Port of Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners President
Doug Drummond on March 31 criticized Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
President John McLaurin, saying that McLaurin was spreading misinformation
about the port.
In a prepared statement read during the harbor board’s
latest meeting, Drummond said he wanted to “clear up inaccuracies” spread by
others, specifically mentioning McLaurin. McLaurin has been vocal over the past
several months regarding what he views as an increasingly political way of
doing business at both the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports.
In February, McLaurin wrote an opinion piece for the PMSA
stating that as other states around the country become more aggressive in
marketing their port systems, LA and Long Beach – both of which are currently
searching for new executive directors – must rise to the challenge.
“Our ports need leadership with the international trade
experience to lead a multibillion-dollar enterprise coupled with sensitivity to
local needs,” McLaurin wrote. “We need local and state government to be
partners instead of adversaries and to realize the port’s extremely important
role in creating jobs and business opportunities.”
In January, during his first-ever “State of Trade & Transportation”
address, McLaurin criticized the Port of Long Beach’s loss of several upper
management officials over the past year, including Executive Director Chris
Lytle who defected to the Port of Oakland. Other vacancies that have come up
over the past two years – some of which remain open – include the positions of
Deputy Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director of Trade
Development and Port Operations, Director of Construction Management, Managing
Director of Environmental Affairs and Chief Finance Officer.
Additionally, former Harbor Commission President Thomas
Fields was removed from his post by the Long Beach City Council last November
at the urging of Mayor Bob Foster. The day after Fields’ departure, the Harbor Board’s
then-Vice President, Nick Sramek, resigned.
Despite the various setbacks, Drummond said March 31 that
the port is moving in the right direction. In recent months, the port has
appointed a handful of new managers to fill vacancies and the city has approved
a new harbor commissioner, although one open seat on the five-person panel
remains.
The port’s search for a new executive director, Drummond
said, is expected to be complete by June.
