Hear Them: Second Dist. Council Candidates At Mar. 26 Forum

Organizer announces at outset: "This will not be a debate" and no rebuttals allowed; Q & A was via audience-submitted cards thru organizers

From the podium, DRC president Michael Vanderbeek stated at the outset: "This is not a debate and what that means is we are not going to beasking candidates to rebut statements made by other statements." Q & A was via audience submitted cards asked through the organizers.

All three City Council candidates appeared. In photo left, left to right: Janet Ballantyne, Mike Kamer & Incumbent Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal appeared.

• Opening statements, click here.

• Q & A (via organizers and from audience on cards) plus closing statements, click here.

Despite the format's restrictions, some sparks flew.

Ms. Ballantyne cited her work as president of a downtown homeowners association and as a sponsor relations manager for a financial services firm and said she would bring open communication, transparency and full disclosure to the City Coucnil office that she said is lacking now. She began to discuss the recent PBID [DLBA proposed assessment expanded to to residential homeowners] but was cut off for time. In closing remarks, Ms. Ballantyne said it was "sad" if the Vice Mayor (as indicated in a LB Business Journal interview) would make a run for Mayor in 2014 [if Mayor Foster doesn't pursue a write-in] "because we really need someone in this position who's fully committed to the position, and it would be sad to waste all of this time and energy for someone who's just going to abandon it actually in the next twelve months because it would take approximately that to get ready for the next race."

Vice Mayor Lowenthal cited among her accomplishments cleaner water, cleaner Port air and more residential parking...and said she'd worked on difficult budgets "without having to cut core services." In her closing statement, Vice Mayor Lowenthal declared that Long Beach "is a big city...it is not time to turn it over to amateurs. It is not time to turn it over to individuals who have not put in the work..."

Candidate Mike Kamer repeatedly referred to his forum presentation as an "amateur hour" (for relying on note cards) and said he was "nervous as hell," but cited several substantive points. Among them: he proposed that the city [City Council's General Fund] retain a larger percentage of the city's hotel bed tax (for years split by the Council roughly 50-50 with other city promotion related items]. Mr. Kamer said he wasn't running as a "dark horse," but said that if voters choose not to vote for him, "I can only implore you to vote for Janet. I'm not running because I care for a political career. I want what's best for this city and more than anything I see that Suja Lowenthal is not it."

Audience at start of 2nd dist. candidate forum