The filings indicate that since taking office in mid-July 2014, contributors to Councilwoman Mungo's officeholder account included Long Beach-based Aeroplex/Aerolease Group (includes individuals with positions in the company) which was the project manager for a customs facility that opened at Van Nuys Airport in May 2015.
Mungo also received officeholder contributions from a JetBlue Airways PAC (political action committee) and a LB-registered lobbyist whose City Clerk filing indicates advocacy on airport issues and the customs facility for JetBlue in the first half of 2015.
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Councilwoman Mungo wasn't the only decision-making LB Councilmember receiving sums from these sources. In the 2016 Council election cycle, a JetBlue Washington, D.C.-based political action committee gave sums to the term-limit bypass/write-in campaign of 6th district Councilman Dee Andrews, as did Aerolease. JetBlue's PAC also contributed to the runoff campaign that elected 2nd dist. Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce, who also received a campaign contribution from JetBlue's CEO.
JetBlue's PAC also contributed to an independent committee that supported the 8th dist. Council candidacy of Wesley Turnbow, who nearly forced incumbent 8th dist. Councilman Al Austin into a runoff.
These sums and other sums reported here are public record, visible on the Long Beach City Clerk's website, and aren't prohibited by state statutes or Long Beach ordinances.
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During a November 28, 2016 meeting with roughly thirty constituents at the El Dorado Park senior center on the subject of the customs facility, Councilwoman Mungo mentioned her officeholder account and stated:
Councilwoman Mungo [Nov. 28, 2016]...I have a neighborhood lady who just deposits all the money so I don't have a conflict of interest in saying like 'oh, the marijuana people gave you money.' I don't care; I'm still voting no on marijuana. Like, who gives me money isn't a big deal because it costs $120,000 to run for a seat, if someone gives you $400 it's not going to change your life, and anyone who thinks that a donation to a Councilmember is going to persuade them, I ask them to check their own walls, because it would never persuade me.
[Ed. note: Councilwoman Mungo's campaign filings indicate her campaign cost roughly $80,000.]
To hear documenting audio of Councilwoman Mungo's Nov. 28 statement, click here.
[LBREPORT.com invited Councilwoman Mungo to provide any additional comments/statements if she wished, sending two emails to her personal email address on Jan. 21 and a text message to her personal cell phone on Jan. 22 prior to uploading this story, and as of 3:45 p.m. Jan. 22 have received no response.]
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In a May 2015 release, Aeroplex/Aerolease stated that it had successfully managed establishment of the facility on behalf of Signature Flight Support. "As project manager, Aeroplex/Aerolease Group effectively handled all inter-organizational agreements and coordination; contractor bid, contract award and work activities; and overall construction planning, scheduling and execution. Aeroplex/Aerolease Group worked in partnership with Signature Flight Support, LAWA and CBP to fast-track construction, approval, completion, testing and staffing of the new Federal Inspections Services facility according to standard," said Aeroplex/Aerolease Group President and CEO Curt Castagna in a May 2015 release by his firm. "This is a perfect example of how industry and government can work together to implement services that will benefit users of business aviation and fuel the local economy."
Aeroplex describes itself on its website as having "diverse hangar facilities [that] are perfect for owners of corporate and private aircraft, ranging from single-engine planes to executive jets."
Aerolease was an early supporter of Council-candidate Mungo (one of three who entered the 5th dist. Council race), making a $350 campaign contribution to elect her in November 2013. Once in office, Aerolease Group President/CEO Castagna contributed $500 to Councilwoman Mungo's officeholder account as did Cindy Cox-Goodfellow, Manager Aeroplex Aerolease Group ($500). None of the individuals related to the Aeroplex contributions are listed in officeholder contribution records as having Long Beach zip code addresses.
Councilwoman Mungo also received two officeholder contributions from a JetBlue Airways PAC political action committee officed in Washington, D.C. (that it named its "crewmember good government fund"), one in the second half of 2014 and another in the second half of 2015.
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The sums indicated below don't reflect officeholder contributions for the last half of 2016, which Councilmembers needn't disclose until Jan. 31, 2017 (a week after the Council's
| Aug. 15, 2014: Curt Castagna (President/CEO Aeroplex Aerolease Group) | $500 |
| Aug. 15, 2014: JetBlue Airways Crewmember Good Gov't Fund, Washington DC | $500 |
| March 25, 2015: Cindy Cox-Goodfellow (Manager Aeroplex Aerolease Group) | $500 |
| March 25, 2015: Matt Knabe (Partner Englander, Knabe & Allen) [listed as lobbying for JetBlue during the period] | $500 |
| June 19, 2015: Rachel Daniel (Office Mgr. Aeroplex) | $500 |
| June 19, 2015: Annette Castagna [spouse of Curt Castagna/Pres-CEO Aeroplex Aerolease Group] | $500 |
| Dec. 2, 2015: JetBlue Airways Crewmember Good Gov't Fund, Washington DC | $249 |
| Feb. 4, 2016: Matt Knabe (Partner Englander, Knabe & Allen) [listed as lobbying for JetBlue during this period] | $500 |
Aeroplex/Aerolease executive Castagna and JetBlue reps have stated that they support LB's protective Airport ordinance. JetBlue has stated it intends to operate within the ordinance's terms and Mr. Castagna has for years supported a mix of general aviation and commercial aircraft at LGB.
Another contributor to Councilwoman Mungo's officeholder account has been Matt Knabe (the son of recently retired L.A. County Supervisor Don Knabe.) Matt Knabe is a registered lobbyist with the L.A.-based firm of Englander, Knabe and Allen, and LB City Clerk lobbyist registration records indicate that from Jan 1-Jun 30 2015, Mr. Knabe was one of two individuals with his firm working to influence legislative or administrative action by all Councilmembers and the Mayor on behalf of JetBlue on [lobbyist disclosure form] "Airport issues and customs facility." Mr. Knabe and his firm also represent a number of clients with other Long Beach interests besides JetBlue.
Councilwoman Mungo's officeholder account indicates contributions during this period from various individuals and entities totaled $28,538.
For detailed coverage of Councilwoman Mungo's voting record on the Airport customs facility issue (as she made two of three salient votes on the matter), see LBREPORT.com coverage here.
The JetBlue PAC also contributed $400 to the term-limits bypass write-in re-election of 6th dist. Councilman Dee Andrews, as did Aerolease. Councilman Andrews' votes on July 7, 2015 (authorizing the customs facility "feasibility study") and Dec. 6, 2016 (advancing the issue to a Jan. 24, 2017 decisional vote) were consistent with Councilwoman Mungo's votes.
Councilwoman Pearce, who received a $174 contribution from the JetBlue PAC and a $100 contribution from JetBlue's CEO Robin Hayes, replaced term-limited Vice Mayor Lowenthal, who had voted with Mungo in July 2015, and Pearce voted with Mungo in December 2016. The full Council tally on both items was 6-3 (Austin, Uranga, Supernaw dissenting.)
In the 2016 Council-election JetBlue's PAC also gave $1,000 to an independent expenditure committee ("Long Beach Citizens for Good Government") that supported candidate Wesley Turnbow's effort to unseat 8th district Council incumbent Al Austin (who narrowly avoided being forced into a runoff.)
JetBlue's PAC also contributed to the officeholder account of 7th dist. Councilman Roberto Uranga. and in the first half of 2015, contributed $750 to help pay off the campaign debt incurred by Mayor Garcia's election campaign.
And in May 2016, the JetBlue PAC contributed $2,500 to the political committee supporting the sales tax increase (Measure A) favored by Mayor Garcia and the full Council.
Since 4th dist. residents temporarily had no Council representative (when the former incumbent left his Council office to seek and win Sacramento office), Councilmembers Austin and Uranga agendized an item to delay action regarding a requested customs facility until 90 days after the 4th dist. voters had elected a Council representative.
In response to residents who came to the Council meeting carrying signs supporting the Austin-Uranga agendized item, Councilwoman Mungo said that bringing the agenda item was "pandering to this crowd."
Councilwoman Mungo asserted that she effectively represents the 4th district, in the same way as all other Councilmembers, who vote on citywide-impacting items. Councilwoman Mungo added that she also regularly gets yogurt at a 4th district business.
Councilwoman Mungo made a substitute motion (seconded by now-exited Suja Lowenthal) to (1) begin study on a potential international customs facility and (2) request city management to prepare a memo by Aug. 2015, put it on the city's website and return to the Council for "discussion" after making the memo available. Before the Council vote, Lowenthal made a second substitute motion, seconded by Mungo, to begin study of a potential customs facility at the Long Beach Airport; and return to the Council with findings 90 days after the 4th District Councilmember had taken office, but Lowenthal and Mungo withdrew their second substitute motion.
Councilman Austin then made a second substitute motion, seconded by Uranga, to direct the City Manager to delay any action regarding requests for a customs facility until receiving further Council direction, and delay any request for direction regarding a customs facility until 60 days [reduced from 90 days on a "friendly amendment" from Councilwoman Price] after the 4th dist. Council member had been elected and seated. Councilwoman Mungo voted "no" on this motion.
The full vote was
July 7, 2015: Councilwoman Mungo made the motion (carried 6-3, Austin, Uranga and Supernaw dissenting) that authorized conducting a "feasibility study" on a customs facility. In response to residents who'd come to the Council meeting to voice concern for their family home values, Councilwoman Mungo said she'd like them to remain in Long Beach but noted that the City would collect more property tax revenue if they left. p>The city management agendized item sought Council authority to proceed with the work necessary to determine the feasibility, financial or otherwise, of a federal inspection (customs) service facility at Long Beach Airport.
Public speakers opposed outnumbered supporters roughly two to one; half of speakers in support worked for or were associated with JetBlue. A number of opponents noted that internal Airport records (which and been obtained and published by LBREPORT.com) showed that Airport management had commissioned an internal 2013 Economic Feasibility Study, performed without voted Council authority, and charged that the City was pursuing new study because it didn't like results of first internal study. (City officials have since said the new study is more comprehensive and reached different conclusions in part because conditions that have "changed.")
After multiple residents came to the podium to speak about the importance of their home values and neighborhood quality of life, Councilwoman Mungo stated:
"I want all of you to stay in the homes you're in, but quite frankly if you moved, the city would actually increase its property tax revenue. Because of Prop 13 and your protections, we are not making a decision to get rid of you or move you and..."
Councilwoman Mungo's words triggered audible audience displeasure, to which she responded: "I'm a budget director and I just have to tell you the facts." As the audience reaction grew, Mayor Garcia intervened and effectively invited Mungo not to say more: "You're all done, Councilwoman?" the Mayor asked, to which Councilwoman Mungo replied "sure."
To hear an audio clip of this exchange, click here.
The full motion made by Councilwoman Mungo (seconded by now-exited Councilwoman Lowenthal) authorized city management to proceed with work necessary to determine the feasibility, financial or otherwise, of a Federal Inspection Service (FIS) facility. (It also directed that the study include at least two "community meetings" including communities and neighborhoods most impacted by the potential facility; a forecast of additional general aviation flights, including corporate and personal jets, that would use the facility; a risk assessment of potential threats to the airport noise control ordinance, and a plan to "mitigate" impacted neighborhoods and schools from environmental and health impacts should the airport noise control ordinance become invalidated; a study on additional security risks associated with international flights.) It directed that any decision regarding the FIS facility come back to City Council but didn't set a date. The vote was Yes: Mungo, Price, Lowenthal, Gonzalez, Andrews, Richardson; No: Uranga, Austin, Supernaw.
Dec. 6, 2016: Councilwoman Mungo made a substitute-substitute motion, seconded by Price, that scheduled a Dec. 13 "study session" on the "feasibility study" (a proposal originally agendized for Council approval by Councilman Uranga) BUT THEN went on to authorize city staff to immediately work with JetBlue and airport interests/stakeholders on items that are prerequisites to approve a customs facility / international flights (an action not proposed on the Dec. 6 agenda that was awaiting future Council action on Dec. 13) AND scheduled a decision-making vote for Jan. 24 that wasn't on any written agenda. The two actions added by the Mungo-Price substitute-substitute motion advanced the international flights issue further.
The Mungo-Price substitute motion [1] set a Study Session for Tuesday, December 13, 2016; [2] authorized City staff to
immediately begin engagement with Jet Blue and any other interested tenant at the airport that has an interest in the FIS, and
engage with the Governor's Office, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, if necessary; and [3] set an item on January 24, 2017
for a potential vote by the City Council. This carried
(Retired Councilwoman Rae Gabelich submitted a complaint letter to the L.A. County District Attorney's office, alleging that the Council majority's actions, which weren't published on the agenda, violated the Brown (open meetings) Act by not providing the public with sufficient notice; the DA's office disagreed, concluding that the Council voted actions were allowable .)
Dec. 13, 2016: Councilwoman Mungo asked no questions, made no statements, during a Council "study session" on a customs facility. Mayor Garcia briefly acknowledged an accompanying city attorney memo on the legal issues but didn't invite the City Attorney's office to make any presentation. No Councilmembers inquired about or questioned any aspects of the City Attorney's memo.
The study session was agendized for a 5:00 p.m. "time certain" but residents were forced to wait roughly an hour and a half for the item to be heard The Council meeting didn't begin until 6:10 p.m...and the study session didn't begin until 6:32 p.m.
City staff's presentation ran from 6:33 p.m. until 7:14 p.m.; Councilmembers spoke (Austin, Uranga, Supernaw and (asked brief questions) and the public wasn't invited to speak until 8:03 p.m. The next day on Facebook, a number of residents commented that they had to leave due to the delay in starting the Council meeting and getting to what had been promised as a "time certain" study session.
Public testimony ran from 8:03 p.m. until 9:50 p.m. Residents described the disruptive impacts of current flights. One woman played audio of what it sounded like inside her home as an aircraft roared overhead in the daytime and at 3 a.m. In addition to disruptive noise, a number of speakers cited health, safety and pollution concerns.
More than one speaker noted that the Airport-hired consultant's "feasibility study" listed only positive benefits and either didn't find negative impacts or portrayed them as "speculative." One speaker commented that the entire "feasibility study" was speculative. Others said the feasibility study should have included negative impacts on property values and potential impacts if the City lost its Airport ordinance.
Only five persons spoke in support: 4 from JetBlue (including Sr. VP/Assoc. Gen'l Counsel Rob Land), 1 from LB Area Chamber of Commerce. Both entities had waged email efforts seeking support at the meeting.
Mayor Garcia (who wasn't present until 6:18 p.m.) didn't explain or apologize for the Council meeting's late start. He acknowledged "concerns" by those living with Airport impacts, briefly mentioned a memo by LB's City Attorney on customs facility/international flight related issues, and instead focused on what he called economic issues, voicing concern that LB's flight-slot-capped Airport ordinance means international flights by JetBlue might displace some of its current domestic flights favored by hotel and convention interests.
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