Ungab appointed as port commissioner to fill the unexpired term of Sandy Naranjo
Retired cardiologist and technology business owner GilAnthony Ungab will represent National City on the Port of San Diego’s seven-member Board of Port Commissioners through the end of the year.
On Thursday, National City Council members voted unanimously to appoint Ungab as the city’s port commissioner.
The action comes a little more than a month after the city ousted its previous representative, Sandy Naranjo, because of her fractured relationship with the local government agency. Ungab will finish Naranjo’s unexpired, four-year term, which ends in December.
The appointment is effective immediately. Ungab was sworn into office at the port on Friday and is expected to attend Tuesday’s port board meeting.
“If we can maximize the (National City Balanced Plan) and maximize our economic growth, the community will benefit. … I really think you need someone — the youngest of eight with six sisters and one brother — who can maneuver and help National City get their fair share,” Ungab told council members. “I represent the city and the community. I don’t represent outsiders.”
Formed by the state in 1962, the San Diego Unified Port District is a special district that spans 34 miles of coastline from Shelter Island to the border. The bayfront territory includes land and water in five member cities: San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and Coronado.
The seven-member Board of Port Commissioners is responsible for setting district policy, enacting laws, administering leases, approving waterfront development deals and overseeing top executives.
Commissioners are appointed for four-year terms by their member cities. They do not earn a salary, but do receive benefits, including health insurance and a vehicle stipend. Commissioners are also reimbursed for port-related business travel.
Born and raised in National City, Ungab is a retired cardiologist who graduated from medical school at UC San Diego in 1994 and ran his own practice, Ungab Medical Practice, in the community from 2003 through 2022, according to his application for the port commissioner position.
Ungab, who is Filipino, is also a board member of the Asian Business Association San Diego, a board member of the Sharp Chula Vista Foundation and a serial entrepreneur, his application states. He is the co-founder of Lucia Health Guidelines, which makes a mobile application to help health care providers diagnose atrial fibrillation. Ungab’s brother, Fidelis Ungab, was a former National City Council member.
“I think we needed someone who is both professional and understands business. He knows the community and its health needs and can balance those things,” National City Mayor Ron Morrison told the Union-Tribune. “He doesn’t seem to have any distractions or negatives.”
Morrison characterized the appointment during Thursday’s council meeting as an interim one. In December, council members can reappoint Ungab for a full, four-year term or solicit applications for a new commissioner, he told the Union-Tribune.
The retired doctor joins the agency as it seeks to move beyond a turbulent period punctuated by last year’s censure of now-former Commissioner Naranjo and the exit of CEO Joe Stuyvesant.
Naranjo, who was censured by her peers for misconduct in October, was removed from her board seat last month. National City leaders said they felt her ability to advance the city’s priorities had been irreparably impaired by the complicated agency dynamics.
Ungab was one of five applicants vying for the open board seat. The applicant pool included Nick Inzunza, a former National City mayor who left politics years ago after news reports he and his then-wife operated substandard residential properties.
On Thursday evening, National City Council members interviewed candidates during a specially convened public meeting.
“Dr. Gil is here at the right time, right place and for the right reasons to champion National City, and to build a strong relationship with the port based on our fair share and due respect,” former National City Councilmember Mona Rios said during public testimony. “(Inzunza) has a long history of doing the wrong things. Don’t give the Port of San Diego a reason to disrespect us.”
Public testimony was followed by a time-restricted, question-and-answer period with each of the candidates. Ungab was then nominated for the port board seat by Morrison, Councilmember Luz Molina and Councilmember Marcus Bush. Vice Mayor Ditas Yamane and Councilmember Jose Rodriguez nominated Inzunza for the commissioner position, but were overruled by the majority. After the nomination, all five council members voted in favor of Ungab’s appointment.