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HANKLA NEXT TO GODLINESS

Dave WielengaWed. July 09
 

A small rules change means the man who helped create the city’s deficit will remain port boss

POLB
PHOTO COURTESY of THE PORT OF LONG BEACH

Jim Hankla has just become president of the Harbor Commission again, which isn’t supposed to be a big deal, and which most certainly would not be, except for the fact that nothing that Jim Hankla does is no big deal. He’s spent the better part of the past half-century—especially the years from 1987 to 1998, when he served as city manager—creating the Long Beach that we’re all living in and paying for today.

Hankla’s the reason the Queen Mary wasn’t sold and towed to Japan. He’s the reason the Spruce Goose is in Oregon, the convention center was expanded, the aquarium was built, that so much of old downtown was razed and replaced with high-rise office buildings and condo complexes and retail projects like the late Long Beach Plaza mall and the disappointing CityPlace and Pike at Rainbow Harbor, along with whatever you think of Shoreline Village and whatever you call what’s happened to Pine Avenue.

Now, as the bills for many of Hankla’s projects factor into to the city’s projected $17 million budget deficit in 2009, it’s remarkable that he has suddenly emerged—again—atop the department that oversees Long Beach’s fattest cash cow, the Port of Long Beach. Hankla’s timely ascension becomes even more intriguing considering that the Harbor Commission’s by-laws had to be rewritten to permit his election, and that the five commissioners couldn’t agree on the changes, voting over and over on June 16, until a series of 2-2-1 ties was finally broken, giving him a 3-2 victory.

Hankla declined The District’s request to be interviewed about the rewritten by-laws, which changed the Harbor Commission’s practice of rotating offices so that everyone gets a turn. Under the new laws, Hankla will serve as president for the second time in three years, and eligible for another term next year.

“Hankla told me he thought it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to talk about the new by-laws now that they have resulted in his election as president,” said Art Wong, a spokesman for the Harbor Department. “He was trying to get another of the commissioners to talk to you. I don’t know if he was successful in getting anyone, but if no one has called you then I guess he hasn’t found anyone.”

It’s cool. We found a couple of commissioners on our own.

“It beats me why rotation of officers was changed,” says Doris Topsy-Elvord, who insists her recent resignation from the Harbor Commission had nothing to do with the new by-laws—although she voted against Hankla’s presidency (and in favor of last year’s vice president, Mike Walter, who normally would have rotated into the presidency) at one of her last meetings. “As far as I was concerned, it had worked that way all those years, and it was a good thing. But obviously some people wanted to be president more than once.”

Last year’s president, Mario Cordero, who was just elected vice president, denies that the by-laws were re-written so Hankla could become president again.

“Absolutely not,” he says. “That was just one change among many that were designed—with the guidance of a consultant—to bring our system up to the level of other ports of our size. An election is more transparent.”

More transparent than a democratic rotation? Technically, maybe. But that’s not the way it looks from the outside, especially with Hankla—and Walter, who instead of being president was elected secretary—refusing to talk about it. Even an insider like Topsy-Elvord can only speculate.

“I think it’s probably because we have a lot of issues coming up at the port that are going to create a lot of pressure, that are going to require a steady hand—and that Jim thought he could withstand all that more than somebody else,” she says.

The money-crunched city council has already asked for a review of the funds the Port of Long Beach contributes to the city through the Tidelands Trust—an amount presently set at 10 percent (last year, about $16 million) of port profits. As things get tighter, the port can only look more and more like a golden goose.

What will Hankla do? Depends on what he wants to do. That was his reputation when he was city manager.

“Jim Hankla gets what he wants,” said the late David Hauser—a prominent local property manager and harbor commissioner—in 1998. “He gets it by making it hot for people who won’t give it to him.” That’s why Hauser wouldn’t go on the record at the time, applying a not-in-my-lifetime condition on printing his criticisms of Hankla’s plan to build the Aquarium of the Pacific. “I still want to be able to make a living in Long Beach,” explained Hauser, who died in 2002.

Hankla doesn’t have anywhere near the power he had as city manager, and even then he always operated as an advocate in administrator’s clothing. “Being a good city manager, I always followed the direction of the city council,” he forever insists, repeating it to The District again last month.

But Hankla remains Long Beach’s most astute bureaucrat, a man who has learned the ropes while climbing them since the early 1960s—from budget analyst to legislative analyst to assistant city manager to community development director to Redevelopment Agency executive director (with a short time out to serve as chief financial officer for the city of Los Angeles) before he became city manager.

The thing is, according to the city charter, the president of the Harbor Commission officially doesn’t have any more power than the other commissioners.

“Not one single iota more power, no—all of us are equals,” says Topsy-Elvord. “But some don’t see it that way. To some, being president seems to mean you’re God.”

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Viewing 6 Comments

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    I believe Cordero is now the commission's treasurer (not VP), making him the lowest-ranking member of the board until Foster appoints someone to replace Doris. Of course, all members are "equals" unless you count the travel perks afforded to the president and VP...
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    Dave:
    l.The hour is late-been a long day-thus my memory may be a bit foggy-but
    might want to check.Was it not the County of Los Angeles that Jim Hankla
    worked for rather than the City of Los Angeles?

    2.It my view,Jim Hankla has been one the most astute and stable factors this City has had.We are fortunate to be able to benefit from his experience and insight.

    3.In my view;the City would be very well served if we could work something out
    where Jim could take on the added responsibilities of either:

    l.Taking over the Marine Bureau-with him reporting to the Port Director until
    completion of the Alamitos Bay Marina re-build program.During the rebuild
    he would formulate a plan to have the Marine Bureau placed under the
    Port-instead of Parks and Recreation.
    OR
    2.If we can get Gary De Long,who is so disconnected with the Third District,
    and had- and still has no idea of the true scope of the job or how time
    consuming the job is-to STEP DOWN in time for a special election in Nov.
    of this year-the Third District and the City would benefit tremendously.
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    Dave:

    ..told you it was late....bringing clarity to #2:Obviously if we could get Gary to
    step down-the plan would be to have Jim Hankla on the ballot in November-
    which would bring ten years of sage stability to the District,City and Council.
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    It is my understanding that most of our budget issues the past several years stem not from Hankla but his successor, Henry Taboada, who spiked salaries and benefits at City Hall before being removed from the City Manager's office. The city is still burdened, and will be for decades, with the retirement benefits of many who left the city following the golden parachutes provided by Taboada; some getting pensions in excess of 100% of their City Hall salary at time of termination.
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    foster, in a political move, will be appointing someone to the commission from the house of labor (port of la has ilwu official on commission) in order to try to save his political career after his clean truck boondoggle. Did you hear they project 10% or more will default on their clean truck loans? The true number will be more like 60% as the steamship lines keep jamming the independant truckers. How do you expect to bring a workforce into the 20th century overnight that a few years ago were working in the fields in some third-world country. Most of them barely speak english.
    mario cordero, in a moment of brilliance, advised the group of poor immigrants to increase their rate to haul the port containers. What a moron! Say, let's tell exxon-mobil we're not going to pay over $4 per gallon. And he's supposed to be labor-friendly? Jeez, at least hankla is upfront about how little he feels for these poor bastards.
    I am still completely amazed that long beach destroyed their plan. They could have had a full partner with LA, and not created a "berlin wall". They could have shared legal resources with LA for the special interest lawsuits in the pipeline. No they had to prove once again that lb is just a big mayberry rfd.
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    The steamship line tenants of the port of LA will have the last laugh. Yes it might cost their customers a tiny bit more to get their freight hauled, but at least they'll GET it hauled. The long beach port tenants stuck festering here will really be scrambling to find any independants willing to continue to work for free, while the containers stack up. Nice work bob-o, jimbo,mari-o and the rest of the buffoons.
 
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