Cong Candidate DeLong's Response To Cong. Candidate Kuykendall: If LB Allocates More Funding To Police & Fire, Will Be Forced To Close Libraries, Cancel Parks & Rec Pgms, Stop Repairing Streets & Sidewalks

Says crime is down, not up and adds he's balanced budgets and worked for pension reform

(Mar. 12, 2012) -- LB Councilman / Congressional candidate Gary DeLong this afternoon (Mar. 12) issued a written response to the emailing by Congressional candidate / former Congressman Steve Kuykendall (reported earlier today by LBReport.com here) which said [paraphrase] Councilman DeLong had failed to provide Long Beach with adequate police to keep Long Beach neighborhoods safe, which Mr. Kuykendall called local officials' first priority, showing DeLong shouldn't be sent to Washington to keep the nation safe.

Councilman DeLong issued this response which we publish in full:

I’m proud of the outstanding work done by the men and women of our Police and Fire Departments. They are doing a terrific job under difficult economic conditions. Like many families, government needs to learn how to "do more with less" and live within our means.

The recent attack email by Steve Kuykendall illustrates his lack of understanding of current government budgets. Of course, the last time Steve was in office was when he was part of the "tax & spend" earmark loving group in Washington. He also states that the City has had double-digit increases in crime, which is incorrect. In fact, violent crime is at a 40 year low.

What Steve doesn’t say is that if the City allocates more funding to Police and Fire, then we will be forced to close libraries, cancel Parks & Recreation programs (which will impact at-risk kids and lead to more crime), stop repairing streets and sidewalks, etc. I have a better vision for our City. As Chair of the Budget Oversight Committee, I’ve led the effort to balance the budget, every year for the last 6 years. Additionally, I’ve worked hard to reform our pension system in order to reduce costs and make it sustainable for the future. These are the qualities needed in Washington right now.

The residents of the new 47th Congressional District are smart and informed voters. I am confident they will elect the candidate who has the best vision for restoring our country, not the one who believes that mudslinging is the answer.

I’m thankful to the community for their significant financial contributions to my campaign, and proud to have earned the endorsements of former Governor George Deukmejian, Congressmen Dan Lungren, Kevin McCarthy, Ed Royce and Dana Rohrabacher, State Senator Tom Harman, Assemblymembers Allan Mansoor and Jim Silva, LA County Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Don Knabe, Orange County Supervisors Patricia Bates, Shawn Nelson and Janet Nguyen, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, Avalon Mayor Bob Kennedy, Cerritos Mayor Carol Chen, Cypress Mayor Doug Bailey, Garden Grove Mayor Bill Dalton, Lakewood Mayor Larry Van Nostran, Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar, Signal Hill Mayor Larry Forester, and many other local elected officials.

As previously reported by LBReport.com, in Sept. 2009 and Sept. 2010 budget votes, Councilman DeLong (who voted to balance LB City Hall's budgets in part by cutting 140 sworn police officer positions (Council vote 9-0); in September 2011, he voted to cut another roughly 10 officers (Council vote 6-3, Schipske, Gabelich, Neal dissenting). Long Beach (L.A. County's second largest city) currently provides a per capita police level available for citywide deployment roughly equivalent to Los Angeles cutting over 25% of its police officers.

Most of Long Beach (including eastern areas abutting Orange County) has been spared murders and shootings that impact other parts of the city and LB's murder total for 2011 is at a record low. However, previously quiet eastern areas have recently begun to experience increases (from near historic or record lows) in other crime categories including residential burglaries.

At a March 6, 2012 City Council session on Long Beach's financial outlook for 2013 and beyond, city management said the City was unable to fund a replenishment police academy class for FY13 (the fourth year in a row) without cutting deeply into other services. The Council responded by voting 9-0 (included Councilman DeLong) to ask city management to return with various "revenue raising options." [Council discussion included possible tax increase ballot measures for the November 2012 ballot.]

The day before the Council session, city management announced plans to fund a lateral-hire Fire academy class, citing pension savings to which LB Fire and Police unions agreed which were sought by Councilman DeLong and Mayor Bob Foster.

Los Angeles (L.A. County's largest city) and Signal Hill (one of its smallest) currently provide their taxpayers with significantly higher per capita police levels than Long Beach despite a poor economy and Sacramento-related issues.