LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The five-member Los Angeles City Harbor Commission Thursday elected Lucille Roybal-Allard and Diane Middleton as the new president and vice president, respectively.
The two women started in their new roles during Thursday's meeting as soon as the commission voted to elect them. Mayor Karen Bass expressed her gratitude that former Congresswoman Roybal-Allard would agree to continue her service and said she was also pleased to see Middleton elected as vice president.
"I have known and fought alongside Commissioner Roybal-Allard for many years, and her experience in Congress, where she secured critical funding for port operations and advocated for the equitable treatment of communities impacted by truck traffic, will be an asset to both the port and to the city," Bass said in a statement.
Bass further stated that Middleton is a "committed, proven leader who understands the port's significance to the surrounding community and to its workforce."
Roybal-Allard was appointed to the Harbor Commission by Bass in May. She previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives for three decades and was one of the first Mexican-American women elected to Congress.
As a member of the House Appropriations Committee and chairwoman of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, Roybal-Allard led the effort to secure $57 million to dredge the Port of Los Angeles Main Channel and advocated for port-related security grants.
"We have the chance to make the Port of L.A. a center of job development through our support of the `blue economy' and our Workforce Training Center," Roybal-Allard said in a statement. "The challenges are significant, but I am hopeful we will make progress."
Middleton began serving on the Harbor Commission in 2019. A resident of San Pedro, she is an attorney and expert in labor and maritime law, and long active in Harbor area labor and civil rights issues.
She began her law career representing injured auto, steel and hospital workers, and was the first in the 1970s to file a class-action asbestos lawsuit on behalf of shipyard workers.
In 1979, Middleton established her own law practice in San Pedro, representing injured longshoremen and shipyard workers until her retirement in 2010.
The other three commissioners include Ed Renwick, a Board member since 2013; Michael Muñoz and I. Lee Williams, both appointed by Bass in May along with Roybal-Allard.
The commissioners, who are volunteers, oversee the management and operation of the Port of L.A. The mayor appoints commissioners, who require confirmation by the City Council.
Each commissioner serves a five-year term, and elections are typically held every July for the offices of president and vice president.
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