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Fifth Dist. Resident Also Received Call From Firm, Hired By Mystery Entities/Persons, Conducting Professional Telephone Survey re Possible Ballot Measure That Could Require City To Allow Int'l Airport; Questions Tested Attitudes And Campaign Messages


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(Feb. 18, 2017, 5:45 p.m.) -- LBREPORT.com has learned that in addition to some 8th Council district residents, at least one 5th Council district resident received a Feb. 16 phone call from a firm, hired by persons or entities presently unknown, to conduct a telephone survey of resident attitudes and potential campaign messages for a possible ballot measure that could require the City to allow a customs facility at LB's municipal airport, effectively turning it into an international airport.

The questions reported by the 5th district resident parallel those reported by 8th district residents; the 5th district made good mental notes and provided some additional details (thank you.)

The nature and extent of the questions indicates that what's taking place is more than an "opinion poll." It's consistent with a strategy traditionally used to test attitudes and messages in mounting a political campaign for a ballot measure. A similar strategy was used a little over a year ago when LB's police and firefighter unions paid hired a firm (cost: approximately $20,000) to test public attitudes and responses to various campaign messages ultimately used to conduct a campaign for a sales tax increase sought by Mayor Robert Garcia and the City Council.

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Spending $20,000 up-front for a resident survey leads us to believe that some persons or entities have decided to go forward with a ballot measure. Such a measure could be put on the ballot either by gathering a sufficient number of petiton signatures from registered LB voters or having by a Council majority put the measure on the ballot. If our reasoning is correct, the telephone survey results would be incorporated into the strategy the proponents use to win public passage of the measure. Below are the questions as reported by the 5th district resident:

  • What issues are most important to you in your City?
  • If an election were held today, would you vote for your Councilmember?
  • If an election were held today, would you support your Mayor?

[Would the following make you more or less inclined to support an international terminal?]

  • If you knew the FAA sent a letter saying the International terminal would not affect the noise ordinance?
  • If the City Attorney supported it?
  • If you knew the FIS would not increase the number of flights?
  • If JetBlue would pay for everything, but include the charge for the federal customs facility in the price of the ticket?
  • What's your opinion of Gulf Stream?
  • What's your opinion of Jet Blue?
  • If you knew it would create [a figure cited in the Jacobs "Feasibility Study"] amount of short term jobs?
  • Do you feel positively/not positively toward the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce? LB Convention and Visitors Bureau? Long Beach Police Officers Association? Local Trade Union Council [unofficial name, very rough paraphrase]?
  • What do you think of JetBlue sending e-mails to its customer on the issue?
  • If a 3rd party study was completed and reviewed in 4 community meeting, including 2 committee meetings?
  • If Jet Blue traveled to South America, Central America, Canada only?
  • If you felt going international would increase the threat of more companies asking for more international flights?
  • What is your ethnicity (best describes you)?

The 5th district resident indicates there may have been additional questions, not immediately recalled.

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On Jan. 24, 2017, amid vocal opposition from residents in five of nine Council districts, the City Council voted 8-1 (Andrews dissenting) not to pursue a customs facility. JetBlue publicly requested such a facility in early 2015, but internal Airport documents (obtained by in early 2014 by LBREPORT.com using state freedom of information law) show that then-Airport management and then-Council incumbents (including now-Mayor Robert Garcia and then-Mayoral candidate Gerrie Schipske) let the Airport actions continue without public transparency or Council discussion through much of 2013 and entering the 2014 election cycle.

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A federal customs facility, which couldn't be restricted to JetBlue, would effectively allow international passenger and/or cargo operators to seek large commercial aircraft flight slots currently filled under LB's protective Airport ordinance. The ordinance protects the City of Long Beach from unlimited take-offs and landings at its Airport at all hours on all runways. JetBlue, which holds the largest number of LB Airport large aircraft flight slots, stated that it planned to abide by the ordinance but also acknowledged that it can't control the actions of others.

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JetBlue arrived in LB following a May 2001 Council voted action (taken after City Hall officials quietly met with JetBlue) that let carriers take and hold LB flight slots longer before flying them (a change that suited then-newcomer JetBlue.) The City Attorney's office told the public that the Council action wouldn't affect the ordinance, but it did; within hours of the Council action, JetBlue took all then-vacant LB large aircraft flight slots, displeasing two carriers, which begat an FAA administrative inquiry that could have escalated to a lawsuit until the City reached a settlement (assisted by JetBlue) with carriers and the FAA.

After JetBlue began operating, a group surfaced in 2005 (its spokesperson was a former Councilman, supporters included a number of LB establishment figures) calling itself the "Long Beach Alliance" that at one point threatened a possible ballot measure unless the City Council moved forward with new permanent Airport terminal facilities to replace then-temporary expanded facilities.

When an Airport hired consulting firm recommended building permanent terminal facilities significantly larger than the Airport has now (JetBlue remained agnostic on a specific size), LBHUSH2 (grassroots group focused on neighborhood quality of life) sought a smaller size. In the 2004 election cycle, two LBHUSH2 supporters displaced Mayor-backed incumbents and were elected to the City Council (including LBHUSH2 co-founder Rae Gabelich) and the Council approved new terminal area facilities that preserved the current boutique-sized Airport terminal facility that LB has now (and customers praise and wins awards; LBHUSH2 has continued to support LB Airport operations as they are now.)

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A ballot measure to force the City to turn its municipal airport into an international airport would almost certainly influence (and perhaps collide with, timing currently uncertain) the April-June 2018 elections cycle for Council districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, plus Mayor, City Attorney, City Prosecutor and City Auditor.

Developing.



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