson, an executive with Community First Bank.
• Kellee Balcom, a philanthropist and small business owner.
• Tanya Bowers, a former Pacific Northwest National Laboratory manager and community organizer.
• Bevon Davis, president of the Greater Connell Area Chamber of Commerce and a small business owner.
• James Gimenez, an employee of Hanford Mission Integration Solutions and a small business owner.
• Tiffany Scott-Alviso, a workforce expert and small business owner.

Along with Engelke, Balcom, Gimenez and Scott-Alviso have ties to or live in the rural northern parts of District 3.

The new appointed District 3 commissioner seat will have to stand for re-election in November to complete the remainder of Klindworth’s term and then run again in 2027 to be elected to a full six-year term.

Port commissioners earn a base salary of $1,500 a month, $161 per meeting, up to 96 meetings a year, and may be eligible for state Department of Retirement Systems participation as well as port-paid medical benefits, among other benefits.

The new port commissioner won’t be the only leadership change at the port in the coming weeks.

Commissioners were scheduled to conduct interviews for the port’s next executive director on Jan. 14. Current Executive Director Randy Hayden announced in spring 2024 that he would retire in March 2025.