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.
Paul Eakins reports on Long Beach City Hall, and local and regional
politics. A newcomer to the Press-
Kris Hanson reports on the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles,
covering environmental issues, economic triumphs and
pitfalls and trade trends of America’s largest port.
He also writes a weekly column “On The Waterfront”,
appearing Tuesdays, and also produces an occassional video
and column titled “On The Job,” which follows the hard-working
men and women who keep Southern California’s economy humming.
Karen Robes Meeks came to work for the Press-
Lowenthal has sold out. At one time in his political career, he would support candiates that had worked for the neighborhood. Now he is doing Foster's bidding by supporting someone with no connections to the neighborhood, just anoother yes vote for the Foster/Delong gang.