By Leyna Krow, Assistant Editor, JTNews
Fred Taucher speaks the language of international business. Literally. Not only is he fluent in both Japanese and German, Taucher boasts several decades’ worth of experience working with foreign corporations as a former employee for the European Space Administration and Canon Camera in Japan, and as a member of the Advisory Board Trade Development Alliance and the Washington-China
Relations Committee.
“None of the [current] port commissioners have that kind of experience,” he said. “None of them know how to get business to Everett.”
That’s why he’s applying for the job. Taucher, who will be 77 in January, is one of five candidates running for the District 2 position of commissioner for the Port of Everett.
Taucher ran before for port commissioner in 2005 and lost.
“That was my first time running for any political office. It’s very rare to win your first time,” he said. “I think my chances are a little better now.”
If elected, Taucher said he hopes to make changes to both the kind of business the port does and the way the port is run.
Currently, the Port of Everett has three commissioners who each serve six-year terms. Taucher would like to see instead five commissioners serving for four years each for the sake of expanding the diversity of opinion on the commission and increasing the amount of thought and discussion that goes into port decisions.
As for the port itself, Taucher said he would focus heavily on developing foreign business partners for the Port of Everett.
“For instance, right now automobiles coming from Asia are going to Tacoma or Portland rather than Everett,” he said. “There’s no reason for that.”
Taucher said he hopes to foster relationships with automobile manufacturers in Japan as well as China, which he expects will begin selling cars to the U.S. in the coming years.
Focusing the Port of Everett’s attention on automobile shipping will have an added benefit for Everett residents as well by decreasing the need for unsightly cranes along the Everett waterfront.
“Most cars come from the factory with enough gas in the tank to be driven on and off the ships,” he explained.
Taucher said that he has been attending community meetings to introduce himself to people in Everett and explain his goals for the port. Campaigning for port commissioner is particularly challenging however, he said, because it’s not a position most people know a lot about.
“I try to talk about why I want to be port commissioner, and then afterwards people come up to me and ask what a port commissioner does,” Taucher lamented.
Taucher admits that he may not have much in the way of political experience, but likes to think that he makes up for it with life experience. Well past the age most people choose to retire, he still serves as chairman for Corporate Computer, Inc., which he founded in the 1980s. Taucher is a U.S. military veteran who served during the Korean War. He has traveled extensively and is a martial arts black belt, claiming expertise in Judo and karate.
Yet his childhood was far different from most of his contemporaries: Taucher spent his early years hiding from the Nazis in Berlin during World War II. Born the same year Hitler came to power in Germany, Taucher’s survival to adulthood hinged on luck and personal connections. He and his brother were sheltered and given fake ID cards by a pair of German women who were friendly with Taucher’s parents. The siblings were the only members of their family to survive the war.
Today, Taucher volunteers as a speaker for the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center, telling his story at local schools. He also recently returned to Berlin to participate in a documentary being made about Jewish children hidden during the war.
Taucher is a member of Temple Beth Or. He lives with his wife in Everett.