CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Port of Corpus Christi remains one of the most significant economic drivers in our area.
Consequently, the commissioners overseeing the Port hold one of the most significant positions in the region. On Wednesday, Nueces County Commissioners had the opportunity to modify that committee.
The Port of Corpus Christi Commission consists of seven members: one appointed by San Patricio County Commissioners, three by the Corpus Christi City Council, and three by Nueces County Commissioners.
They were presented with an unusual opportunity today that rarely arises.
On Wednesday, in an unusual occurrence, Nueces County Commissioners had the opportunity to consider two appointments to the port commission.
“This is going to be tough because there are so many people who have applied and show that they deserve to be in this position," said Nueces County Pct. 3 Commissioner John Marez.
This marks the first occasion County Commissioners have encountered such a decision since appointing Commissioner Diane Gonzalez a year ago.
The port commission vacancies came because of the expiring 3-year term of Dr. Bryan Gulley, who was looking to be reappointed, and because longtime Port Chair Charlie Zahn will be vacating his seat after serving the maximum allowed four terms.
With those two spots up for grabs, twelve people put in applications by the Nov. 15 deadline for the two unpaid positions.
"Today, we’re going to make two people happy and ten people unhappy, along with all of the people who are related to those ten, and that stinks and it’s terrible because we have such a high quality of applications," said Nueces County Pct. 4 Commissioner Brent Chesney.
In the end, commissioners chose to go with two new appointees.
Michael Pedrotti, the founder and CEO of several oil, gas and petroleum companies, and Anthony Lamantia, the co-owner and chief operating officer of L&F Distributors. The next thing to keep an eye on will come when Port Commissioners meet in January. That’s when we expect that they will be selecting a new chair from among themselves.
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