Longshoreman Calls Election to Board a Victory for Workers : Port of Hueneme: Jess Ramirez says he will bring a new perspective to a panel that has been dominated by white males.

Jess Ramirez, the first longshoreman ever elected to the Oxnard Harbor District board, mused Thursday on his unprecedented victory and what it means to the tiny Port of Hueneme.

“My feeling is that it was time for someone from the working class to represent the constituents,” Ramirez said. “I will be the liaison between the board and the workers of the port.”

Ramirez and other labor leaders predicted Thursday that his elevation will bring a new perspective to a board that traditionally has been dominated by white males with professional backgrounds.

“This has to be seen as breaking down the door, practically,” said Jess Herrera, an official with the longshoreman’s union.

But even as voters handed Oxnard resident Ramirez a slot, unseating appointed incumbent Robert E. Turner in the process, they returned veteran harbor commissioner Ray A. Fletcher, 77, to the board for his sixth four-year term.

Fletcher, a retired naval lieutenant, was helped by his name recognition and because he was at the top of the ballot, Herrera said. “Voter schizophrenia” may also have played a role, he said.

“A lot of people might have split their vote, voting for one incumbent and one newcomer,” Herrera said. “They wanted to cover their bases.”

Several factors contributed to Ramirez’s unexpected upset, Herrera and others said. It was the first election since the 55-year-old harbor district’s lines were redrawn, cutting out the mostly Anglo cities of Camarillo and Thousand Oaks. Latino activists also supported Ramirez for election in an effective get-out-the-vote campaign within the district, and Ramirez was endorsed by the Democrats in a mass mailing sent to voters in the district a few days before the election.

Ramirez said voters also may have begun to question why the powerful harbor board has been dominated for so long by what some have called an old boys’ network. Until two years ago, the board majority was made up of men who had long friendships and professional ties, Ramirez said.

“It has been a silent empire out there that nobody knew existed,” Ramirez said. “But people are more aware of the board now and want to know what it is doing.”

Herrera said his first priority will be to learn as much as possible about port operations and to support the board’s current policy of chasing after increased maritime business worldwide.

But he also would like to serve as the voice of labor on the board and influence district policy as it relates to all port workers, from longshoremen to crane operators to fishermen.

“The workers are going to talk to me, to come to me with complaints, because they already know me,” said Ramirez, 48, who has worked at the port since 1968. “They won’t have to wait for the next board meeting.”

Of particular interest to longshoremen may be the type of cargo the port pursues in upcoming years. Certain bulk cargo, such as bananas and citrus, generate more work for longshoremen than offloading luxury automobiles.

But Commissioner Edward J. Millan, who served as the district’s executive director before joining the harbor board in 1986, said the current board’s goals generally match those of labor.

“Our objective has been to bring in more business and create more port-related jobs,” Millan said. “And those contracts result in more work for longshoremen.”

Ramirez said he has been active in Oxnard politics for several years, helping the Oxnard Elementary School District win a crucial bond election. He also made an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the Oxnard Union High School District four years ago.