The San Pedro Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors sent a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Thursday, March 30, requesting that three of the five LA harbor commissioners be residents of the San Pedro and Wilmington communities.
No response had been received by the end of Thursday, though Bass defended the proposed appointments in a statement earlier this week. A copy of the chamber’s letter was also sent to Los Angeles Councilmember Tim McOsker, who represents the Harbor Area.
The Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, is preparing a similar letter, according to a staff member who answered the phone.
The issue has arisen as the new mayor, elected in November, began proposing new appointments this week for the harbor commission that oversees the Port of Los Angeles.
“We’ve been discussing this since last fall,” said Elise Swanson, CEO and president of the San Pedro chamber. The board, she said, currently has about 21 members with a mix of small business, community and corporate representation.
“We’ve always advocated for local representation on the Board of Harbor Commissioners,” said Swanson, who was on staff for former Councilmember and current Supervisor Janice Hahn in the early 2000s. “Going into (this) mayoral campaign we had three appointed from the Harbor Area and when we saw the first two appointees were from City Council District 14 — East Los Angeles — and two local commissioners were being removed, we thought we had to weigh in.”
Mayor Karen Bass submitted documents on March 21 nominating two new commissioners — former U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard and Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy Research Director Michael Munoz , both of whom live in City Council District 14 — top replace San Pedro resident Anthony Pirozzi and Wilmington resident Lucia Moreno-Linares.
They appoinments require City Council confirmation.
“Representation from the Harbor Area is essential to the integrity of the Board of Harbor…
Read the full article here
