Michael “Mickey” Chavez, during his confirmation Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council as the newest member on the Board of Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners In Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 20, 20206. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Council member Tim McOsker speaks about Michael “Mickey” Chavez, during Chavez’s confirmation Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council as the newest member on the Board of Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners In Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 20, 20206. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Council member Heather Hutt congratulates Michael “Mickey” Chavez, during his confirmation Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council as the newest member on the Board of Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners In Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 20, 20206. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Council member Eunisses Hernandez congratulates Michael “Mickey” Chavez, during his confirmation Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council as the newest member on the Board of Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners In Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 20, 20206. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Michael “Mickey” Chavez, during his confirmation Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council as the newest member on the Board of Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners In Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 20, 20206. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Michael “Mickey” Chavez, during his confirmation Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council as the newest member on the Board of Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners In Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 20, 20206. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Longshore workers turned out in force to cheer as the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved one of their own, Michael “Mickey” Chavez, to a seat on the L.A. harbor commission on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Chavez’s term will end June 30.
The sudden vacancy and quick appointment was apparently unexpected, surprising many. It followed three other new appointees to the five-member panel within the past several months.
The new seat was created when longtime Commissioner Ed Renwick resigned without a public announcement.
Renwick, who has been a key resource on the commission for financial matters, was appointed by former Mayor Eric Garcetti and confirmed by the City Council on Nov. 19, 2013. He was elected vice president of the harbor commission on Oct. 8, 2019.
Renwick — the cofounder and CEO of Raineth Holdings, one of the nation’s largest owners and lessors of single-family houses — said his departure was not pushed and that he’d been “mulling it over” for a while.
“I think it’s good to get new blood on the commission,” he said in a phone interview. “Being on the commission for 14 years has been the honor of a lifetime. I love the port and I think we have tremendous staff and local community.”
Chavez’s appointment, meanwhile, was made by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who is up for reelection and faces a tight race in November. Bass made the Chavez appointment in a Wednesday, Oct. 14, letter. Chavez did not go through the usual committee vetting process, moving quickly to the full City Council on Tuesday. There is one hearing requirement, Councilmember Tim McOsker said, but that took place with the full council instead of in committee. The committee chair consented to that.
Word only began to spread in the community in the last few days.
But the appointment brought widespread local support, with many believing an “ILWU” seat, which has been something of a tradition, is needed. Diane Middleton, a San Pedro attorney of 50 years, served on the commission until 2024 and had strong union ties. Middleton succeeded Commissioner Dave Arian, a well-known member and officer of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, who was appointed to the commission in 2010 and died Jan. 2, 2019, at the age of 72.
When Bass did not reappoint Middleton in 2024, the Harbor Area largely expressed disappointment. Los Angeles Councilmember Tim McOsker, whose 15th District includes the Port of Los Angeles, pursued a charter amendment ballot measure, which voters approved that same year, that mandated at least two of the five commission seats be held by local community members going forward.
The latest appointment of Chavez boosts that number even higher. Currently, four members of the harbor commission appointed by Bass — Chavez, Vice President Yolanda De La Torre, Sheila Lewis and Lee Williams — are residents of Los Angeles’ 15th Council District.
Chavez is a member and leader of the ILWU and a lifelong San Pedro resident with generations-long roots in the port community.
Union members turned out in force on Tuesday to support his appointment.
Among them was Middleton, who said understanding port issues is crucial and is a needed voice on the panel.
“The voice of the ILWU and working people” has been missing on the panel, Middleton told the council. “(Chavez) brings a wealth of knowledge to the commission.”
Others echoed that view.
“We need someone who has a voice,” said Gary Herrera, former ILWU Local 13 president. “We haven’t had one for couple years now.
“Today’s confirmation is more than just a seat for the ILWU,” he added. “It’s a seat for our community.”
Pointing to what is the growing issue of automation on the docks, Herrera added that Chavez’s voice will be key “when those robots try to take our jobs.”
“I know Mickey is the right person for this post; he’s the salt of the earth,” said Albert Ramirez, president of ILWU’s Local 56 (the Environmental Hazmat & Ship Scalers Union). “We’re in good hands and we definitely support his appointment and wish him the best. We love you, Mickey, you’re a blessing to us.”
McOsker said he’s also confident Chavez’s voice will be important in the challenges that come with the port’s ongoing shift to clean operations.
“No one wants a clean port more than the men and women who work there,” McOsker said. “It’s also important to make sure (to preserve jobs) as we bring on technology and new fuels to move goods.”
Chavez, in responding to questions posed by McOsker, said he served on the Harbor Clean Ports Advisory Board, and that both clean operations and keeping jobs can happen together with manned — rather than unmanned — clean equipment.
“I live in Pedro, we all live where we work and we’re breathing the air,” Chavez said.
While 10 years ago, the changes appeared daunting, he added, now “it’s advancing and we can see it.”
“The technology is there,” Chavez said, “and we want to make sure we have that while having our jobs, too. I think we can do both.”
The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners oversees the management and operation of the Port of Los Angeles. The board is appointed by the mayor of Los Angeles and confirmed by the City Council.
Commissioners serve as volunteers.
Chavez comes from a family of longshoremen whose waterfront roots date back to the 1940s. Currently, he is a nightside general foreman at Metropolitan Stevedore Company, but previously served as president of the ILWU Southern California District Council. His experience spans container, bulk cargo, vessel and rail operations at the San Pedro Bay port complex, which includes both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Chavez also serves on the Harbor Community Benefit Foundation’s Clean Ports advisory board, bringing a waterfront workforce perspective to efforts to reduce port emissions and improve conditions in surrounding communities.
“(Chavez) is especially qualified by reason of training and experience for the work,” Bass said in her Oct. 14 letter to the council, adding that the appointment was made “solely in the interest of the city.”