From LBREPORT.com's Amnesia File: in December 2012, Mayor Foster told a televised interview (Art Levine's StraightTalkTV) that he'd make that decision by the end of 2012.

(Dec. 20, 2012, 6:25 a.m.) -- Interviewed on Art Levine's Straight Talk TV, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster says he won't be seeking statewide office and will decide whether to seek a third term as Mayor (via write-in) by the end of this year.

"I love being Mayor. I think I've done a very good job for this city. I do it the best way I know how. I'm thinking very hard and giving it a lot of thought as to whether I'll run again and I'll make that decision before the end of the year," Mayor Foster said. [Note: Mayor Foster didn't say if he'd announce his decision by the end of the year.]

Asked in a fast follow-up by host/executive producer Levine if he thinks anyone currently on the Council could make a better Mayor, Foster gave a non-responsive response: "I'm not going to, I think there are some very good people on the Council"...and quickly changed the subject, continuing:

"Look: I have a record. My record speaks for itself. I think I've done this the best way I know how and I think people have responded to that. I love this city and I've tried to make it better. I meant what I said in that Good Friday speech where I tried to make the road a little wider, a little smoother for those behind me. I think I can stand on that. It really comes down to a personal choice as to whether or not my family and I want to pursue that. I'm giving it the kind of thought it deserves..."

No, Mayor Foster didn't say he'd tell the public his decision by year's end and he hasn't...but since then he's popped up in various venues telling audiences how well he thinks the City is doing. Of course it's a transparent stump speech for himself and his Council allies without being tagged in a political context.

Twice this year (most recently in April), we politely asked Mayor Foster at other events about his plans and twice he politely told us it's too early. But consider LBREPORT.com's Amnesia File from mid-September 2005, when then private citizen Foster held a high visibility press event to announce his 2006 candidacy for Mayor AFTER he'd already quietly amassed a whopping $150,000 in campaign contributions by the end of June 2005.

So no, June in the year before an April citywide election is not "too early."

[excerpted article] (September 13, 2005) -- Flanked by allies, endorsers and former co-workers, the soon to be former (stepping down Sept. 30) president of Southern CA Edison, 11 year LB resident Bob Foster, officially announced he's running for Mayor of LB...

As previously reported by LBReport.com, Mr. Foster's campaign committee ("Friends of Bob Foster") reported collecting over $150,000 in contributions as of June 30, 2005.

...Mr. Otto: I'm here also because of my friendship with Bob and Nancy Foster and it's my honor to endorse Bob and to help him kick off his campaign for the job of being Mayor of Long Beach.

...I think this is a particularly important moment for Long Beach right now. We've had great leadership from Beverly O'Neill and now we need somebody with business experience, with a good heart, a good record on the environment and we're standing in front of the Edison building here today to make this dedication to his candidacy...

Mr. Foster: There are cities in California that are thriving, where people stroll their neighborhoods in safety, where children learn the skills they need to secure their future.

And then there are cities mired in distrust, debt and dysfunction, and all too often the difference stems from specific decisions made by elected officials. Policy has consequences. Leadership makes a difference...

As Mayor, I will provide the leadership to put our city's fiscal house in order. Right now, our finances are precarious at best. We need to institute long-range budgeting that recognizes that we cannot make decisions today that will beggar our children tomorrow.

I will provide the leadership to find ways to increase the size of our police department so we can truly initiate neighborhood policing, to improve our emergency preparedness and to stiffen our resistance to terrorist attack.

I will provide the leadership to unite the city, and the public and private sectors of our school district to enhance educational opportunities and give our children a better future -- and to provide our economy with the skilled workforce we need in an increasingly competitive world.

I will provide the leadership to help revitalize our commercial corridors and strengthen our neighborhoods.

And I will provide leadership to return civility and a sense of common purpose to local government. The diversity of opinion in our city is a strength, not a weakness. It is the job of a leader to extract the common strain from the discordant chorus, to engender mutual respect and forge consensus.

So...is Foster (again) operating below the radar so that after half a year of Hamlet style consideration he announces he wants Vice Mayor/1st district Councilman Robert Garcia to succeed him?

LBREPORT.com notes that Garcia -- whose Council term expires in 2014 -- hasn't filed a statement of intention at this point to seek reelection to the 1st Council district.

Garcia may be among those hanging on Mayor Foster's decision but other candidates aren't waiting for the Mayor's permission to run. They currently include Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, Long Beach Community College Trustee Doug Otto and fairly-recent former Irvine resident/NFL player Damon Dunn.

In April, Councilwoman Schipske sought to discuss banning political contributions from contractors and those having business before the City Council, requiring Councilmembers to disclose communications (now evading the Public Records Act on private websites) about public business and to disclose communications received during Council meetings from lobbyists.

The entire city saw the appalling response: Council incumbents Robert Garcia, Suja Lowenthal, Gary DeLong, Patrick O'Donnell, James Johnson, Al Austin and Steven Neal (Dee Andrews was absent) all refused to second Schipske's motion to send the measures to the Council's Eections Oversight Committee for discussion.

This took place while a plan is currently gestating -- applauded by Foster and Garcia -- offering the lure of building and outsourcing operation of a new Taj Mahal Long Beach Civic Center for the profit of some lucky private interest(s) -- that the Council majority who refused to second Schipske's motion will now choose.

Long Beach taxpayers are watching all this in disbelief. In our opinion, Long Beach has reached a tipping point at which special interest and developer priorities have now reached alarming, toxic levels at City Hall.