Political Notebook: Queer representation changes at Oakland port

As the gay president of the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners prepares to gavel in his last meeting, and vote for a new name of its airport, a queer organizer is set to become the powerful oversight body’s first Asian American woman to serve on it. Alvina Wong, who is Chinese American, expects to take part in her first port commission meeting later this summer.

A native of Redmond, Washington whose parents and grandparents all immigrated to the U.S., Wong moved to Oakland in 2012 after being hired by the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, where she is its basebuilding director. In 2010, Wong had served as an Eva Lowe Fellow at Chinese Progressive Association in San Francisco focused on organizing in the local Chinese immigrant community.

Wong, 36, will serve out the remainder of former port commissioner Yui Hay Lee’s term through July 10, 2026. Her tenure is to begin Friday, July 11.

“I feel very honored to be asked,” Wong told the Bay Area Reporter during a phone interview July 7.

She had fielded a call in the spring from the office of Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee to see if she would be interested in serving on the high-profile governing body. Wanting to ensure port discussions focused on the environmental issues and impacts of its maritime and aviation activities, Wong said yes.

She also wanted to bring her community organizing skills to the table and ensure immigrant and working-class residents of West Oakland who live near the port’s facilities have access to jobs at it and are benefitting from its future development plans. Wong told the B.A.R. she was surprised to learn no Asian female had previously been named to the port commission and checked its online roster of members after being told she would be the first.

“It is kind of funny to me to be in 2025 and still think of all these firsts,” said Wong, adding she didn’t want the focus of her appointment to be on “identity politics” and more about the work she has done with APEN and other agencies she has been involved with over the years. “But I also am so excited, as the first Chinese queer woman who is a slightly nonbinary person, to be on the port commission in this kind of governing capacity and to show that anything is possible. We do need diversity of people and their lived experiences and identities to take on these kind of leadership roles.”

Meanwhile, Commissioner Michael Colbruno will take part in his last port board meeting Thursday, after which his third four-year term will officially come to an end. On the agenda for the July 10 meeting is renaming the city’s airport as Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport.

The port commission is expected to approve the name change, and in doing so, likely bring to an end a legal dispute with the city of San Francisco. Last year, City Attorney David Chiu sued Oakland port officials in federal court after they voted for naming their airport the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.

He won a preliminary injunction in November blocking the Oakland airport from using the new name for likely infringing on the San Francisco International Airport’s trademark. In addition to causing howls of protest from across the bay, some Oaklanders also lambasted the port commissioners for downgrading the placement of The Town’s own name, as Oakland is affectionately nicknamed.

A spokesperson for Chiu told the B.A.R. July 10 ahead of the port meeting that the lawsuit is still moving forward since Oakland filed an appeal of the injunction barring it from using the name voted on last year.

“They appealed that order to the Ninth Circuit and are still actively pursuing that appeal. We have to defend and respond to that appeal,” explained Jennifer Kwart in an emailed reply.

Meanwhile, SFO officials are once again voicing disapproval with the new name Oakland port officials have come up with for their airport. They contend it will also sow confusion and potentially harm SFO’s brand.

“We are disappointed that the Port of Oakland has yet again announced an airport rebrand that seeks to capitalize on the San Francisco International Airport’s globally recognized brand,” stated SFO officials. “Once again, Oakland announced another renaming proposal just days prior to taking a vote instead of having a good faith conversation with San Francisco. But this year’s name, like last year’s name, invites traveler confusion and risks jeopardizing the brand identity we have built through decades of investment and service to the region.”

Colbruno told the B.A.R. this week the votes are there among the current six port commissioners to approve the new airport name. It will still use the OAK code on tickets and other materials.

“This is what we actually wanted,” said Colbruno, adding, “it really is to allow for people who are flying to the Bay Area and who don’t know the region to know that if you are going to Contra Costa County or to Berkeley that the Oakland airport is closer.”

Colbruno expects the new name will bring an end to San Francisco’s lawsuit. He reiterated the contention that Oakland port officials have made for months that the old Oakland International Airport name is confusing to people unfamiliar with the Bay Area and results in those visitors whose itineraries are based in the East Bay ending up booking flights in and out of SFO.

“As an environmentalist, that is important to me because it results in a lot of extra miles if somebody flies into San Francisco and drives to Livermore. It doesn’t make sense,” said Colbruno.

Taking Colbruno’s seat on the commission will be Derrick Muhammad, a member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which has long wanted to have a representative on it. Lee also reappointed Port Commissioner Barbara Leslie to another term; Leslie and Muhammad will both serve through July 10, 2029.

Although he doesn’t personally know Wong, Colbruno told the B.A.R. he is pleased to see she will maintain an environmental perspective on the seven-member commission and out representation. He also noted how when he first joined it 12 years ago there were not only few out people at the port but also few women in leadership positions at it.

“We’re going to be a majority 5-2 female commission now. Diversity has been a great success over the last 12 years at this port,” said Colbruno. “I am very proud of it. We don’t just talk the talk; we did the work.”

During his tenure on the East Bay maritime body, Colbruno helped to bring together out port commissioners and officials at the 11 publicly-owned ports scattered throughout California, such as Oakland Port Commissioner Jahmese Myres, a queer Black woman who was appointed last year. He plans to once again take part in its annual Pride event, set to be held this year in September to coincide with Oakland’s parade and celebration.

“I went on as the queer commissioner and am going off as the environmental one. It’s interesting how that worked,” he said.

This winter Colbruno also had a key role in selecting Kristi McKenney as the port’s executive director, the first woman to serve in the position. In February, the port board approved a three-year contract for McKenney, first hired on to the port staff as an environmental planner and also served as its assistant aviation director and interim executive director.

McKenney succeeded Danny Wan, a gay man who retired February 28 after five years as the port’s executive director. As the Political Notebook first reported in June, Wan is one of a trio of longtime gay Port of Oakland officials to depart this year. Longtime port spokesperson Robert Bernardo retired in late April 22.

Colbruno, who had previously served on the city's planning commission, will continue to focus on his outside work as a founding partner in the government affairs firm the Milo Group. He quipped that over the years, people assumed being a port commissioner was his full-time job when, in fact, it is a volunteer role with no compensation.

“It is nice to go out as president. I appreciate the support of my fellow commissioners to allow that to be the case,” he said, adding that serving in the role “has been absolutely the honor of a lifetime.”

His one regret, said Colbruno, was not reaching an agreement to keep the Oakland A’s baseball team in Oakland with a new stadium at the port’s Howard Terminal site. Those negotiations were futile, as team owner John Fisher announced he was taking the team to Las Vegas. (The team is currently playing in West Sacramento under the name the Athletics and construction has yet to begin on its stadium in Sin City.)

“I have one, and only one, regret of my 12 years on the port, and that is we couldn’t keep the Oakland A’s in Oakland, whether on port property or city property,” said Colbruno. “It is a generational loss for children and grandchildren in the future.”

Not only because Oakland and other East Bay families no longer will have those shared memories of going to a major league baseball game in their backyard, Colbruno also rued how the A’s were the last of the three major professional sports teams to leave the city.

“It is a value and an asset, not to mention putting Oakland on the map. They were our last major league team,” he said. “It is my greatest regret, my only regret, that we couldn’t help deliver that.”

As for the future of the Howard Terminal site, Colbruno said it is now set for maritime usage, which will make the port’s unions and industry leaders happy.

“Something will go there. It is a valuable 50 acres of waterfront property with the best views of San Francisco,” he noted. “I think it needs to be something both financially viable for the port and needs to have jobs attached to it, and needs to have community benefits, such as open space.”

Wong will likely have a say in that outcome during her tenure as a port commissioner. She told the B.A.R. both the port’s needs and those of the community must be taken into consideration when determining how to revitalize the terminal site.

“I think a big thing right now is figuring out how to keep the port as an economic driver. I think you have to look at the viability for long-term economic growth,” said Wong, “and I think the perspective I bring is how can it integrate with the community needs we have now.”

As for the airport name, Wong told the B.A.R. she understands the mixed reactions the public has voiced about it.

“I know a handful of folks are excited or are juiced by it. I know there are also a handful of very loud voices of folks asking why would you do it and strip Oakland from its identity and make it more regional,” said Wong. “I do understand there are a lot of things at play, like some of the reputation Oakland has.”

But already speaking like a port commissioner, Wong noted that Oakland’s airport at times can be a shorter drive to downtown San Francisco than that of SFO due to highway congestion.

Of OAK, said Wong, “It is a great airport.”

UPDATED 7/10/25 to correct the spelling of Alvina Wong's first name and add respones from San Francisco officials.

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