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Politics

San Diego Councilmen Want Port Issue Raised Again

Councilmen Kevin Faulconer and Scott Sherman want the San Diego City Council to take up the issue of Port appointments again. Just one of San Diego’s three seats on the Port Commission is currently filled.

San Diego Councilmen Want Port Issue Raised Again
The fight over San Diego’s Port appointments may not be over yet. Two city councilmen are trying to revive the issue.

Mayor Bob Filner recently vetoed two appointments made to fill the other spots. The council failed to override his veto.

Filner wants to create a more definite policy for making appointments, and wants to wait until the District 4 Council seat is filled to make the appointments. But Faulconer said San Diego will be left out of important discussions if it waits.

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"While the City Council is talking about a plan for selecting Port Commission nominees," he said, "the actual Port Commission is discussing the Port’s Master Plan this afternoon, the blueprint for our waterfront. And that’s just the beginning."

Faulconer said the Port will also be dealing with its budget and the Convention Center expansion, among other things, in the coming months.

A City Council committee will consider guidelines for appointing Port Commissioners on March 6. Faulconer and Sherman want the full council to consider the appointments again on March 11.

Council President Todd Gloria, who voted with the council's four Republicans to make the appointments, supports Faulconer and Sherman's plan.

“I firmly believe the city of San Diego is being shortchanged by our current underrepresentation at the Port and share my colleagues’ desire to seat new commissioners as quickly as possible,” Gloria said. “I will docket this matter for consideration by the council at some point after the scheduled Rules Committee workshop.”