The Long Beach Municipal Code provides in section 2.03.100 under Rules of the City Council: "No member of the Council shall leave the Council chamber without permission from the Mayor."

In our opinion, this Municipal Code ought to be interpretted in the manner most protective of the public. It should require Councilmembers to publicly seek permission to leave an ongoing Council meeting. In our opinion, a Councilmember isn't faithfully discharging his/her sworn duty by vanishing on problematic votes. Councilmembers aren't doing their job by walking off a job for which they are paid a salary, given generous health insurance and other perks, including a pension after two terms. If there's some exigent physical reason requiring a Councilmember to exit, the Council can adjourn, and on important matters should do so to ensure that Councilmember's voice is recorded.

We acknowledge that the Municipal Code doesn't specify when Councilmembers must have obtained Mayor's permission to leave. The language could be interpretted in a way that lets the Mayor grant some kind of blanket permission to any Councilmember who wishes to leave whenever he/she wishes. That practice has been accepted over the past 20+ years under at least three Mayors: Kell, O'Neill and Foster.

Sometimes a Councilmember's absence is benign but sometimes it's an attempt to evade the force of another LB Municipal Code provision. Section 2.03.050(B) of the LB Municipal Code provides, "Except when a conflict of interest exists and abstention is required by State law, every member of the Council who is present when a roll is called shall vote for or against the question, unless excused by a majority of the members present, prior to the calling of the roll on such question."

On April 15, Vice Mayor Robert Garcia and Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, both candidates for higher office, were present that day but out of the Council Chamber on a Council vote to settle nine remaining LBPD "donning/doffing" allegations. Councilwoman Lowenthal was absent earlier in the meeting but not in the Council Chamber on the vote.

Garcia was presiding and exited (arrow) after the item was called...leaving Patrick O'Donnell (Lowenthal's Assembly opponent) in the hot seat to cast a recorded vote. Councilwoman Lowenthal re-entered the Council Chamber less than a minute after that vote and voted on the next item a resolution to support "equitable and timely resolution of the contract dispute" between Community Hospital and its Registered Nurses. Garcia remained out of the Council Chamber for that vote, then materialized for the following Council items.

In our opinion, it's plainly disrespectful for people we hire to represent us to shirk their work in this way. We think this behavior should be called out, not shrugged.

It hasn't been asked in Mayoral debates but we believe it ought to be: "If you are elected Mayor, will you invoke the Municipal Code and require Councilmembers to remain in the Council Chamber unless they publicly request permission to exit during the Council meeting and give some good reason for it?"