The Port of Oakland has long been recognized as an economic engine (catalyst) that, from its diverse activities, brings Oakland and our region thousands of jobs, tremendous growth of business, and a certain quality of life for the people who live here. This is no simple task. The Port and its operations are comprised of many moving parts and have a direct or indirect impact on the life of every person in the region. The challenge of delivering on these expectations is very complex and ever evolving as a result of trends, competition and issues all the way from federal to local levels. It is a challenge that requires us to really think about how we go about growing this economic engine while improving the quality of life for those who live, work, and play in our city and region.
In order to realize our strategic plan, we will have to work collaboratively and in partnership with our customers, the community, stakeholders, the City of Oakland and our elected representatives from the federal to the local level. We will have to integrate our Port assets and resources, including Port employees who are our most valuable asset, to tackle these challenges and take advantage of our opportunities. We have to be creative, open to ideas, and be willing to take risks. Without risk there is no reward. If we make a mistake, we must be prepared to correct it immediately. We have to also realize and appreciate that our challenges and opportunities must be addressed without plunging our Port into a competitive disadvantage vis-a-vis the Ports on the West coast.
I want to thank each of you for giving me the opportunity to lead this enterprise in our efforts to meet this multi-faceted challenge and opportunity. As the executive director, I refer to the coming twelve months as a “foundation” year. It is a period of time during which I envision building up needed resources, establishing and strengthening relationships with our customers and community stakeholders, make critical decisions and resolving critical issues.
 I recognize that there must be a plan of execution. My action plan for our port is bolstered by what I see as a “vertical alignment” of local, state, and federal priorities, resources and relationships. We have the unique benefit of having a strategic alignment of elected officials from the Mayor’s office to the State Capitol in Sacramento to the halls of Congress and federal leadership in Washington, DC. This is an unparalleled opportunity for our city and the Port of Oakland to forge ahead and have its goals and objectives recognized in meaningful ways. My plan is based on three essential components:
- We must work hard to pursue healthy and aggressive economic development of our seaport, airport, and commercial real estate properties
- Completion of our CIP Program
- Maritime development plans
- Airport development plans (new terminal and parking)
- Commercial real estate plans (Oak to Ninth and JLS)
- City/Port development of a real estate strategy for the former Oakland Army Base and the city as whole
- We will do everything feasible to promote and insure a secure quality of life for Oakland residents and those in our region
- Local business development and job opportunities
- MAPLA provisions to insure local and, in particular, Oakland employment and workforce development
- The health and comfort of our neighbors always be a consideration in our development plan and, whether it be air, water, noise, dust, traffic, or visual blight
- We will aggressively pursue our efforts with the community in development of an air quality improvement plan
- We will seriously address trucking issues, neighborhood traffic and safety with the City of Oakland
- That we continue to make progress in achieving environmental sustainability
- We will continue making security improvements at our seaport and airport to provide a safer environment for all of us
- Promoting and developing a sense of pride and passion within our organization of talented employees
- We will seek to create a “safe” and “positive” workplace that fosters teamwork, trust, and confidence in each other
- We will foster positive relationships with our various Labor groups and organizations
- We will continue the commitment to training our employees so that they can be the best
- We will help our organization to recognize that our employees are amongst the best compensated employees in the region and commitment insuring those benefits
- We insist that with this commitment comes the expectation that we must be accountable for our job responsibilities and performance
- We will make the Port of Oakland the best place to work
This is the basic “foundation” upon which I will pursue my responsibilities as your Executive Director. These basic elements will help us tap into the pride and passion that exists within our organization. It will provide the basis upon which we execute the Strategic Business Plan we adopted last year.
There must be an action plan to realize the vision of the Port of Oakland as a world class port and our city as a world trade center. There are challenges that lie ahead. It can only be done with the help of every one of our 600+ employees and each of you in this room representing our customers, community, stakeholders and our city. It is only through this kind of commitment that we will be able to realize our vision for the Port of Oakland and our city.
I commit myself as executive director to lead and execute this plan for the benefit of our city, our customers, our community stakeholders, and the region. I trust that my team is committed to this action plan. I ask that each of you on my team commit to this action plan in front our Commission, Mayor, customers, community and stakeholders. I am confident that with our collaborative and integrated partnership we will execute our strategic plan and realize our vision.
Past Messages from Former Executive Director Jerry Bridges:
Past Messages from Former Executive Director Tay Yoshitani:
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