New LB Harbor Commissioner Approved

By Mark Edward Nero

For the first time in its history, the Port of Long Beach’s Board of Harbor Commissioners will soon have a female majority. On May 21, the Long Beach City Council approved the appointment of longtime Long Beach City College executive Lou Anne Bynum to the harbor board.

“I’ve long worked with representatives of the Port of Long Beach to develop educational and job opportunities in support of economic and workforce development in the region, and I look forward to continuing those strong ties between the port and the educational community,” Bynum said in a prepared statement.

Bynum, who is expected to attend her first meeting as a Commissioner on Tues., May 27, becomes the third female member of the five-person panel, following Susan Anderson Wise, who was appointed to a six-year term by Mayor Bob Foster in December 2008 and Lori Ann Farrell, who was appointed to her first term by Foster in December 2013.

Bynum becomes only the sixth woman to have served on the board in its 103-year history. She fills the seat left vacant by the Nov. 19, 2013, departure of then-Board President Thomas Fields, who was removed from his seat in November 2013 after conflicting with the mayor. The unexpired term that Bynum now assumes expires in June 2015.

Bynum is the Executive Vice President of College Advancement and Economic Development for Long Beach City College, where she has previously served as Vice President and Administrative Dean.

She is also currently a board member for the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network, Downtown Long Beach Associates and the Advisory Board for the Los Angeles County BizFed Institute. In the past, she has served as chair of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, vice chair of the Long Beach Economic Development Commission and president of the Southern California International Business Association.

New LB Harbor Commissioner Chosen

Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster has chosen former city controller Lori Ann Farrell as his first pick to fill one of two recently created vacancies on the city’s Board of Harbor Commissioners.

Farrell, who now works for the nearby City of Huntington Beach, is set to replace Board Vice President Nick Sramek, who resigned Nov. 21. Sramek’s exit came two days after the Long Beach City Council decided on a 6-3 vote to fire Harbor Commission President Thomas Fields.

Fields, a Long Beach advertising executive and former city planning commissioner, was appointed to a six-year term on the Board by Foster in December 2009 and in June 2013, he was elected to a one-year term as board president by his fellow commissioners.

He had come under pressure from personnel within the port and City of Long Beach in recent months for numerous reasons, including a perceived overbilling of the port for travel expenses. Fields had traveled extensively out of the country on port business over the past two years, including to Hong Kong, Montreal, Europe and Guatemala, sometimes racking up tens of thousands of dollars in expenses.

Sramek’s first six-year term on the board expired July 1, but had remained on the commission the past few months while the mayor was deciding whether to reappoint or replace him.

According to the mayor, Sramek cited fatigue as a reason for his resignation and said the firing of Fields played no part in his decision. In his day job, Sramek is a senior project leader in system engineering for The Aerospace Corp, where he’s worked for over 30 years.

The woman replacing him has been the director of finance for the City of Huntington Beach since December 2010. Before that, she spent three years as Long Beach’s Chief Financial Officer, and was the city’s Controller from 2006-2008.

She previously worked for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney as a financial advisor, and also in financial roles for the city and state of New York.

In a statement, Foster called Farrell “the ideal candidate who demonstrated financial discipline while she served as the city of Long Beach chief financial officer,” and said he was confident that she would serve the commission well while the port department is “going through several new changes.”

Foster also said he’s still searching for a candidate to serve the remaineder of Fields’ six-year term, which expires in December 2015.

Long Beach Harbor Board President Ousted; VP Resigns

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners lost two members this week, as the City Council fired the board president, and the vice president resigned less than 48 hours later.

In an unprecedented move, the Long Beach City Council on Nov. 19 voted 6-3 to fire Harbor Commission President Thomas Fields from the five-member board, following a recommendation by Mayor Bob Foster.

“Mr. Fields has been immune to suggestions or advice and is often dismissive,” Foster told the Council regarding his desire to fire Fields. “I have no confidence that he can lead the port or appropriately weigh broader city concerns in harbor department actions.”

Fields, a Long Beach advertising executive and former city planning commissioner, was appointed to a six-year term on the Board by Foster in December 2009 and in June 2013, he was elected to a one-year term as board president by his fellow commissioners.

He had come under pressure from personnel within the port and City of Long Beach in recent months for numerous reasons, including a perceived overbilling of the port for travel expenses. Over the past two years, Fields has traveled extensively out of the country on port business, including to Hong Kong, Montreal, Europe and Guatemala, sometimes racking up tens of thousands of dollars in costs.

Before the vote, Fields defended his tenure on the board, saying that his trips were made with the intent of bringing more business to Long Beach and that some of the trips he made were on behalf of other commissioners who were unable to travel due to other commitments.

“Every decision I’ve made as a member of this commission has been based on what’s best for the port and the city,” he said.

Among those who cast votes against the removal of Fields was Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, who said she’d been told that Foster wanted Fields fired because he makes up half of a two-person ad hoc committee tasked with selecting a new executive director for the port, to replace Chris Lytle, who quit earlier this year to become executive director of the Port of Oakland.

Schipske said that she’d heard that the mayor already had a candidate for the executive director position, and that firing Foster clears the path for a new committee member who would go along with the mayor’s executive director choice.

The mayor however, denied this.

“I don’t care what the rumors are,” he said, “it’s not the way I run my office.”

Two days after Fields was fired, harbor board vice president Nick Sramek submitted his resignation to the mayor. Sramek’s first six-year term on the board had expired July 1, but had remained on the commission the past few months while the mayor was deciding whether to reappoint or replace him.

According to the mayor, Sramek cited fatigue as a reason for his resignation and said the firing of Fields played no part in his decision. In his day job, Sramek is a senior project leader in system engineering for The Aerospace Corp, where he’s worked for over 30 years.

Fields’ and Sramek’s departures mean there are now three commissioners left on the Board for now. Only two members are required for a quorum.

Long Beach City Council May Fire Harbor Commission President

During its Nov. 19 meeting, the Long Beach City Council will consider a resolution to remove Harbor Commission President Thomas Fields from the five-member port board.

The resolution was placed on the agenda Nov. 11 by Mayor Bob Foster. Foster has yet to explain why he placed the removal item on the agenda. The removal of a commissioner during his six-year term is extremely rare, but according to the city’s charter, the mayor may remove a commissioner at any time with the concurrence of two-thirds of the nine-member City Council.

Fields, a Long Beach advertising executive and former city planning commissioner, was appointed to a six-year term on the Board by Foster in December 2009. In January 2013, he was elected to a one-year term as board president by his fellow commissioners.

He has come under pressure from personnel within the port and City of Long Beach in recent months for numerous reasons, however, including a perceived overbilling of the port for travel expenses. Over the past two years, Fields has traveled extensively out of the country on port business, including to Hong Kong, Montreal, Europe and Guatemala, sometimes racking up tens of thousands of dollars in costs.

Fields and other commissioners, as well as senior port officials spent more than $448,000 on 12 trips abroad between October 2011 and June 2013, according to port records.

Also, Fields and the mayor have disagreed over the lingering issue of a new headquarters for port staff. In the fall of 2011, the port was considering moving from its current aging, seismically deficient headquarters to the Long Beach World Trade Center a few miles away. Fields was one of two commissioners supporting the move, while the mayor and others supported a proposal by prominent local attorney Skip Keesel to instead build a new building on one of several downtown parcels he owns. Keesel said doing so would allow the port to build what they want and save the port money in the long run.

But after considering the options, the Harbor Commission eventually agreed to purchase an interim headquarters building about 11 miles from the port for $14.25 million, a move Fields cast the lone vote against, citing the distance from port terminals as a reason.

Ad Exec Named to Long Beach Port Governing Board

Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster on Tuesday nominated advertising executive and former city planning commissioner Thomas Fields to the Port of Long Beach's Board of Harbor Commissioners.

If confirmed by the Long Beach City Council, Fields will fill the board seat vacated by retiring Commissioner James Hankla during the summer.

"I am honored to have been asked by Mayor Bob Foster to serve on the Harbor Commission," Fields said in a port news release. "This is a major responsibility and I look forward to fulfilling the trust placed in me by the Mayor."

The non-elected five-member Board of Harbor Commissioners manages the city's Harbor Department and sets policy for the Port of Long Beach, the second busiest container port in the Western Hemisphere.

Fields, a Long Beach resident for more than 30 years, has served on the city’s Redevelopment Agency Board and the Planning Commission. He is founder and owner of Thomas Fields Associates, a marketing and advertising agency whose clients include 20th Century Fox, Hyundai, and the Long Beach Housing Development Company. Fields lives in the city’s Eighth Council District, and also serves as vice president on the board of directors for the charitable, non-profit Ronald McDonald House.

Fields' appointment will be reviewed by the Personnel and Civil Service Committee and must be confirmed by the City Council.