Blanchard to replace Johnson on Stockton port commission

Blanchard to replace Johnson on Stockton port commission Elizabeth Blanchard, a retired college professor, county planning commissioner, and wife of a long-time Port of Stockton commissioner, has been named to Stockton port's board of commissioners.
   Blanchard, 77, was appointed two weeks ago by San Joaquin County Supervisor Victor Mow and confirmed last week in a 4-1 vote by the entire board.
   Mow noted a desire to reflect the ethnic diversity of the Stockton region in the make-up of the port commission by nominating Blanchard, who is Chinese-American. He also said her background could facilitate connections in Asia and other Pacific Rim areas.
   'When we look at our port commission we have a diversity of folks, but really it isn’t all that diverse,' Mow told the Stockton Record. 'What we don’t have and we haven’t had for some time is somebody that represents the labor. We haven’t had a person of color, probably since Ossie Harrell back 20 years ago. We have not had a woman on the board for over 30 years.'
   Blanchard, the widow of former 24-year Stockton port commission veteran Joseph Blanchard, replaces incumbent port commissioner Joseph H. Johnson. The supervisors appointed Johnson to the seven-member port commission in 2000. Blanchard is expected to formally join the port commission at its next regular meeting on Feb. 19.