Instead, a Council majority declined to approve the then-proposed project 3-5 (Yes: Garcia, DeLong, Gabelich; No: Lowenthal, O'Donnell, Schipske, Andrews, Neal; Johnson absent) and launched a public process to update SEADIP (SE LB) zoning which became SEASP. After public meetings/discussions/some controversies, a subsequent Council voted to limit the area's commercial intensity, protect the nearby wetlands and generally maintain the area's low-rise physical profile. While not entirely free of controversy (including traffic, parking and "complete streets" issues), the 2nd/PCH project was built within currently-allowed low-rise zoning.

However one day before the 2nd/PCH development's Oct. 24 opening, Mayor Garcia scheduled an Oct. 23 event hosted by the 2nd/PCH developer at which Garcia can solicit contributions to his "officeholder account" (enabling tripled/politically-weaponized sums as a result of controversial 2015/2017 Council majority votes.)

In Oct. 8 mass emailing indicating it was funded by the "Robert Garcia Officeholder Account," Mayor Garcia told recipients:

I'm excited to invite you to a very special preview of the new 2nd & PCH. It will be held as my annual office holder event and fundraiser. Our event on Oct. 23rd at 5:30 PM is being hosted by CenterCal and the team at 2nd & PCH. Join us for a great evening and with good food from the new restaurants at this development...[Lists contact non-City Hall phone and email for an individual/fundraiser handling the event.]

However the presumed "in kind" contribution for Garcia's use of the 2nd/PCH property for his "officeholder account" event also occurs in another context.

[Scroll down for further.]

On September 5, 2019, City Hall's non-elected (Mayor chosen/Council approved) Planning Commission denied a request by the developer, CenterCal, to allow four wall-mounted electronic message center signs. City staff supported the developer's request, but members of the public raised objections (ranging from aesthetics to safety). The Planning Commission voted (6-0, 1 absent) to allow two inward facing electronic signs but denied the developer's request for two outward facing signs, and reiterated that stance when the item came back for a second vote on Sept. 19 (4-0, 3 absent)..

Developer CenterCal has now filed an appeal of the Planning Commission's decision, escalating the issue to a formal City Council hearing in the coming weeks with testimony pro/con and ultimatel a Council voted decision. Mayor Garcia has no vote but has a veto that it would require six Council votes to override.

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On October 8 (after CenterCal filed its appeal), Mayor Garcia announced his Oct. 23 "officeholder account" contribution-soliciting event "hosted" by the Developer and the 2nd/PCH "team."

Any procedural or legal questions related to this are beyond the scope of this article, but the history of LB's "officeholder accounts" and the role of Mayor Garcia and his Council allies in tripling collectable sums to officeholder acounts (2015) and then politically weaponizing those sums (2017) are matters of record.

As part of LBREPORT.com "Follow the Money" coverage, we also report matters of record on who contributed to Mayor Garcia's "officeholder account" and how Garcia spent those contributed sums.

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In 1994, a well-organized left-leaning grassroots group ("Long Beach Area Citizens Involved"/LBACI) and Councilman Alan Lowenthal (a former LBACI leader the group propelled onto the City Council) urged enactment of "Proposition M," the "Long Beach Campaign Reform Act." Placed on the ballot by the City Council and approved by a vote of the people of Long Beach, it included limits on campaign contributions in candidate races accompanied by the following finding (still visible in LB Muni Code section 2.01.120 (E)):

"Officeholders are responding to high campaign costs by raising large amounts of money in off-election years. This fund-raising distracts them from important public matters, encourages contributions which may have a corrupting influence and gives incumbents an overwhelming and patently unfair fund-raising advantage over potential challengers...The integrity of the governmental process, the competitiveness of campaigns and public confidence in local officials are all diminishing..."

In 1995, the City Council -- without a vote of the people and over the heated objections of several Prop M supporters -- voted to allow "officeholder accounts" enabling incumbents to collect relatively small sums outside of election cycles for mainly Council district items.

In 2007, at the urging of Mayor Bob Foster and with support from City Auditor Laura Doud (both elected in 2006), the Council modestly increased the amounts that incumbents could collect in their "officeholder accounts," contending this would provide contributor-provided sums that would avoid draining taxpayer-sums for Councilmembers' individually desired items.

In mid-2014, Councilman Garcia became Mayor Garcia with a new Council majority -- Lena Gonzalez, Suzie Price, Stacy Mungo, Roberto Uranga and Rex Richardson -- who joined Councilmembers Suja Lowenthal, Patrick O'Donnell, Dee Andrews and Al Austin. Garcia chose his former office aide Gonzalez to chair the Council's "Elections Oversight Committee" and she advanced a change in LB law that in early 2015 tripled the sums the Mayor/Council could collect in their officeholder accounts (5-3 vote, Austin, Price, Mungo dissenting, favored doubling not tripling amounts, 4th dist. vacant) .

As a citywide elected, Mayor Garcia was the major beneficiary of the change; instead of a limit of $25,000, Garcia could now raise and collect $75,000 per year.

Two years later in 2017, Mayor Garcia chose newly elected Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce to chair the same Committee and she advanced a change that politically weaponized the tripled officeholder accounts by enabling the Mayor/Council incumbents to use their "officeholder accounts" to contribute to political campaigns for candidates running for other city, state and federal offices. The 2017 change carried in two votes: April 11, 2017 (6-1, Supernaw dissenting, Pearce and Price absent) and April 18, 2017 (5-3, Supernaw, Price, Mungo dissenting, Richardson absent).

Those Council-enacted changes enabled Mayor Garcia to do what he's done and is now doing.

In 2018, Garcia collected $68,848 from contributors to his "officeholder account" ($45,799 in the second half of 2018 alone.)

In the second half of 2018, Garcia used his officeholder account to give $5,500 to the Los Angeles County Democratic Party (plus $400 for a print ad); $1,000 to the Long Beach Democratic Club; $1,000 to campaign to elect Betty Yee State Controller; and $1,000 to the campaign to elect Fiona Ma State Treasurer. He also contributed sums listed as civic donations to the Rotary Club of LB ($750), United Cambodian Community ($500), Cambodia Town Film Festival ($1,000), CSULB Associated Students ($500). Centro Cha ($1,000) and Khmer Parent Association ($1,000)

In the first half of 2019, Mayor Garcia collected $30,884 in contributions for "officeholder account" and spent $28,789, leaving a cash balance of as of June 30, 2019 of $11,481. LBREPORT.com notes that although Mayor Garcia's Oct. 8 mass email (for his Oct. 23 2nd/PCH event) calls it his "annual office holder event," publicly reported records show that his "officeholder account" collected multiple large contributions in late June 2019, suggesting it may have already conducted one significant fundraising effort in 2019.

Many of Garcia's 2019 officeholder payments reflect reimbursements to office staffers for various items as well as accounting and fundraising expenses. However Garcia also made expenditures from his "officeholder account" to support former state Senator Kevin DeLeon's 2020 campaign for Los Angeles City Council ($500) and Ahmad Zahra's 2020 re-election campaign for Fullerton City Council. Garcia also gave sums (marked "civic donations") to the Education and Leadership Institute, Long Beach ($500); Hope/Los Angeles ($300), St Mary Medical Ctr Foundation: ($2,500); Assistance League of LB ($500); Centro CHA ($500); United Cambodian Community ($500); and Girls Scouts of Greater LA ($500.)

In the first half of 2019, contributors to Mayor Garcia's "officeholder account" included the following (we itemize those over $500):

Contributors under $500 included (not a complete list) Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce, LB Water Comm'rs Art Levine and Gloria Cordero, LB Parks/Rec Comm'r Stella Ursua, retired City Manager Gerald Miller, Garcia-office legislative assistant Daniel Brezenoff, political consultant Cory Allen, Clay Sandidge (Fed Energy/downtown gondola proponent), Weston LaBar, Andy Perez (former Planning Comm'r), Carmen Perez (former Harbor Comm'r), Jessica Quintana (Exec. Dir. Centro CHA), Susan Wise (former Harbor Comm'r), Laurie Gray (The Pie Bar).

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In the second half of 2018, the contributors to Garcia's "officeholder account" included:

Oct. 22, 8:40 p.m. Added text indicating Planning Commission vote tally on Sept. 19 vote and also restored event invitation text accidentally deleted from early text.

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