TowneBank’s chairman and CEO says a policy the bank adopted in the wake of explosive revelations involving Virginia Beach mayor and fellow TowneBank executive Will Sessoms had no bearing on his decision to step down from the Virginia Port Authority board.

In a phone interview, Robert Aston Jr. said he resigned last month because TowneBank doesn’t leave enough time for the authority board. He cited the Suffolk-based bank’s expansion into the Richmond area after acquiring the eight-branch Franklin Financial Corp. on Jan. 2.

“I’d miss far too many meetings, and I shouldn’t be serving on things if I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing,” Aston said.

The TowneBank founder was one of five new commissioners Terry McAuliffe appointed to guide the Port of Virginia soon after taking up residence in the governor’s mansion. He had previously served on the board of port operator Virginia International Terminals.

In November, Sessoms was forced to resign as president and chief executive officer of TowneBank Financial Services, after the bank, in the wake of a Virginian-Pilot investigation revealing he had voted numerous times as Virginia Beach mayor on issues benefiting bank clients, prohibited executive managers from holding elected office.

Suffolk Mayor Linda T. Johnson and her Norfolk counterpart Paul Fraim also resigned their respective seats on the bank’s community boards; however, neither was implicated in the scandal that engulfed Sessoms, and their bank positions were not subject to the new policy.

Having been appointed, rather than elected, Aston’s role on the port authority board was not in conflict with the bank’s policy.

He said Wednesday that TowneBank has no plans to broaden the scope of the policy, either. “We haven’t made any change, nor do we plan to make any change,” Aston said, adding that numerous TowneBank executives serve as appointees to different boards.

Meanwhile, Aston says he’s stepping down confident in the Port of Virginia’s leadership under John. F. Reinhart, whom the board installed as CEO and executive director of the authority shortly before Aston’s appointment.

“I think he’s doing a tremendous job,” Aston said of Reinhart. “In the time I have worked with John, I have come to respect him and what he’s doing. I think he’s doing all the right things to make the port a great asset going forward.”

McAuliffe’s board shake-up came after a run of bad press on the port’s financial losses. But port officials report the situation improving. Last week they reported six consecutive profitable months, with operating profit in the first half of fiscal 2015 at $6.2 million, compared to a $10.6-million loss during the same period of fiscal 2014.

The port’s challenge from an economic development standpoint, Aston said, is attracting manufacturing companies to Virginia that add value to the goods they import. “I think John sees that big picture,” he added.

The recession factored heavily in the port’s recent financial difficulties, according to Aston. “You can’t create a market where the market isn’t there,” he said.