Councilman Richardson Responds, And We Reply, Re North Long Beach Shootings And What He Said On <i>Facebook</i> About Restoring Police (Including Field Anti-Gang Unit) For Taxpayers

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Counter-Point / Opinion

Councilman Richardson Responds, And We Reply, Re North Long Beach Shootings And What He Said On Facebook About Restoring Police (Including Field Anti-Gang Unit) For Taxpayers

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(June 26, 2016) -- At late evening June 22, 9th district Councilman Rex Richardson responded on Facebook to our June 18 story ("Perspective: Despite Recent North Long Beach Shootings And 'Measure A' Sales Tax Hike, Councilman Richardson On Facebook Tells His Constituents He Won't Respond To Challenges Seeking To Restore LBPD's Field Anti-Gang Unit, Says They Should Expect Only "Modest" (Undefined) Police Increases Until Sometime In Or After 2017, If Then").

We believe Councilman Richardson's response is newsworthy and comment-worthy and publish it below. We also include our point by point comments in reply.

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By way of context, a number of our comments apply with equal force to the records of other LB Council incumbents. Although Councilman Richardson happens to be on the receiving end here, on unanimous Council actions and inactions, his voted action is no different than many of LB's other Council incumbents.

We also replied at length while the Councilman only commented quickly. If the Councilman wishes to add more to his initial response, we'll be glad to do add it here.

Councilman Richardson	LBREPORT.com comment
#1 The headline clearly misleads the readers. I said that Measure A will not even go into effect until January 2017, so it cannot help us restore public safety this summer. #Fact	Stalling restoring LBPD's field anti-gang unit for Measure A revenue is a bogus issue. Councilman Richardson or any Council incumbent could have moved to restore funding for the field anti-gang unit "on any Tuesday" prior to Measure A; he and they can do so now on any Tuesday after Measure A. Our headline and text are accurate, which Councilman Richardson can't deny so he claims it's "misleading" which it isn't. In contrast, what Councilman Richardson and the Council did on Feb. 23, 2016 (8-0, Austin absent) was in our view highly misleading. They approved a ballot title and text for Measure A, a general tax that current and future Councils can spend for any general fund items they wish, that showed voters items that the tax doesn't mention or guarantee [all caps in original] "...PUBLIC SAFETY, INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIR AND NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES MEASURE. To maintain 911 emergency response services; increase police, firefighter/paramedic staffing; repair potholes/streets; improve water supplies" and buried four words "and maintain general services" concealing the truth that it's a blank check tax. If a private business took people's money in this sleazy way, it's operators would likely face fines or worse; to see exactly what LB's current Councilmembers (Austin absent) voted to show voters, click here.
#2 I said that I prefer meaningful dialogue, not "gotcha" Facebook challenges, specifically for this reason. Social media is too easy to skew, and this article is a prime example.	We challenge Councilman Richardson to name a single time in his two years in office when he (or any other Council incumbent) has held a public meeting specifically to seek meaningful dialogue on restoring LBPD's field anti-gang unit. We're sorry that he sneers when taxpayers use social networks to address serious issues while he and other LB politicians too often clutter social networks with mainly self-serving puffery.
#3 While also not in this headline but buried in the article, I clearly stated, once again, my support for the restoration of the gang unit. I'm not sure how slamming me with misleading journalism and rude comments does anything but divide the community.	"Support" for restoring the [field] anti-gang unit? When? In the year 3000? Councilman Richardson and four other incumbents who took office in mid-July 2014 have had two years to do so on any Tuesday and they haven't. Our report is accurate. We regret that the Councilmember's record has invited some public comments he finds unpleasant.
I, and most others, clearly want to see a safer community and public safety restorations, but I think these tactics are divisive and are not productive whatsoever.	It's not divisive; it's democratic to have differences of opinion with politicians. We too want to see a safe community which is why we have consistently advocated swift restoration of the field anti-gang unit. We acknowledge this hasn't been productive with LB's incumbents but that's what elections are for; the next ones for five Council incumbents come in April 2018.
Mr. Pearl, rather than troll my personal Facebook account, if you are ever unclear on a position or statement of mine, simply pick up the phone and call me, like you have previously done so. I'm happy to illuminate.	We will continue to accurately report newsworthy statements by LB elected officials whenever we can confirm them. Councilman Richardson is rarely unclear on his positions and he's been very clear on this one. We simply disagree with him. We urge him and his likeminded Council colleagues to adopt a more productive stance for taxpayers that will help build a better Long Beach.

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