A Radical Shift in Tone for L.A. Harbor Panel

S. David Freeman, elected less than an hour before as president of the Los Angeles Harbor Commission, listened intently as a port planner explained that a long-delayed project to refurbish the Wilmington waterfront would not be completed before January 2011.

Freeman pounced.

“I want you to get a sense of urgency about this -- 2011 is a long ways off for a guy 79 years old,” he said. Then he addressed the standing-room-only crowd of more than 250 people, many from Wilmington.

“A completion date of 2011. Is that OK with the community?”

“No!” residents responded.

So it went for nearly eight hours Wednesday night and Thursday morning as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s new harbor commissioners met for the first time, adjourning shortly before 2 a.m. The evening was an unlikely mix of drama and comic relief, as Freeman and his colleagues launched a review of the most contentious issues facing the port.

“We want to get into these issues with both feet,” Freeman said.

Some in the audience voiced skepticism that port managers would become more receptive to community concerns.

Others berated port officials for what they labeled a series of flawed environmental reviews that they said had allowed the port to expand without compensating for worsening air quality.

And when Freeman suggested incentives to attract new business to the port, half a dozen speakers voiced fears that such a move would derail efforts to reduce air pollution.

But Freeman -- who formerly managed the city Department of Water and Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority -- lightened tensions with jabs of humor and salt-of-the-earth comments.

He grinned when one Wilmington resident urged the board to cut air pollution with trains powered by electricity.

“You warm the cockles of my heart when you talk about electric trains,” he said. And when the board discussed ethical guidelines, he commented dryly, “We’re going to be cleaner than a hound’s tooth.”

The meeting marked a radical shift in tone from the commission appointed by former Mayor James K. Hahn, which was led by San Pedro attorney Nicholas G. Tonsich. He favored a brusque, no-nonsense style, and some residents criticized the panel as imperious. It met in the formal boardroom of the Harbor Administration building in San Pedro on weekday mornings

The new commissioners held their first meeting at night in a hall in Wilmington, drawing so many people that they lined the walls and crammed the doorways. Meetings will alternate between Wilmington and San Pedro, and between daytime and evening schedules.

“It was a very impressive board meeting, and the commissioners showed they have the energy and drive to deal with all the issues facing the Port of Los Angeles,” said Michele Grubbs, vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Assn., which represents port tenants and other major shippers.

Freeman said Thursday that he was pleased with the outcome. “I thought it was democracy at work,” he said.

After years of record growth, the port since last year has seen a 2% drop, which has been blamed on last fall’s congestion problems, competition from other ports and perceptions that the port was putting community and environmental goals ahead of shipping companies.

Villaraigosa has promised both growth and air-quality improvements at the city-owned port, and Freeman sounded that theme Wednesday, saying he strongly believes that the port can attract new business while reducing diesel pollution from ships, trains and trucks.

Driven by increased Asian imports in recent years, the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex has grown to become the single largest air polluter in the region.

Freeman directed port officials to study the possible use of bio-fuels to cut the use of diesel and other petroleum products.

The board also requested an update on the “no net increase” plan produced during the Hahn administration in hopes of reducing pollutants to their 2001 level. That goal is not good enough, Freeman said, drawing applause from the crowd.

The Hahn plan would still result in 1,700 premature deaths tied to air pollution by 2025, he said, adding, “Surely, you can’t settle on that.”

Although discussion about pollution consumed much of the evening, the board moved deliberately through a long list of major issues. In the first hour, it decided to require commissioners to report contacts with lobbyists and to ask for permission before traveling on business. Under past practice, commissioners frequently did not get travel spending approved until after their trips, even when the bills totaled thousands of dollars.

The board also discussed port finances and customer relations.

The agenda called for it to commit $11.4 million to help restore the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Orange County in return for the ability to expand the port into deep-water areas. But after environmental activist Marcia Hanscom questioned why the funds were not going to L.A. projects, commissioners postponed the vote.