Hankla elected Long Beach port commission president

Hankla elected Long Beach port commission president Port of Long Beach Harbor Commissioners elected James Hankla president for the 2008-2009 term.
      Hankla, a former Long Beach city manager and head of the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, joined the board in 2003 and also served as president in 2006-2007.
      The newest member to join the commission, Nick Sramek, was elected vice president of the commission.
      Hankla and Sramek were elected under new port bylaws written and adopted by the board earlier this year. The previous system advanced each commissioner one rank in the four board officer positions each June.
      While under the new bylaws each commissioner is automatically nominated for each of the four positions, Sramek and outgoing president Mario Cordero submitted written requests to not be nominated for the office of president. Commissioner Doris Topsy- Elvord, who recently said she would retire from the board at the end of June, was not listed on the ballots for any office.
      Mike Walter, who would have assumed the presidency under the previous system, was elected secretary and Cordero was elected assistant secretary. The various board officer positions are not defined under the Long Beach City Charter, but are created and vested with authority under the internal bylaws of the port. The president presides over the public board meetings and also serves as the official spokesperson of the board.