Mayor Garcia Held Secretive, Invitation-Only Meeting With Several Non-Incumbent Candidates For City Council Offices, Plus Some Appointed Commissioners And Other Civic Figures, At Which City Mgm't, Police & Fire Chiefs And Power Point Presented Arguments In Support Of Sales Tax Increase Ballot Measure
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(Mar. 4, 2016, 6:45 a.m.) -- LBREPORT.com has learned that Mayor Robert Garcia, accompanied by the City Manager, LB's Police and Fire chiefs with LB's Assistant City Attorney present, conducted a secretive, invitation-only meeting earlier this week with at least six candidates seeking City Council offices in the April/June election cycle plus at least two Mayor/Council Commission appointees and a number of other individuals active in civic affairs, to present a Power Point slide show and various arguments in support of a June ballot measure that would raise LB's sales tax to 10% (currently 9% in Signal Hill/Lakewood and 8% in most OC cities.)
In Feb. 23 and March 1 voted actions, the City Council put the measure on the ballot with the title of "Public safety, infrastructure repair and neighborhood services measure," although it a general tax that wouldn't legally require the current or future Councils to use its revenue for those purposes which could be spent for any general fund items.
The meeting took place at midmorning Monday Feb. 29 at a location away from City Hall (where it might attract attention); organizers chose a meeting room at the Convention Center...and attendees weren't told the location until they RSVP'd.
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LBREPORT.com has learned that among those attending were 2nd district candidates Jeannine Pearce, Eric Gray and Joen Garnica; 6th district candidate Robert Harmon; and 8th district candidates Laurie Angel and Wesley Turnbow.
Also attending [not a complete list] were LB Harbor Commissioners Doug Drummond and Rich Dines and LBCC Board of Trustees President [former Garcia "transition team" chair and inauguration night MC] Doug Otto.
A Power Point slide show was shown, titled "A Conversation About the Future of Long Beach." LBREPORT.com has learned that city management presented a similarly titled slide show and similar arguments at Councilman Daryl Supernaw's monthly public meeting (Feb. 24) in the western part of his district at Orizaba Park. At his meeting, Councilman Supernaw invited no rebuttal presentation; city management fielded audience questions and was allowed to provide all answers without challenge.
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In 2013/early 2014, then Mayoral candidate Garcia told voters that he was committed to transparency by putting his his meeting calendar online...but since he became Mayor, his online calendar has disappeared...and the secretive sales tax measure meeting might have remained a secret. However 8th district Council candidate Laurie Angel chose not to hide it; she matter-of-factly mentioned it a March 3 morning Facebook response: "The mayor has been meeting with select groups to share the reasoning behind why this is the measure that is being proposed. Non incumbent candidates were among the group on Monday. It is a huge missed opportunity and a lack of transparency that this matter was not discussed openly before a virtually final ordinance came before the council."
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A few hours later during a Mar. 2 citywide Council candidates forum organized by Leadership Long Beach, 6th district candidate Robert Harmon didn't describe the meeting but volunteered publicly that he'd met with the Mayor, City Manager and Police and Fire Chiefs on the tax increase, and indicated that although he'd been skeptical at first, after the meeting he now supports the proposed tax increase. "I think [6th district residents]...will get a lot more out of the tax increase than what they put in, so I'm going to try and sell it to the 6th district. I don't like it but we kinda gotta do it."
LBREPORT.com has separate coverage -- with unedited audio -- of all Council candidates candidates' full responses at the March 2 forum when asked about the sales tax increase available at this link.
