A Historic Moment

On January 8, 2013, the Houston City Council and the Harris County Commissioners Court met together to name Janiece Longoria Chair of the Port of Houston Authority Commission.

The Port has always been known as a bastion of of the “good ole’ boy” network in the region.  In fairness, the businesses that dominate the Port are predominately male.

But the Port is now competing in an ever diverse world.  Several Latin American countries have already elected female leaders, Argentina and Chile, for example.  The Port is a global entity and competing in an ever more diverse world.

The Port is also one of Houston’s greatest assets and plays a critical role in our economy.  As they compete for more business that will be generated by the Panama Canal expansion, diverse Port Commissioners will only provide more advantage.

Janiece Longoria has been a Port Commissioner for ten years.  More importantly, she is a smart, savvy, successful lawyer while maintaining ties to her roots and Houston’s diverse communities.

Congrats to Janiece Longoria and to the County and the City leaders for appointing her Chair.  She is the first woman ever to Chair the Port and the first Latina.

Side note:  We tweeted with Council Member Gonzalez yesterday to suggest that while the Commissioners Court and the City Council were meeting together, maybe they could agree on more issues like a joint crime lab, shared health care, jails, flooding and more.  Alas, we recognize that just agreeing on a Chair for the Port Commission was a major accomplishment.

 

 

One response

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *