(April 13, 2017) -- In a release today (April 13), the Port of LB says that in an April 10 closed session, its Board of Harbor Commissioners chose and is expected to vote publicly tomorrow (April 14, 5 p.m.) to name Mario Cordero as PoLB's new Executive Director. Mr. Cordero will become the Port of LB's fourth Executive Director (not including interim exec. directors) since April 2011.
Mr. Cordero was first appointed to LB's Harbor Commission in 2003 by Mayor Beverly O'Neill, then reappointed in 2009 by Mayor Bob Foster, and named to the Federal Maritime Commission by President Barrack Obama in Sept. 2010 (where his term will expire under President Trump in June 2019.) |
In a Port of LB release, Harbor Commission President Lori Ann Guzmán states: "After a comprehensive international search, the Board of Harbor Commissioners recognized that Mario Cordero is an ideal choice to lead the Port of Long Beach. Mario not only has a deep understanding of the maritime industry from his leadership of the Federal Maritime Commission, but his service as a member of the Long Beach Harbor Commission gives him extensive knowledge of the needs of our carriers, terminal operators, cargo owners, and other trade partners. Mario approaches challenges from a bipartisan, collaborative perspective and as we seek to keep our port thriving, his combination of national and local experience is well-suited to carry us into the future."
Mr. Cordero served on LB's Harbor Commission during a period of evolution in PoLB's stance on pollution and health impacts.
In 2004, the Port of LB (directly and later through its membership on the "CA Ass'n of Port Authorities") resisted "no net increase in Port pollution legislation" authored by then-Assemblyman, later state Senator Alan Lowenthal (D, Long Beach), voting The next year, then-state-Senator Alan Lowenthal reintroduced his "no net increase" measure as SB 764; the Port of LB remained officially "neutral" on the bill...but the CA Ass'n of Port Authorities (in which PoLB was a major member) opposed it. The measure passed the state Senate, but Assembly Dem leadership blocked/killed the bill, preventing it from coming to a vote in the full Assembly through the action of then-Committee chair (now Congressmember) Judy Chu amid Committee silence from, among others, Assemblywoman Betty Karnette. In early 2005, Commissioner Cordero was the only Harbor Commissioner to attend an eye-opening, but locally heretical, conference in downtown Long Beach, organized by the So. Cal. Environmental Health Sciences Center, based at USC's Keck School of Medicine) at which multiple scientists detailed health damaging impacts of Port-related pollution. Mr. Cordero attended as an audience member; he didn't speak but was visible at several sessions paying visibly close attention and making notes in response to what the scientists said. A year later in 2006, with no Harbor Commission dissent, the Ports of LB and L.A. adopted their own "Clean Air Action Plan," pledging to meet a number of pollution reduction goals they set for themselves...which the PoLB says it has done and in some cases exceeded and is currently in the process of updating its plan.
In 2008, Commissioner Cordero dissented from a Harbor Commission-majority decision to settle at an early stage a lawsuit by the American Trucking Ass'ns. aimed at LB's (and L.A.'s) Clean Trucks Programs. (PoLB's action left PoLA to continue on its own to fight the cargo industry's legal challenge. PoLA prevailed in the district court and in a federal appeals court...and the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately upheld core portions, but struck down some provisions, of the Port of L.A.'s measure.) Mr. Cordero is a lawyer (30+ years) and has also taught political science at LBCC. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from CSULB and a law degree from the University of Santa Clara. Commissioner Cordero's wife, Gloria Cordero, is a veteran of various positions in the public communications/government relations field, and was appointed to the LB Water Commission in January 2015 by Mayor Robert Garcia. In the Port's release, Mr. Cordero said, "The broad perspective I gained at the national level, along with my many years of service as a Long Beach Harbor Commissioner and my love for the community of Long Beach, will allow me to hit the ground running. We have a stellar leadership team in place, and I'll be working closely with the Commission and our highly experienced staff in the months ahead to carry out our ambitious capital improvements and ensure that our customers and community members are well-served." Mr. Cordero (who succeeds interim executive director Duane Kenagy) follows the departures of Executive Directors John Slangerup (Sept. 2016), Richard Lytle (May 2013) and Richard Steinke (Apr. 2011).
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