Former Erie County Clerk Julie Slomski takes over as executive director of Port Authority
The Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority didn't have to look far to find its new executive director following the departure of Martin LaMar.
And it didn't take long to find her.
The Port Authority announced Wednesday afternoon that Julie Slomski, who has served since June as deputy executive director, will step into the top job on May 1.
That's just three weeks after what was to have been LaMar's last day at the Port Authority on April 9.
More: Erie Port Authority names new director with a specialty in economic development
LaMar, who started on Feb. 6 was with the Port Authority for a little more than a year. He said that he left to pursue another opportunity.
Board is excited about new hire
“The Board is excited about hiring Julie Slomski as our new Executive Director,” Jeff Brinling, chairman of the Port Authority, said in a statement. “Her skills and experience will help us to continue to conduct port operations, improve ERIE’s waterfront, and execute our Master Plan.”
LaMar spoke highly of Slomski during an October interview with the Erie Times-News.
More: Erie County Clerk Julie Slomski resigns, accepts leadership role at Port Authority
"I'm very happy she is here. She has been a great historian of Erie, someone who can shed a lot of light on things," he said.
A new role
In her new role, it will be up to Slomski to be visionary while also tending to the day-to-day duties of operating Pennsylvania's only Great Lakes port.
In an interview with the Erie Times-News in June, Slomski talked about her reasons for taking the deputy's job with the port.
"The port has always been something near and dear to my heart," she said at the time. "There's so much great work going on at the port and this is a way for me to be involved and help serve the community in another way."
A former state Senate candidate, Slomski served before joining the Port Authority as chief clerk for Erie County. Prior to that, she held roles as human resources manager and special projects manager for Erie-based Logistics Plus.
She also served as chief of state for state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro and later as northwest regional director of the Pennsylvania Office of the Governor. She also served as the Governor’s liaison to the Great Lakes and to the Great Lakes Commission.
An Erie native and a graduate of Penn State Behrend, Slomski said in a statement: “I’m very thankful for the Board’s confidence in me to work with our Team to further our mission."
Slomski steps into the Port Authority role less than two months after the organization's board voted to begin the process of legally condemning the 182-acre property of Erie Coke.
The Port Authority joined forces with the Erie County Redevelopment Authority to acquire and complete an environmental cleanup of the site.
Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Internal candidate: Julie Slomski picked to lead Erie Port Authority
