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.

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,

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.