Results tagged “Tonia Reyes Uranga” from Press Corps

City Council members Tonia Reyes Uranga and Patrick O'Donnell are endorsing Third District Long Beach Unified School Richard Lewis, his campaign announced today.

Lewis seems to be the chosen one for this seat to replace Michael Shane Ellis, who resigned. Council members Robert Garcia, Suja Lowenthal and Val Lerch, and the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce have also endorsed Lewis in the Dec. 29 special election.

Lewis, a financial controller, is a member of the Downtown Long Beach Associates' executive board and president of the East Village Association.

With state Sen. Alan Lowenthal endorsing Assistant City Auditor James Johnson in the 7th District City Council race Sunday -- on the heels of a couple of other significant endorsements and some new candidate faces -- next April's election is getting intriguing.

Last week, the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce announced endorsements in two races, supporting 9th District Councilman Val Lerch and 3rd District Councilman Gary DeLong for re-election. Before that, 7th District Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga was endorsed by the city's largest employee association, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

While the 7th District and 9th District races have had a slate of contenders for several months, a second challenger who is likely to shake things up recently joined in the 3rd District race. Tom Marchese, an attorney who is vice president of the University Park Estates Neighborhood Association and a board member for the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust, is running against DeLong. Marchese has been an outspoken critic of the DeLong and city plans such as the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Swap. Another vocal critic, former Redevelopment Agency board member Terry Jensen, has been considering a run against DeLong since last month. I don't know whether these two will split the vote against DeLong, but I think they have potential to make a serious run for the 3rd District seat.

Now, things are starting to get intriguing, and Election Day is still five months away. This election may be one of the most significant ones for Long Beach in recent memory, as the city battles budget deficits, dwindling resources and a growing demand for serious reform at City Hall. The winners will have their work cut out for them. But first they have to get there, and that in itself won't be an easy task, even for many of the incumbents.

In case you're wondering who was behind those candidate endorsements announced Thursday by the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, keep reading.

The Chamber's Political Action Committee chose the endorsements, although only 10 of the 14 PAC members were able to attend candidate interviews, according to Chamber President and CEO Randy Gordon. Gordon said that PAC members are chosen by the existing PAC based on interviews with the Chamber members who are interested in joining.

Following is the list of the PAC members who were involved in the endorsement process, as provided by Gordon:

• Matt Kinley (Co-chairman of the PAC) - attorney with Tredway, Lumsdaine & Doyle, LLP
• David Neary (Co-chairman of the PAC) - president of WestLand Construction
• Randy Gordon (PAC secretary) - president and CEO of the Chamber
• Joanne Davis - president of Davis Group political consulting firm
• Lori Lofstrom - attorney for Holmes Lofstrom, PC
• Trini Jimenez - director of government affairs for Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co.
• Jerry Miller - managing consultant for IMC Municipal Consulting and former Long Beach city manager
• Joshua Owen - president of Ability/Tri-Modal, a trucking, warehousing and distribution company
• Jay Davis - president of Universal Healthcare Insurance Agency
• Nancy Ahlswede - executive director, Apartment Association, California Southern Cities

While the PAC membership includes a few notable names, the one that jumps out at me is Jerry Miller, former city manager and now lobbyist. Miller was (perhaps still is) working for Los Cerritos Wetlands owner Tom Dean to convince the City Council to engage in a deal to exchange the wetlands for several city properties. The still-unresolved deal is highly controversial and faced criticism from fiscal conservatives and environmentalists alike.

What's interesting is that council members Val Lerch and Gary DeLong both voted for the deal, and now the PAC of which Miller is a member has unanimously endorsed both of them. Meanwhile, Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, who was one of four council members to vote against the land exchange, didn't receive the Chamber PAC's endorsement, which instead chose to stay neutral in the 7th District race.

Is there a connection? It's hard to say. To be fair, the Chamber has endorsed DeLong and Lerch in the past, but has never endorsed Uranga. One could also argue that Miller's experience as city manager makes him an ideal PAC member to opine who should lead Long Beach. Still, DeLong also happens to be running against two vocal critics of the wetlands deal, Tom Marchese and Terry Jensen. I can't imagine Tom Dean would be too happy if he learned that Miller had endorsed one of them.

Assistant City Auditor James Johnson will kick off his campaign for the 7th District City Council seat at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 14 at Necho's Restaurant, 2380 Santa Fe Ave. Johnson is one of four candidates so far in what should be an exciting and competitive race. Two-term 7th District Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga announced last week she is running for a third term as a write-in candidate. Also running are Jill Hill, president of the Wrigely Area Neighborhood Alliance, and Jack Smith, who works as a Hollywood line producer and is a local homeless and housing advocate.

To attend Johnson's campaign kickoff, RSVP to Mike by e-mailing RSVP@johnsonforcitycouncil.com or by calling 562-522-9096.

Seventh District City Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga may have jumped into the race to keep her seat a little late, but she jumped in with a big splash.

Uranga kicked off her write-in campaign for a third term with a major endorsement this morning. The campaign kick-off and press conference was held at District Lodge 947 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents 3,800 of the city's rank-and-file workers. IAM spokeswoman Janet Schabow said the union is giving the incumbent its endorsement because of her commitment to support working families and city employees. Uranga is arguably the strongest labor proponent on the council.

"You have to recognize when someone has been your champion, and we do," Schabow said. "She's been our champion."

Uranga entered the race after her husband, Long Beach City College Trustee Roberto Uranga, dropped out two weeks earlier. Reyes Uranga was elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006 to the council's 7th District, which includes parts of Wrigley, California Heights and the Westside. After two full terms, council members' names can't appear on the ballot, but they may run for a third term as a write-in.

However, having to run a write-in campaign may further weaken the strength of Uranga's incumbency, which may already be diminished because of the budget cuts the council was forced to make this year. The only Long Beach politician to get elected to a third term as a write-in candidate was the immensely popular Mayor Beverly O'Neill in 2002.

Uranga faces three opponents so far: Assistant City Auditor James Johnson, who has already raised a sizeable campaign war chest; Jill Hill, president of the Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance; and Jack Smith, who works as a Hollywood line producer and is a local homeless and housing advocate. More challengers may yet surface as the April 13 election draws near. The candidate nomination period begins Dec. 21 and ends Jan. 15.

There's been much speculation about whether 7th District City Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga would run for a third term as a write-in candidate after her husband, Roberto Uranga, dropped out of the race two weeks ago. Now it's official (almost).

Uranga released a statement today that she will officially announce her re-election bid at a Thursday morning press conference. Uranga has been a staunch union supporter, and the release says that labor and community leaders will be joining her at the press conference. It will be interesting to see who has her back in what could be a very difficult race.

Running as a write-in creates a significant challenge for incumbents, with the only real local success story being then-Mayor Beverly O'Neill's successful write-in campaign in 2002. Long Beach's mayor and council members can only run for a third term as a write-in candidate. Uranga was elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. Also running as a write-in next year is 9th District Councilman Val Lerch.

So far, the other candidates in the 7th District race are Assistant City Auditor James Johnson, who has already raised a sizeable campaign war chest; Jill Hill, co-president of the Wrigley Area Neighborhood Association; and Jack Smith, who works as a Hollywood line producer and is a local homeless and housing advocate.

Uranga released the following statement today:

A write-in campaign is a difficult thing, and the decision to run was not made easily. But my heart is and has always been with the residents of the Seventh District. So, after encouragement from numerous community leaders, I decided to follow my heart.

I have never backed down from a challenge, and the next few years will be a real challenge for our city. This past year we passed a very lean budget for our city, and the economy does not look like it's going to get better any time soon. We have lost many of our residents and businesses to the economic downturn because of jobs and foreclosures.  Times have been difficult for working families and difficult times require bold and passionate actions.

Included in Uranga's press release was a statement of support from John Taeleifi, President of the West Long Beach Association:

We need a strong experienced leadership to get us through this critical time. Tonia has always been there for us, and we want to keep her there fighting for the District.

The next City Council election isn't until April, but it's never too early to start getting to know the candidates. 7th District council candidate Jill Hill, president of the Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance, is having a meet and greet event Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. at Bonanza Restaurant, 1810 W. Willow St.

The public is invited to the free event, and there will be appetizers and refreshments.

Running against Hill are Assistant City Auditor James Johnson and Jack Smith, a Hollywood line producer and local homeless and housing advocate. A third candidate, Long Beach City College Trustee Roberto Uranga, had been in the running, but he dropped out last week. However, his wife, 7th District Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, whose seat is supposed to open up next year, has said she may run for a third term as a write-in candidate.

Things must have gotten backed up at City Hall because of the budget over the last couple of weeks. The agenda for next Tuesday's City Council meeting isn't just a government document -- it's a book! Forget "War and Peace." "Don Quixote"? That's light reading.

If any last-minute items are added to the agenda this afternoon (and they almost always are), the agenda will have at least 50 items on it. And I thought we were going to be finished with late-night meetings for a while after the council approved the budget last week.

For the most part, however, there isn't anything of great controversy on the agenda, though you never know for sure what might stir up trouble into you're sitting in the Council Chambers. Twenty-one items are on the consent calendar, which is passed with a single vote, and many of the other actions are for various contracts. Fairly routine stuff.

One big controversial issue could be an item from council members Rae Gabelich, Gerrie Schipske and Tonia Reyes Uranga to have the Charter Amendment Commitee (which is essentially the mayor and the full council) consider charter reforms to bring in more money. That includes but is not limited to, the agenda item notes, revising the Harbor Department transfer to the General Fund. That means the council members want more money from the Port of Long Beach. This discussion has been touched on many times before, and grabbing that extra cash requires walking a thin legal tightrope. The Harbor Department is certainly likely to resist.

By coincidence, earlier Tuesday, at 3:30 p.m., the Charter Amendment Committee will meet to discuss creating a charter-required "rainy day" fund to ensure that when extra money is on hand, part of it is saved for tough economic times -- like now. The council would have to put the fund on the ballot for voters to consider.

The council starts its regular meeting Tuesday at 5 p.m. Click here to go the city clerk's Legistar program that will allow you to see all of the meeting agendas with their backup documents.

The Long Beach City's Council's Economic Development and Finance Committee doesn't usually draw a crowd, but Monday's meeting may be different.

Two politically charged and controversial issues -- an Equal Benefits Ordinance for domestic partners such as gay couples and potential regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries -- are going before the committee, which meets at 4:30 p.m. in City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd.

The Equal Benefits Ordinance, proposed by Councilman Robert Garcia, would require that city contractors that already provide spousal benefits to their employees also include domestic partners in their benefits plan. Part of the reason for the ordinance is to give benefits to gay couples. Garcia is one of two openly gay council members. The council voted in July to send the matter to committee, where it was supposed to be discussed in August, but it may have been delayed because of the council's budget talks.

The second issue going to the committee has its own kind of controversy.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are popping up more and more around Long Beach, but they are unregulated and nobody knows exactly how many there are. Their numbers have been estimated at up to 40. The council voted unanimously Aug. 4 to have City Attorney Robert Shannon report within 60 days about the feasibility, legality and enforcement of ordinances on medical marijuana collectives and cooperatives, which are also known as dispensaries or clubs.

The Economic Development and Finance Committee will vet the issue Monday and then could make recommendations to the full council, though the council wouldn't have to support the committee's plan. The committee members are council members Rae Gabelich, Gary DeLong and Tonia Reyes Uranga.

Read this article in English here.

Tal vez leyeron en mi columna hoy que entre los programas que podrían terminar en el presupuesto de Long Beach, uno es el "simulcast" en español para ver las juntas del Ayuntamiento Municipal en la television.

Los consejeros Robert Garcia y Tonia Reyes Uranga, quienes son los dos latinos del consejo, dijeron el martes que estaban preocupados que este programa, lo cual cuesta $37,000, podría terminar y pidieron que el gestión del gobierno municipal traten de salvarlo. Sin embargo, el ayuntamiento no tomó ninguna acción official para salvar el programa.

El "simulcast" proporciona intérpretes de español durante las juntas del ayuntamiento que transmiten en television, y parece que es un programa muy popular. El Oficial Secretario Larry Herrera reportó que un estudio que hicieron hace unos anos mostró que 4,000 hispanohablantes usan el "simulcast" para ver las juntas en español cada semana.

El ayuntamiento tiene sus últimas juntas para aprobar el presupuesto el próximo martes a las 3:30 de la tarde y continuando a las 7 de la noche. La junta ocurre en El Palacio Municipal (City Hall), 333 W. Ocean Blvd.

You may have read in my column today that among the proposed Long Beach budget cuts is an end to Spanish language simulcasts of council meetings.

Council members Robert Garcia and Tonia Reyes Uranga, the two Latinos on the council, raised concerns Tuesday about eliminating the $37,000 program and asked city management to find a way to save it. However, the council took no formal action to save the program.

The simulcast provides Spanish interpreters during the council meeting television broadcasts, and apparently is quite popular. City Clerk Larry Herrera reported that a study conducted several years ago showed that 4,000 people use the simulcast service each week to watch council meetings.

Speaking of Spanish speakers, I've translated this entry into Spanish so they can learn about this as well. Click here for that blog entry.

Remember last year's city budget process, when city officials scheduled budget workshops and meetings right before their regular council meetings? Remember the long lines of residents who wanted to speak but ended up being rushed? Remember how council members didn't have time to ask all their questions and the budget meetings went over schedule? Remember how city management promised this year it would be different?

Well, it hasn't quite worked out that way, and Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske said tonight during a community budget meeting in her 5th District that she and council members Tonia Reyes Uranga and Rae Gabelich tomorrow will release a statement calling for at least two budget sessions each week until the council approves a budget Sept. 15.

Sure, the city has scheduled a dozen community meetings that council members and city managers are attending to explain the proposed budget, the $20.3 million in cuts that are being made, and to get feedback from residents. That seems a good step toward the promise of more transparency and public input in the budget process. But at Tuesday's budget workshop, when the council was discussing library and parks budgets, the meeting again went over, public comments had to be reduced from three minutes to two minutes and not all of the council members had time to ask their questions.

Apparently, another budget meeting, where council members would actually be able to vote and take action (not like a workshop, which is just for information and discussion), had been originally planned for later Tuesday at 7 p.m. For some reason, it was taken off the schedule, apparently, according to Schipske, without consulting the council.

Now Schipske says she and her colleagues want more meetings, actionable meetings, and enough time to get all of their questions answered -- not to mention make some budget decisions of enormous magnitude.

A political neophyte has pulled papers to run for the 7th District City Council seat, bringing to four the total number of potential candidates who hope to replace Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga.

Doug Seagraves, 52, a four-year 7th District resident and five-year Long Beach resident who has worked in public relations and acting but is unemployed following a battle with lung cancer, has filed his intent to run with the City Clerk's Office. Seagraves told me last week that he is an advocate for disabled veterans and the poor. He said he was prompted to run for office after seeing how state budget cuts and local cuts to the Police Department's Youth Services Division and truancy patrols are likely to affect 7th District neighborhoods.

"I'm tired of the powers that be balancing their budgets on the backs of the poor and the disabled," Seagraves said.

The other three 7th District candidates so far in next April's election are Roberto Uranga, a Long Beach City College trustee and husband of the current councilwoman; Jill Hill, of the Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance; and Assistant City Auditor James Johnson.

Last week Uranga officially kicked off his campaign.

Seventh District Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga announced this afternoon that she will ask the council next week to approve having city staff create standards and criteria for the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries in Long Beach. Uranga notes in a press release that while the state and county regulate such businesses, there is no local jurisdiction over them. She also raises concerns about how much the dispensaries may cost Long Beach in the form of services, and she is asking for a report on the businesses' fiscal impact on the city. Read the full press release from Uranga's office below:

Title 5 of the City of Long Beach Municipal Code requires all businesses operating in the City of Long Beach to pay a business license tax and to comply with the City Zoning Ordinance which includes regulations concerning where and under what conditions a business may operate in the City. The purpose of Title 5 (Sec 5.02.010) is to identify those businesses, trades and professions conducted and carried on in the city of Long Beach that require local regulation in order to promote and protect the public health, safety and welfare of Long Beach and its citizens.

Since the passage of Proposition 215, known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, the City of Long Beach has experienced the unregulated proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the city.  The voter approved initiative contained language to encourage the federal and state governments to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana. In 2003, Senate Bill (SB) 420, which was passed as an extension and clarification of Proposition 215, established the Medical Marijuana Program (MMP) under the California Department of Public Health.  The MMP, administered through a patient's county of residence, provides a voluntary medical marijuana identification card issuance and registry program for qualified patients.

While regulations exists at the State and County levels to administer the provisions of Prop 215, local authorities have not enacted oversight of the medical marijuana dispensaries conducting business within their jurisdiction.  While these businesses do not pay any local fees for permits or licensees, there may be costs to the city for services associated with their operations.  I am seeking the City Council's support to direct City Staff to propose specific standards and criteria under which medical marijuana dispensaries and related businesses, trades and professions shall be conducted and regulated within the city and to direct City Staff to conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine the fiscal impact for city services.

We will have more in-depth coverage of this topic later in the week.

Bits and pieces of news have been trickling in about the Long Beach City Council's special closed session meeting that is progress as I write. City and union officials are negotiating a deal to have officers forgo a contractual pay raise to put police at the median pay level of 10 comparable cities on Sept. 30.

Today, Steve James, president of the Long Beach Police Officers Association, said the union made an offer to space out the pay hike, which according to James the council supported earlier this week but now may have decided to reject during today's closed council meeting. City officials have refused to address the specifics of the closed contract negotiations, and James wouldn't divulge why he believes the council could change course.

Earlier today, Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga told me that Mayor Bob Foster is trying to take the negotiations in his own direction and is "blackmailing" the council with the threat of a veto. Uranga wouldn't divulge the deal that is on the table nor what plan Foster supports.

She said she's frustrated with getting "mixed messages" from city management and that only the mayor, not the council, has seen City Manager Pat West's proposed budget for the 2010 fiscal year.

"We as the council have not been getting the same information that the mayor's been getting, so he has us at a disadvantage," Uranga said.

The mayor's chief of staff, Becki Ames, didn't respond to a request this afternoon for a response to Uranga's comments.

James said he too would like to know what the real budget deficit is at this point -- the $43.3 million number has stood for months now -- and that the police proposal is a good way to reduce it.

The police offer "would get (police pay) to the level, but under the model we had out there, it would take approximately three years to get to the median, and then we would have a bump in the fourth year," James said.

The deal would save the city $10 million over two years, he said, but because police union members must approve it, the deal is "about as low as we can go."

The Long Beach City Council voted 7-0 in closed session tonight to have city negotiators move forward on a controversial proposed land deal that would exchange part of Los Cerritos Wetlands for the city's public service yard, according to City Attorney Bob Shannon. Council members Tonia Reyes Uranga and Dee Andrews were absent.

The council met in closed session because the matter was a real estate transaction, which is standard policy. Shannon said the council will meet at least one more time in closed session to discuss the deal, but once a final contract is drawn up, it will be made public and the council will vote on it in open session.

Environmentalists and critics say Long Beach isn't getting a fair deal in the trade, which previously was to exchange 33.7 acres of the 189-acre Bixby Ranch portion of the wetlands in southeastern Long Beach for the 12.1-acre public service yard in western Long Beach. Now, city officials say the deal may be expanded to include another 10 acres of the wetlands.

Did Mayor Bob Foster retaliate against a city board member for comments he never heard and that the member said he never made?

Jack Smith, who is a member of the volunteer Long Beach Housing Development Co. board but wasn't among a list of reappointees to 17 city panels submitted by the mayor Tuesday night, says that's exactly what happened.

Foster says his decision not to reappoint Smith to the board had nothing to do with the comments that his sources told him Smith had made.

Apparently, Foster had heard second-hand that at a West Long Beach Association meeting Smith implied an inappropriate relationship between Foster and Tom Dean, the owner of Los Cerritos Wetlands. The city has been brokering a controversial land swap with Dean to obtain the wetlands.

After the alleged comments, the mayor asked Smith to meet with him last week, Smith said.
"He accused me about saying something about him and Tom Dean in a public meeting," Smith said.

Smith then asked Foster why he wasn't on the list of LBHDC board reappointments.

"He said, 'Because of this,'" Smith said, referring to the alleged comments.

Oh, to be a fly on that wall.

Smith said that going into the meeting he had thought they were going to discuss the possibility of him serving on the city's Parks and Recreation Commission. Smith's 7th District representative, Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, had asked the mayor to consider Smith for the position, they all said Wednesday.

Putting Smith on that commission is exactly how Foster explains his decision not to reappointment Smith to the LBHDC board. The Parks and Recreation Commission is required by the City Charter and is considered a step up from the non-charter LBHDC board.

A statement released Wednesday by Foster's office says that in last week's conversation, Foster "point blank asked Mr. Smith about statements that he allegedly made that were directed towards the Mayor during a recent community meeting - which Mr. Smith denied making and assured the Mayor anytime he had a disagreement he would call the Mayor or his staff directly."

However, that wasn't why Smith wasn't reappointed, the mayor says.

"The Mayor has NOT said he will not re-appoint Mr. Smith," the statement says. "There are other non-charter and charter appointments coming in the weeks ahead."

But Smith said that didn't appear to be on Foster's radar during last week's meeting.

"When I mentioned the charter commission, he turned to (chief of staff) Becki (Ames) and said, 'Do we have an application from Jack on that,'" Smith said.

The sudden controversy over Smith's reappointment came as a surprise to him, he said.

The matter surfaced during Tuesday night's council meeting when Mike Ruehle, president of the Belmont Shore Neighborhood Association and a frequent critic of Foster, brought the issue to the council's attention.

"The mayor had indicated what was going to happen and I accepted that," said Smith, a Wrigley District resident who will complete his first two-year term on the LBHDC board this month and who previously served a term on the Homeless Services Advisory Commission.

Uranga said Wednesday that was she taken aback when she learned about the outcome, as recounted by Smith, of the meeting with the mayor.

"All I know was the next day when I saw Jack he was crushed. He was embarrassed," Uranga said.

She said she wasn't at that meeting, so she doesn't know first-hand what was actually discussed. At the same time, Uranga said, neither was the mayor at the community meeting where Smith supposedly made the critical comments.

"You know, what really gets me is, it's all hearsay," she said.

And if Foster's decision was retaliation against Smith?

"How petty and vindictive of the administration if that's what he was doing," Uranga said.

Among the many items that went before the Long Beach City Council in a busy and long-running meeting Tuesday was a resolution in support of the state propositions that will be on the ballot next week.

The council voted 4-3 to support the resolutions. Council members Suja Lowenthal, Patrick O'Donnell, Dee Andrews and Tonia Reyes Uranga voted in favor, while council members Robert Garcia, Gerrie Schipske and Rae Gabelich dissented. Vice Mayor Val Lerch abstained, as he usually does on resolutions about ballot measures or similar issues. Lerch has said a non-partisan governmental body like the council shouldn't take a position on issues going before voters, just as it shouldn't back political candidates. Councilman Gary DeLong was absent from the vote.

Will the council's vote make a difference? Polls show voters are likely to reject the propositions May 19. Only Garcia articulated Tuesday why he couldn't support the legislation -- he said he can't support Prop. 1D, which would shift First 5 Children's Commission funding to general health and human services programs for children, and he called the Prop. 1E mental health measure "draconian."

Read up on all of the propositions at the California League of Women Voters voter guide site. It's an objective site that shows the arguments on both sides of each proposition.

It's always interesting watching a newcomer step into the role of council member. When Robert Garcia was sworn in Tuesday to represent the 1st District, several questions crossed my mind.

Will he tend to vote with the council majority? Or will he join agitators such as council members Gerrie Schipske and Tonia Reyes Uranga in what is often a quite vocal minority? Will he target a barrage of questions and comments at city staff, like the aforementioned agitators, or will he be the silent type, like Councilman Dee Andrews? Maybe he'll be an activist on his specific issues, the way Councilwoman Rae Gabelich is, or he may become that unknown x-factor whose vote could go either way, like Vice Mayor Val Lerch's sometimes is.

His first day on the job, Garcia had a lot of big decisions to make, and the public saw a councilman who was willing to go with the majority or the minority.

In closed session, and for the first vote of his career, Garcia voted with the minority -- Schipske and Uranga -- to release confidential documents about the controversial Los Cerritos Wetlands land exchange. But in open session, Garcia joined the majority in voting to implement employee furloughs, while Schipske and Uranga voted against them because they wanted to postpone the vote.

We've also got to give Garcia credit for sticking around through all of the major and contentious votes Tuesday. Typically, newly inaugurated council members take off immediately for a celebration, but Garcia stayed until almost 9 p.m. despite his planned 7 p.m. party.

So, what do you think Garcia's political future and role on the council will hold?

What's happening with the Long Beach Airport's modernization plan? How does the airport impact the city, positively and negatively? What's going to happen with JetBlue and the Boeing C-17 program?

These are a few of the issues that will be discussed Tuesday night at Beer & Politics, a monthly discussion forum. The event will begin at 7 p.m. at Gallagher's Pub & Grill, 2751 E. Broadway. The speakers at the event will be 3rd District City Councilman Gary DeLong, 7th District Councilwoman Tonia Reyes-Uranga and Airport Director Mario Rodriguez.

Check it out. Beer & Politics is always a lively discussion.