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Council Approves 6-0 -- With Councilwoman Mungo Vanishing On Vote -- To Name New North Library "Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library"; City Mgm't Now Directed To Work With White House To Invite First Lady To LB For A Naming Dedication Ceremony


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(Feb. 10, 2016, 9:05 a.m.) -- As seen LIVE on LBREPORT.com, the City Council voted 6-0 on Feb. 9 to name the City's new North branch library the "Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library."

Voting "yes" were Councilmembers Lena Gonzalez, Suzie Price, Daryl Supernaw, Dee Andrews, Al Austin and Rex Richardson (the latter advancing the action from its inception.) Councilmembers Suja Lowenthal, Roberto Uranga and Stacy Mungo were absent on the vote.

Councilwoman Mungo was present and voted on items before and after the Obama item, and was present during the first part of the Obama item but exited the Council Chamber before the public testified on the item. She remained out of her Council seat until the vote was called and recorded, then returned to the Council Chamber for the remainder of the Council meeting (webcast screen save below.)

[Scroll down for further.]




In a mass emailing following the vote, Councilman Richardson wrote:

[Councilman Richardson email text] Tonight, the Long Beach City Council took a historic vote to name the new North Neighborhood Library, the "Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library." [emphasis in original]

I feel strongly that libraries should inspire the next generation. I put forward this proposal last December because North Long Beach students expressed that the library should be named after a person they can identify with and who speaks to their issues.

Over the two months, we have held forums, facilitated focus groups, and engaged in online discussions on this topic. I am most proud of the opportunity to witness our community, of different ages and backgrounds, coming to consensus around this idea to inspire and engage the next generation.

This is a historic day for Long Beach. By taking this action tonight, the Long Beach City Council made history by naming a library named after a person of color for the first time. This is a testament that Long Beach is a forward thinking city that values the opinions of our youth, acknowledges contemporary heroes, and embraces diversity. [emphasis in original]

In the weeks to come, we will share some opportunities for your to help support our new "Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library," and further support education and literacy in our community.

Special thanks to all the community members who stepped up and engaged in this historic process over the past two months.

As at two previous Council meetings on the issue, public testimony on Feb. 9 by supporters outnumbered opponents. A number of attendees again brought what appeared to be professionally printed signs supporting naming the facility for Mrs. Obama (photo below.)


Source: Inside District 9 website

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The item, agendized by Councilman Richardson (joined by Lowenthal, Austin and Price) was initially voted on Dec. 22, 2015 (three days before Christmas) with a bare minimum City Council quorum present. The Dec. 22 item was preceded by an effort by Councilman Richardson to generate support for naming the library for Michelle Obama (website graphic below.)


Source: Inside District 9 website

At the Dec. 22 Council meeting, a sizable crowd of school age children (elementary, middle and high school) attended, some carrying professionally printed signs supporting the Obama naming (photo below.)


Source: Inside District 9 website

In his affirmative presentation, Councilman Richardson said the idea to name the library for Mrs. Obama had originated with students at Jordan High. He said prior to bringing his proposal to the Council, he'd spoken with the leaders of 10 of 11 North LB neighborhood groups...and they supported his proposal. Councilman Richardson also presented a video on Mrs. Obama that appeared to have been downloaded from the White House website.

Councilman Richardson said he'd followed the Council's usual procedure for proposing to name a public facility and said it was important to him that the name for the new library should inspire young people to use the new facility.

Multiple school children testified at the speakers' podium, a number of whom said First Lady Michelle Obama inspired them. Some also referred to Mrs. Obama race and gender, saying she was similar to themselves.

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At the Dec. 22 Council meeting, most adult speakers also favored the Obama naming, but some suggested alternatives including Judge Marcus Tucker (first African American judge in LB Municipal Court before rising the L.A. County Superior Court) and former Redevelopment Agency chair Bill Baker (both now deceased.) Another name separately suggested by former 9th district Councilman/Vice Mayor Val Lerch was retired Long Beach Librarian Eleanore Schmidt, a living person who led [and championed] LB's Public Libraries for years.

Timed for the Dec. 22 Council vote, a number of local elected officials (all Democrats) submitted letters supporting naming the library for Michelle Obama: Congressman Alan Lowenthal, Assemblymembers Patrick O'Donnell, Mike Gipson and Speaker Anthony Rendon. (Congresswoman Janice Hahn added her support by letter preceding the Feb. 9 Council vote.)

Veteran NLB community advocate/8th Council district resident Laurie Angel testified that she and other local residents had been involved in working for a new North Library for 15 years and said she equates Michelle Obama to politics and was disappointed that Councilman Richardson's proposal wasn't better discussed in the neighborhoods. A representative of the LB Public Library Foundation declined to support any particular name but said it favored additional opportunities for public input and was pleased with Councilman Richardson's offer to hold a community meeting on the matter.

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One speaker noted that a city administration regulation says facilities shouldn't be named for a person unless they've been deceased for at least a year. Asked to respond publicly to the issue, Assistant City Attorney Mike Mais said the Council can override this policy if the person has made "significant" community contributions, and based on what Councilman Richardson presented in the Council meeting, Mr. Mais opined that the Council could name the library for Mrs. Obama. (The Council had also recently named downtown's Center Theater for a living person: retired LB Mayor Beverly O'Neill.)

Councilman Richardson said that 19 public places in North Long Beach, only 11% percent were named after women or people of color, and of those named after individuals, 63% were named after non-local figures.

The Council's pre-Christmas vote was ultimately re-agendized and re-voted on January 19, 2016 due to a potential Brown Act issue (acknowledged by Councilman Richardson, stemming from a "Tweet" he said he mistakenly sent to four Councilmembers.) On Jan. 19, with a full Council present, Councilman Richardson reiterated that with the exception of the living person issue (which the City Attorney had indicated wasn't binding), he had followed the Council's usual naming procedures and was going further than previous namings in the amount of public input sought. Councilman Richardson indicated that he received roughly 150 communications in support and 12 in opposition...and noted that he's scheduled a Jan. 21 event (6:30-8:30 p.m.) at Houghton Park for what he called a community discussion on the proposal.

On the Jan. 19 vote, Councilman Supernaw said he regretted (called it heartbreaking) that the issue had became polarized so quickly and indicated he believed there'd been a lack of process thus far. Councilwoman Mungo acknowledged that Mrs. Obama has been an inspiration but indicated comments she's heard are that the library will be an asset for the City as a whole and discussion should include what it means to name a library for a person with ties to Long Beach.

The Council's Jan. 19 vote referred consideration of naming the new North Branch Library the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library "in honor of her contributions to youth, education, literacy, and the United States" to the City Council's Housing and Neighborhoods Committee for consideration; requested City Hall's Library Services Department and Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Marine "to conduct further outreach to engage youth and library patrons around the naming of the library"; and directed the City Manager "to work with the White House to invite the First Lady to the City of Long Beach for a naming dedication ceremony if approved."

The community meeting was held on Thurs. Jan. 21 (two nights after the Council re-vote) in Houghton Park's community room in North Long Beach, organized by Councilman Richardson's office. Roughly 150 people attended...and were split into four "focus" groups. Views expressed within some of the groups were sharply split, but at the meeting's conclusion, the focus groups all reported that a majority of their participants approved of the Obama naming.

A memo dated Feb. 9 from the City's Library Services Dept. to the Mayor and Councilmembers indicates that those attending the Jan. 21 meeting were asked if they agreed that the name of the new North Branch Library should inspire youth and the next generation, and if the First Lady's core initiatives align with the interests of the North Long Beach community. The Library Dept. memo states that a vote on proposed names was conducted and discussed, with the "Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library" garnering the most support with 72 percent of the votes.

The memo indicates the City's Dept. of Library Services conducted a focus group meeting on Saturday, January 23 at LB's current North Branch Library (a few blocks away from the new library site.) Eleven library patrons were asked the same questions as above. A vote on proposed names was conducted and 6 of the 11 patrons voted to keep the name "North Branch Library." Two patrons voted for "Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library." The remaining patrons each voted for other names, including "Historic North Branch Library," "Indira Hale Tucker Branch Library," "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch Library," and "Coretta Scott King Branch Library."

On Jan. 26, the Council's Housing & Neighborhood Committee discussed the item. Seven members of the public spoke on the subject, including representatives from the Long Beach Public Library Foundation. Six speakers supported the Obama renaming and the Committee (Andrews, Austin, Supernaw) voted 3-0 unanimously to recommend "naming the North Branch Library the 'Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library' in honor of her contributions to youth, education, literacy and the United States."

On Wednesday, January 27, the Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Marine held a teen focus group at Houghton Park. Twenty teens were asked the same questions as the other groups. Fifteen (15) of the teens voted to rename the library the "Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library." Two teens voted to rename the library after Doris Topsy-Elvord, and one voted to rename the library "Brighter Futures."

With the naming of the new city library for Michelle Obama now approved by the Council on Feb. 9 (6-0 vote), City Hall management is directed [consistent with the Council's Jan. 19 vote (7-2)] to "work with the White House to invite the First Lady to the City of Long Beach for a naming dedication ceremony."



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