(June 14, 2005) -- Mayor Beverly O'Neill's selections for LB Charter Commissions -- including LB's powerful Harbor Commission -- were approved in barely 90 seconds today (June 14) by the City Council's Personnel and Civil Service Committee without asking nominees a single question publicly.

The Mayor's choice for Harbor Commission, former LB Chamber of Commerce chair and Dean Emeritus of CSULB's College of Business Administration Mike Walter, Ph.D., couldn't be questioned (even if the Committee had been so inclined) because he wasn't visible in the Council Chamber (we didn't recognize him if he was present).

At 2:00 p.m., Committee chair Dan Baker called the meeting to order, said the Mayor had provided the names of her appointees in a letter dated June 13 [while she was in Chicago for a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors] and read the appointees' names and offices.

The Committee approved the appointees (2-0: Yes: Baker, Colonna; Absent: Richardson). Committee chair Baker indicated the appointees are scheduled to come to a full City Council vote on June 21.