Salty,
sentimental, outspoken, occasionally profane, and always passionate Mick
Kronman — the unlikeliest of bureaucrats — has stepped down as city
Harbormaster after 20 years. His departure comes shortly after Waterfront
director Scott Reidman retired this summer for health reasons. Their combined
departures leave a serious hole at the leadership of the city’s waterfront
department.
Kronman — a former fisherman and journalist — was hired as Harbormaster 20 years
ago in hopes that his personal experience in a fishing boat, and as a consultant for the industry, would help
improve relations between City Hall and the commercial fishermen. While they’ve
butted heads more than a few times over the years, many commercial fishermen
were on hand at his retirement party Sunday night. One longtime fisherman said
Kronman has helped keep the commercial fishing industry viable on the Santa
Barbara waterfront, keeping at bay the forces of “yachtification.”
Kronman was
affectionately roasted by those who remembered him as an Isla Vista radical. “You
were sticking it to The Man,” said quipped one. “Now you are The Man.”