LBReport.com

Editorial

Our Election, Their Money



(July 31, 2013) -- Today is the deadline for some candidates running in the 2014 Long Beach election cycle to disclose from whom they received campaign contributions and in what amounts between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2013.

Some can legally avoid such disclosures until Jan. 31, 2014 because they delayed announcing their candidacy until after July 1 when Mayor Bob Foster said he wasn't running. (It's fair to ask why his decision affected theirs; did they think they couldn't as good a job as he did?)

However for the rest, LBREPORT.com will report what the public has a right to know, including the extent to which some people and entities who've chosen not to live in Long Beach seek to influence elections affecting those of us who do live here.

We believe this metric is overdue for discussion. We hold the view that those elected to Long Beach office should serve the interests of those of us who live here, not the desires of others who've decided it's better for them and their families to live elsewhere.

Corporate and special interests don't live here. Their decisions are based on their self-interest, which may or may not serve the public's interests in Long Beach. In our view, the first fidelity of elected officials should be to the latter, in our view made more difficult when elected officials gain office in part with money from the former.

People who don't live in Long Beach can't vote in Long Beach. They've already voted...with their feet. We shouldn't let them vote twice, choosing other places to live and then telling us whom we should put in office for ourselves.

Some firms and individuals are listed on campaign contribution forms with Long Beach addresses because they can legally use their business address, but in some cases their owners may go home to other communities, posing the same issues we raised above.

Of course living in Long Beach isn't a DNA test on civic policies; there have been and will continue to be gulfs on major issues that deserve debate...but at least on those matters we're all in the same boat even if we're not on the same page.

Watch for the LBREPORT.com's metric on campaign contributions, included in details of those contributions, coming shortly on LBREPORT.com.


blog comments powered by Disqus

Follow LBReport.com w/

Twitter

RSS

Facebook

Return To Front Page

Contact us: mail@LBReport.com




Ad above provided in the public interest by:


You can love where you bank! Credit unions are the only democratically controlled financial institutions in the U.S. In 1935, LBS Financial Credit Union opened its doors to Long Beach educators...and today LBS Financial serves ANYONE who lives or works in the local community. Click here for further information.













Carter Wood Floors
Hardwood Floor Specialists
Call (562) 422-2800 or (714) 836-7050




Return To Front Page

Contact us: mail@LBReport.com


Copyright © 2013 LBReport.com, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use/Legal policy, click here. Privacy Policy, click here