John McCarthy - Port Districts Representative

For a total of 13 years, John McCarthy has served as a Port of Tacoma Commissioner. He first served from 1983-1992, and currently since 2018. He recently served for four years on the Tacoma Subarea Plan for the Tideflats and he now serves on the Pierce County Economic Development Board and as an advisory board member to the Center for Urban Waters Board of the University of Washington.

Commissioner McCarthy was the first member of the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound to be selected to their Alumni Hall of Fame, and he continues to volunteer at Mount Rainier National Park and to officiate high school football.

A former Pierce County District and Superior Court judge for more than 22 years, the Commissioner recently retired from the bench. He also worked as a longshoreman for ten years. He has been a member of the Washington State Bar Association since 1975 and is an honorary life member of the Washington Public Ports Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree in science, with a minor in Mathematics from Seattle University, as well as a law degree from the University of San Francisco.