A strong work ethic, dedication to his family and community, along with a passion for nature describe John McCarthy. Born and raised in South Tacoma, the third child to John (“Johnny”) and Geraldine. John was a dedicated student at Visitation Catholic School (honored as Distinguished Alumni in 2012) who found a connection to his community as a member of the South End Boys and Girls Club.  It was at the Boys and Girls Club that he first played sports and learned to work on a team. Scholarships he earned from the Boys and Girls Club helped to make college possible. His experience of playing sports as a child motivated him to give back as an adult; John has been a volunteer official for basketball and football for more than 20 years.  John also returned to the South End Boys and Girls Club as a volunteer board member and in 2015 was honored to be the first member inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame for the Boys and Girls club of South Puget Sound.

​

John’s connection to the Port of Tacoma runs deep. His father, his brother and John all worked as longshoremen. For more than 75 years he and his family have been active in Tacoma’s working water front.  For 10 years John worked as a casual longshore, earning money to pay for his tuition as a high school student, at Bellarmine Preparatory School (received a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012) and later as a college and law student.  After graduation from the University of San Francisco School of Law, John returned to Tacoma, setting up his law practice near the Port. In 1982, when the Port Commission expanded from three to five members, John saw opportunity to serve and give back to the Port and community that had given so much to him and his family. He continued to practice law while serving as a Port Commissioner from 1983 to 1992.

​

During his first service as a Commissioner, he was instrumental in developing the Port from a small Port, handling 150,000 containers in 1982 to well over 1,000,000 containers within six years. Throughout the decade of record growth, the Port developed one of the first on-dock intermodal yards in the United States. He was also the Port Commission representative to the landmark settlement negotiations of the Puyallup tribal land claims for five years (1985-1990), and was instrumental in its success. At its adoption and approval by Congress in 1990, it was the largest tribal land claim settlement in the lower 48 states. Of the many accomplishments of this effort, the settlement agreement ensured millions of dollars of investment in environmental mitigation, habitat conservation and fisheries enhancement and protection; and set the stage for the past three decades of environmental cleanup and job creation in the tideflats.

​

John served as Tacoma Port Commission president for two years and was picked to be the President of the Washington State Public Ports Association from 1989-1991. Upon his leaving the Port he was named an honorary life member of the State Ports Association. Before becoming a Judge, John also served as a board member and officer of the Economic Development Board of Pierce County, and on the boards of the Tacoma Seaman Center, Pierce County Rape Relief, Private Industry Council and John was President of the Tacoma-Pierce County Young Lawyers and Trustee of the Bar Association.

​

In 1992, John was appointed to Pierce County District. After serving as a District Court Judge, John was elected as a Pierce County Superior Court Judge in 1996. He served as a Judge for 22 ½ years, retiring in Dec., 2014. During his tenure on the Superior Court bench John served as Presiding Judge at Juvenile Court for two years, as Drug Court Judge for Pierce County and he presided over some of the most significant criminal and civil trials in Superior Court. Additionally, John was a member of the Commission on Judicial Conduct from 2003 to 2014, treasurer of the Superior Court Judges’ Association, an executive committee member for the Pierce County judges, and he taught many programs to judges around the State on trial management, ethics, and handling capital cases. He served on the Pierce County Law Library Board for ten years.

​

In 2017and 2021  John was elected again to serve as a Port of Tacoma Commissioner. During these terms, John has served as President of the Port Commission and Co-chair of the Northwest Seaport Alliance, which operates the marine Ports of Seattle and Tacoma. He helped lead a comprehensive strategic planning effort with a high level of citizen engagement while the Alliance kept docks functioning, trade flowing and jobs maintained. He served as commission representative to the important tide-flat subarea planning process, and to also to be the liaison with the Puyallup Tribe. He was honored to be appointed by the Governor to be the Wash. State Port representative to the Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board to enhance our State trade opportunities. Additionally, he served on the Wash. Council for International Trade, the UW Urban Waters Advisory Board and was Tacoma representative to Port efforts to implement preservation of whales as a result of the State ORCA task force. He currently serves on the Puget Sound Regional Council. 

​

Throughout his career John has shown an unrelenting dedication to service and high standards, but it is John’s family that centers and grounds him. John and his wife Pat, current Washington State Auditor, raised four children, three daughters and a son. As adults his children have all chosen careers dedicated to public service, all of them living and working in the region. John and Pat have eleven grandchildren, nine boys and two girls. John continues to share his lifelong love of nature, hiking and paddling with his family. He has been a volunteer for the National Parks on Mt. Rainier for sixteen years and has hiked and climbed throughout Washington and other States. He has also paddled with the Tacoma Dragon Boat Association and is a proud member of the  Kikaha O Ke Kai Outrigger Canoe club, paddling for over twenty-five years.

​

In 2014, John’s family rallied around him as he battled cancer, and today he is grateful  to be a cancer survivor for over 10 years. Coming through his battle with cancer John’s dedication to being active and involved was only strengthened.  John regularly volunteered at MultiCare's Tacoma General as way to show appreciation for the treatment and care he received.  He wants to make sure Tacoma and Pierce County have a bright future for his grandchildren and all of our children. He is committed to serving the Port and the community with passion, integrity, and a deep understanding of the issues facing the Port and its surrounding neighbors. John and Pat live in Northeast Tacoma and he is committed to making sure that the decisions made at the Port are safe for his family and yours.

​

​

​