Thursday is the last day to file to run for the proposed Port of Bainbridge Island.

The November ballot will let Bainbridge voters decide whether to create the new taxing district. At the same time, voters will chose the port district’s first batch of commissioners. If the port measure fails, the commission candidates will have to seek work/public service elsewhere.

There are five commissioner spots. Candidates won’t campaign directly against each other. The top five vote-getters in the race will serve on the commission if the port measure passes.

County elections officials decided on a very short filing period. It began on Tuesday and ends on Thursday at 5 p.m. So if you want to run (there is no filing fee, by the way), toss your hat in the ring here.

Port backers say they’re scrambling to find people to run. When I wrote about this issue last week, only four names were being floated as possible candidates. Most were associated with the city harbor commission and/or island yacht clubs.

The port district may have a broad reach, touching on marine environmental issues, the liveaboard community, pubic road ends, tourism, public docks and boat haul-out facilities. Some nearby port districts even run their own ferries (Kingston), air ports and industrial parks (Bremerton) and marinas (Poulsbo).

The money at the Bainbridge port’s disposal is expected to start at an annual $600,000. Commissioners are paid on the order of $90 per meeting they attend.

Here’s a link to the port backers’ website.