Nick Sramek, a member of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners who briefly became acting president of the body, resigned Thursday, less than 48 hours after City Council voted to fire its former president Thomas Fields.
In his letter of resignation, Sramek–who served as vice president of the Harbor Commission until last Tuesday’s unprecedented City Council decision, when he automatically replaced Fields–cited fatigue with political issues at the Port as his main reason for leaving.
“…I have great concerns about the Port and its politically charged dealings with the city,” the letter stated. “I feel that the direction undertaken by the city could have potentially dire effects on the Port and its customers, and consequentially, our local economy.”
Sramek was the longest-tenured member of the Board, having completed his first six-year term in June, and his departure now leaves a two-person hole in the five-member commission, which oversees operations at the second largest seaport in the nation. In addition to the embattled Board, the Port of Long Beach is also without a permanent leader in its most senior staff position since Executive Director Chris Lytle left in July.
“It just got to be too much,” Sramek told the Gazettes Thursday night. “There’s so much going on.”
With Sramek’s resignation, Mayor Bob Foster will now have to nominate two new commissioners to go before City Council for a majority approval vote.
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