— by Minor Lile, Orcas Issues Reporter —

At the conclusion of the January 23 Port Commission meeting, Dwight Guss gave one day’s notice and announced that he was resigning from his position as acting airport manager for personal reasons. Guss became acting manager in February 2019. Immediately prior to that he had served as a Port Commissioner.

He announced his decision following an executive session during which the Port Commissioners significantly limited the ongoing role of former airport manager Tony Simpson. Simpson has been under contract with the airport for six hours a week since he left the airport manager’s position in early 2019.

One of Simpson’s key responsibilities has been to provide support for ongoing work on the controversial airport master plan. In addition to removing this responsibility from Simpson, the Commissioners also took away several other responsibilities, including providing training for current and future employees at the airport. At the January 9 Commission meeting, Guss had emphasized several times that he felt it was important to keep Simpson in place to train the new airport manager when that person begins work.

Guss’s surprise announcement leaves the airport without a manager, at least temporarily.

As the meeting came to an end, it was unclear what next steps the Commission would take to assure ongoing operational coverage at the airport. With three of five commissioners having been in office for less than a month, it is apparent that the changes presaged by the November 2019 election results are beginning to occur.

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