Government and public affairs expert Sid Voorakkara will represent the city of San Diego on the Port of San Diego’s seven-member Board of Port Commissioners.
Tuesday, San Diego City Council members voted unanimously to appoint Voorakkara to the recently vacated board seat. The appointment is effective immediately, and he will be sworn into office on Tuesday.
Voorakkara is replacing Commissioner Emeritus Rafael Castellanos, who resigned last month.
“My goal is to contribute to a more successful San Diego region,” Voorakkara told the Union-Tribune. “I come into this with ambitious goals to move our community forward, to provide a needed voice that is listening to all of the various constituents in San Diego and our broader region, and to hopefully do something that my 6 year-old is proud of in 20 years.”
The new commissioner also said he hopes to create additional opportunities for women and minority-owned small businesses to do business with the port.
Formed by the state in 1962, the San Diego Unified Port District is a special district that spans 34 miles of coastline from Shelter Island to the border. The bayfront territory includes land and water in five member cities: San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and Coronado.
The seven-member Board of Port Commissioners is responsible for setting district policy, enacting laws, administering leases, approving waterfront development deals and overseeing top executives.
Commissioners are appointed for four-year terms by their member cities and are tasked with managing the tidelands on behalf of all Californians. Commissioners do not earn a salary, but do receive benefits, including health insurance and a vehicle stipend. They are also reimbursed for port-related business travel.
Sid Voorakkara was appointed to the San Diego Unified Port District Board of Commissioners by the city of San Diego.
(Courtesy, Sid Voorakkara)
A 20-year resident of San Diego who currently lives in Kensington, Voorakkara is a senior partner with ArroyoWest LCC. The management consulting firm focuses on economic and workforce development, and Voorakkara specializes in marketing and communication, helping to tell the stories of the firm’s clients.
ArroyoWest’s client list includes The Conrad Prebys Foundation, the Burnham Center for Community Advancement and Long Beach City College.
Voorakkara, who is 53, is also a member of California’s Health, Safety, and Workers Compensation Commission, and a board member at Jewish Family Service. He previously served on the city’s Ethics Commission for eight years.
The South Asian small business executive has a long history of local and state government-related ambitions and achievements.
In 2012, Voorakkara ran unsuccessfully for state Assembly. And, in 2013, he was nominated, but not ultimately selected, for a Port of San Diego board seat. Soon thereafter, Voorakkara was appointed to Gov. Jerry Brown’s Office of Business and Economic Development to focus on attracting and retaining businesses in the San Diego area. He went on to serve as the office’s deputy director of external affairs.
San Diego City Council members coalesced around Voorakkara, who was selected from what was described as a large pool of interested candidates, following a behind-the-scenes process that culminated with the public vote on Tuesday. He was nominated for consideration by Councilmembers Sean Elo-Rivera, Stephen Whitburn, Kent Lee and Joe LaCava.
“I do want to start by acknowledging that immediately following the opening of the seat, there was a significant amount of discussion about the opportunities to fill the seat with a member from the Asian Pacific Islander community, recognizing that there has not been API representation on the port since Commissioner Susan Lew over 20 years ago,” Lee said.
Lee was likely referring to commissioners appointed by the city of San Diego. Current Port Commissioner Ann Moore, who represents the city of Chula Vista, is Japanese-American.
“Openings such as this are much more than just an opportunity for us to strive to make appointments that help to reflect our vibrant and diverse city. There are also opportunities to thoughtfully engage communities in discussion about how they can best be represented,” Lee said. “Communities like the API community have long been fighting for more than just representation; they want a seat at the table. And that seat is much more than just literal, ensuring that our voices as a community are heard, they are consulted and that they are ultimately uplifted.”
Council members also praised Voorakkara’s professional qualifications, citing his public affairs and state government experience, and also acknowledging his past nonprofit board positions with the LGBT Community Center and Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest.
“I’m very excited that you bring so much experience, including your experience in Sacramento in a former governor’s office,” Councilmember Marni von Wilpert said. “So much of what we have to do is dealing with Sacramento, and so it’s really going to be such a great connection that you have to make sure we get the resources we need down here.”
Voorakkara joins the agency’s board as the directors grapple with leftover tension from last year’s censure of Port Commissioner Sandy Naranjo.
In October, Naranjo was censured by her peers for misconduct. The action created a rift that continues to be on display at board meetings. At the most recent board meeting on Tuesday, for instance, commissioners voted 5 to 1 to honor Castellanos as a commissioner emeritus. Naranjo was the only commissioner to vote against the resolution and remained seated when the panel left the dais to pose for a picture with Castellanos.
Voorakkara is also stepping in just weeks before the board votes on finalizing the policy guide book that will inform future projects in and around San Diego Bay. The Port Master Plan Update, in the works since 2013, is scheduled to go before the board for certification on Feb. 28.
