Coale named chair of Stockton port commission

Coale named chair of Stockton port commission W. Ronald Coale has been elected Chairman OF the Port of Stockton Board of Port Commissioners.
   A 17-year veteran of the commission, Coale was first appointed to the board by the Stockton City Council in 1991 and previously served as board chairman in 1995 and 2001.

Coale

   The Stockton native and former Stockton City Councilman from 1983 to 1990 represents the Port of Stockton on the San Joaquin County Council of Governments and is chairman of group's Port/City/County/Union Liaison Committee. He is also an active member of the California Marine Affairs and Navigation Conference.
   Coale, a transportation consultant, has also served as representative of the California Trucking Association, for the California Public Utilities Commission, and taught transportation and logistics at San Joaquin Delta College.
   The board elected Coale to the rotational appointment of chairman at its Feb. 19 meeting.
   The seven-member board, comprising four city council appointments and three San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors appointments, also elected Commissioner Gary Christopherson as vice chairman. The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors appointed Christopherson, a senior partner in the Stockton law firm of Kroloff, Belcher, Smart, Perry & Christopherson, to the board in 1999.
   The Port of Stockton is a leading breakbulk and bulk product hub for northern and central California. Located 75 nautical miles due east of the Golden Gate Bridge, the port is connected to San Francisco Bay by the Stockton Deepwater Ship Channel. In 2003, the port fully acquired nearly 1,500 acres of U.S. Navy property that is under development for trade and maritime uses. The acquisition made Stockton the largest inland port west of the Mississippi and the third-largest port by acreage in California.