Authority of New York and New Jersey executive director Peter C. Goldmark suggested that the merger of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma would give the region "decades of advantage" over competitors in Southern California. The Port of Tacoma called a merger unnecessary and costly to their city, citing lower costs to expand in Tacoma and scaring off possible operators with higher fees; the Port of Seattle stated they were uninterested in a merger unless they could guarantee an equal partnership with Tacoma. The two ports met in the late 1990s to discuss collaboration or a potential merger, amid the consolidating of shipping lines (favoring centralized distribution centers in fewer ports) and the merging of the state's railroad system into BNSF Railway. In 2012, Port of Seattle staff estimated that rate competition with Tacoma had reduced cargo revenue by $35 million annually (approximately $70,000 per acre), based on comparisons with the Port of Oakland, which has no competing port in the region. Both ports were supported by taxpayer subsidies by their respective counties and lost revenue as shipping and terminal operators used their rivalry to negotiate lower rates. Both factors led to the Washington State Legislature proposing a merger of the ports of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett in 2008, which stalled after the Port of Tacoma opposed. Competition for the two ports intensified in the late 2000s and early 2010s, coming primarily from the new Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, an amalgamation of three Vancouver-area ports, as well as Los Angeles and the East Coast (as a result of the Panama Canal expansion project). In 2014, the market share of ports in British Columbia tripled and overtook the combined traffic of Seattle and Tacoma for the first time. The port commissions began talks of a merger in early 2014, including an agreement to share rates and other information under federal oversight and an "unusual" joint announcement for the transfer of a local shipping line to Tacoma. Formation of alliance On October 7, 2014, the ports of Seattle and Tacoma formally announced their intention to move management of their marine cargo businesses to a joint alliance in March, ending decades of competition, because of increased threats from British Columbia and other ports. A full merger, including the two port commissions, was opposed by Tacoma, who feared that the more populous King County would have more votes on the combined commission than Pierce