Coos Bay City Councilor Kevin Stufflebean on Tuesday criticized the manner in which Gov. Ted Kulongoski appointed new commissioners to the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay a week ago, saying too few local officials were contacted for input.

Stufflebean said he was frustrated by the process and added the governor's appointment process highlights the fact that the Bay Area still has had too small a voice in Salem.

"We've got people making decisions in Salem that impact the lives of people in Coos County and they don't seem to be working with the community leaders here," Stufflebean said. "Personally, my opinion is he showed a complete disregard for the locally-elected officials in Coos Bay, North Bend and our county commissioners by his lack of communicating."

On Dec. 9, Kulongoski announced that he would appoint five commissioners to the Port of Coos Bay and start the agency off with a new slate of officials. He already had decided to not re-appoint commissioners Ingvar Doessing and Jon Barton to the board when Commissioner Cheryl Scott resigned from her position.

Then, Kulongoski reportedly called at least two of the remaining commissioners, asking them to step down voluntarily. The governor's office did not provide any information about any applicants or who was being considered for the positions but he apparently had private discussions about replacements with several area residents.

In the end, Kulongoski appointed Bay Area residents Dave Kronsteiner, Brady Scott, Caddy McKeown, Dan Smith and Jerry Hampel to fill the positions.

"They're all good community leaders," Stufflebean said. "I (don't) have any criticism against any of the people he appointed. Then again, I don't even know what direction he's trying to go or why he based his decision on these people."

Stufflebean said he would not criticize the governor's decision to clear the port commission because, he said, he doesn't have any knowledge of why the decision was made. Kulongoski has said only that the makeup of the past port commission was not working, but has not provided any specifics about the direction in which he wants the port to move.

"Based on the people he selected, there's no clear direction to me in what avenue he's trying to pursue," Stufflebean said.

Stufflebean's comments came at the end of a short council meeting Tuesday night and he expressed a singular opinion among the group.

Council President Jeff McKeown said that while he agreed with Stufflebean that the Bay Area needs to have a stronger voice in Salem, he believes the governor did as much as he could to contact local officials about potential replacements.

"In this particular situation, the governor spent a lot of time talking" to the local community, McKeown said.

He added that his wife, Caddy McKeown, is among those who have taken a position on the port commission and said he was content with the manner in which the governor moved to appoint new commissioners.

"He did take an interest in the community," McKeown said, "and I was pleased with the interest he took."

Councilor Jon Eck echoed McKeown's comments and while Councilor Roger Gould said he didn't feel the entire port commission merited removal, he was pleased with the governor's appointments. Gould added that he disagreed with Stufflebean and that Kulongoski took his action with local input.

Gould, however, said that he didn't believe the Port of Coos Bay should continue to be under state oversight and that commissioners should be elected locally. Since Coos Bay is considered a state port, like the Port of Portland, the governor is statutorily required to appoint members of the commission.

"We are not like the Port of Portland," Gould said. "We are not an agency that can impact the state economy."

Echoing the governor's comments from a week ago, Gould said the statement from the state appears to be that the port needs to move in a more positive direction for economic development.

"My sense is that he wants a group that will take a good look at what economic improvements can be made," Gould said.

To Stufflebean, though, that leaves plenty of questions unanswered. He stressed that the specifics of the governor's decision and his final goal remain unclear and uncommunicated.

"What direction does he want to go?" Stufflebean asked. "Is that in cooperation with the city of Coos Bay, the city of North Bend and the county commissioners? What direction is he going? Is that working cooperatively with the local officials?"