Chamber Picks Latino as Its New President : Business: Officials say selection signals a ‘new day’ for organization and a greater emphasis on international trade.

In a move that surprised San Diego’s business establishment, local attorney Gilbert Partida, a Latino and a political outsider, was named president of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.

Partida’s selection over 125 other applicants, including some better-known local politicians and business figures, signals a “new day” for the chamber and a greater emphasis on international trade and consensus-building among the region’s fragmented business groups, chamber chairman Mel Katz told a downtown gathering.

In winning the highly sought-after job, Partida, a 30-year-old native of Nogales, Ariz., beat out finalists including San Diego City Councilman Ron Roberts, retired Pacific Bell executive Terry Churchill and local banker Ron Phillips.

Partida, only the third San Diego Chamber of Commerce president since 1956, thus takes on a highly influential job that has long been the focal point for San Diego County’s business community and civic activities. Lee Grissom, Partida’s predecessor who held the job for 17 years, quit in July to become an aide to Gov. Pete Wilson.

In naming a “young, Hispanic and bright” new president, Katz said, the chamber is sending a message that it places a high priority on unifying the ethnically diverse 55,000 businesses in San Diego.

The bilingual Partida will also try to position San Diego to take full advantage of the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement, Katz said. With its 5 million people, the San Diego-Tijuana area is the largest metropolitan region on the U.S.-Mexico border.

In a brief speech, Partida said his top priorities will be to make San Diego a more business-friendly community and to develop more foreign markets for San Diego businesses.

“We’re going to try to build bridges between organizations so we can present a unified voice for change” on local issues, including a new international airport and easing bureaucratic red tape for local businesses, Partida said.

Although young, Partida is a prominent attorney at the Gray Cary Ames & Frye law firm, where he heads the U.S.-Mexico trade practice. A San Diego resident for five years, Partida is active in several community groups and is a director of the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau. Partida is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Arizona and of Pepperdine University School of Law.

Katz declined to disclose Partida’s salary, saying only that it is “six figures.” Another chamber official who asked not to be identified said it is under $130,000.

Partida’s selection ends a three-month search during which a chamber selection committee considered 125 applicants. Selection committee member Ann Burr said the chamber purposefully avoided selecting an “entrenched power broker,” because such a selection would have brought too much “baggage” to the job.

“We were after someone who represented change, who could set a new tone to bring businesses together,” Burr said, adding that the past few years have seen the creation of several business “splinter groups,” often split along political lines, that have detracted from the chamber’s influence.

Burr said the chamber selection committee sought out Partida and asked him to apply after the initial applications were devoid of Latino and female candidates.

San Diego Mayor-elect Susan Golding, who was present at the chamber’s news conference, said she expects Partida to energetically push “outreach” programs to bring more small and minority businesses into the chamber fold.

“The chamber has not done enough lately to be an effective advocate for business,” Golding said, adding that she views the retention of manufacturing jobs as a high priority for the chamber.