Section 2.03.100(B) of Long Beach's Municipal Code provides: "Except when a conflict of interest exists and abstention is required by State law, every member of the Council who is present when a roll is called shall vote for or against the question, unless excused by a majority of the members present, prior to the calling of the roll on such question." There is no publicly available evidence that Councilman Austin was excused from this requirement.

Section 2.03.100(B) further provides that "No member of the Council shall leave the Council chamber without permission from the Mayor." The meeting was conducted by digital means leaving unclear exactly where Austin was during the vote on the agenda item, but there is no publicly available evidence that Austin sought or received permission from the Mayor to exit the ongoing Council proceedings.

No Councilmember(s) called a point of order on Austin's failure to vote (which any Councilmember could have done and forced a public ruling by presiding officer Garcia.)

City Attorney Parkin, who routinely attends Council meetings, didn't raise the issue of compliance with either of the Municipal Code provisions cited in our objections (below.) Due to the digital remote nature of the Council proceedings, it's unclear if Mr. Parkin was present personally or had a representative from his office handle matters during the Pressburg agenda item.

Section 603 of the LB City Charter names the City Attorney as "the sole and exclusive legal advisor of the City, the City Council and all City commissions, committees, officers and employees with reference to all of their functions, powers and duties under this Charter, State and Federal law."

LBREPORT.com invites a response for the record to the actions and objections above from City Attorney Parkin. The City Attorney is elected citywide. The next election for City Attorney is in 2022.

Mr. Parkin next faces re-election in 2022 if he chooses to run.

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