Port of Oakland board president walks out of TV interview focusing on her travel and entertainment spending

The president of the powerful Port of Oakland Board of Commissioners walked out of an on-camera TV news interview involving her port-paid travel expenses.

Based on a California Public Records Act inquiry, Oakland-based KTVU.com found that board President Darlene Ayers-Johnson racked up more than $133,000 in travel expenses over the course her eight years on the panel.

According to the KTVU report, which can been seen and read here, Ayers-Johnson spent more than six times more on her travel expense account than her board colleague, Patricia Scates, who spent approximately $22,000 over the same eight year period.

The TV station's investigation showed that Ayers-Johnson travel habits sided toward the expensive, with records showing she purchased first-class airfares and stayed in luxury hotels while on port business. The report also showed Ayers-Johnson made some seemingly questionable purchases on the port's tab such as tickets to Broadway shows and a football cap that reportedly cost $4,000.

"I have nothing to apologize for," she declared in a brief interview she terminated by abruptly leaving the room during the KTVU interview last week.

Former Oakland mayor and current Attorney General Jerry Brown first appointed Ayers-Johnson to the city-owned port board in 2000 and re-appointed her to the panel four years later. Board members do not earn a salary or collect stipends for meeting attendance. The board which oversees the operations of the massive Port of Oakland and Oakland Airport manage an annual budget of about $250 million.

Robert Bernardo, a spokesman for the city-ran port, said a statement on the TV's stations report would be released later Monday afternoon.

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