The search began in February. His contract will be considered at the Dec. 10 meeting of the the Board of Port Commissioners, and if it is approved, he is set to take over the post in mid-January. Chadwick joined Carlsbad in January 2018 after leaving the city of San Diego,

Chadwick joins the port with two decades of government experience and will take the wheel of an agency that has been essentially rudderless for 16 months.

Leaders of the small industrial city say they are being ‘oppressed’ by port policies and pollution. Port officials say their pathbreaking clean-air efforts benefit residents regionwide.

Chadwick was selected from hundreds of applicants after a search that began in February. His contract will likely be ratified at the Dec. 10 port board meeting.