Elected Experience: None

Other Professional Experience: Currently, Director, Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER’s) Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR); Former Director of Security, Port of Tacoma; Former Director, King County Office of Emergency Management; Retired, U.S. Army Infantry Officer

Education: BA in Education from Concordia University; Emergency Management Professional Development Series Graduate; Graduate, Naval Post Graduate School’s Executive Leadership Program

Community Service: Past President, WA State Emergency Management Association; Advisory Board Member, UW Master’s Degree in Infrastructure Planning and Management; Former Pierce County Board Member Mount Rainier Chapter of the American Red Cross; Former King County Crisis Clinic Board Member; Member, Tacoma Propeller Club

Statement: Eric Holdeman is an expert in port safety and security, a small business owner and veteran of the U.S. Army. He is a nationally recognized expert in disaster preparedness. He is also the Director of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region’s (PNWER) Center for Regional Disaster Resilience, working to protect the economic and environmental well-being of the Northwest.

Eric supports a “back to basics” approach to port management: careful budgeting practices and better-planned expansions to the port, which must be done in coordination with other Northwest Seaport Alliance members. He recognizes that our land, water, and air are precious and need to be protected. We do this by working in coordination with the broader community and ensuring that there are checks and balances as we work to create well-paying jobs and a healthy port.

Eric will make transparency at the Port a reality and a policy he will champion. Eric is calling for term limits for Port Commissioners. Help Eric bring strong, ethical leadership to the Port of Tacoma.

Eric and his wife Mary have two grown children and four grandchildren. The couple has lived in Puyallup for 29 years and attend Our Savior Lutheran Church.