Long Beach Harbor Commission selects leadership for 2020-21 board

LONG BEACH—The Long Beach Harbor Commission elected Commissioner Frank Colonna as its president for 2020-21. Commissioner Steven Neal was elected as vice president, with Commissioner Bonnie Lowenthal set to serve as secretary.

Colonna served on the Long Beach City Council before beginning his tenure with the Long Beach Harbor Commission. He was Long Beach’s vice mayor for two years. The city of Long Beach appointed Colonna to the commission in 2017; he was elected as secretary in 2018 and vice president in 2019. Colonna is also a real estate professional and business owner; he is also a member of the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy board.

Neal is currently serving his first six-year term on the commission; he was appointed to the dais in 2019. He also sat on the Long Beach City Council. Neal is the co-founder of the Economic and Policy Impact Center, a nonprofit agency helping create economic opportunities for working families.

Lowenthal has been on the commission since 2017 and was elected as its president in 2019. She previously served as a member of the State Assembly, City Council member and vice mayor of Long Beach, and member of the Long Beach Unified School District board.

Five people sit on the Long Beach Harbor Commission, which oversees the Port of Long Beach. Also sitting on the commission are Bobby Olveira, Jr. and Sharon L. Weissman, who was appointed in May.

All three commissioners will serve in his and her respective roles for one year. Board officers are selected for one-year terms every July. Colonna, Neal and Lowenthal will begin their respective terms on Aug. 10.

Lowenthal, coincidentally, is the commission board’s outgoing president.