Meet the Long Beach residents hoping to transform the way the city is run

CMSC
California-Mexico Studies Center

By Haley Munguia ~ PressTelegram ~ September 29, 3018

The political winds in Long Beach may soon change, if a group of the city’s neighborhood leaders has its way.

The Long Beach Reform Coalition launched earlier this year in response to the city’s decision to place four charter amendment changes on the November ballot. The organization’s members say the root cause of many issues in Long Beach is a lack of transparency in city government, and they hope to fight it. Organized as a political action committee rather than a nonprofit, the group’s goal is to fundraise and become a political force in its own right.

Long Beach Reform Coalition board member Carlos Ovalle speaks during a fundraising meeting to rally support opposing proposition BBB at The Petroleum Club in Long Beach, Calif. Sept. 20, 2018. The Long Beach Reform Coalition — a group of representatives from various neighborhood organizations throughout Long Beach — launched earlier this year to fight what they see as waning transparency in the city’s government. (Photo by Leo Jarzomb)

While their immediate aim is to defeat the four ballot measures, members say this campaign is only the beginning. The Southern California News Group asked members to shed some light on who they are and why they care. Some responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Glennis Dolce

  • Glennis Dolce

    Member of Long Beach Neighborhoods First

  • Lives in the 7th District
  • Why did you join the Long Beach Reform Coalition? I believe the people’s voice is not being paid attention to by local government and that money and politics are taking precedent over the real needs and desires of residents. That needs to change.
  • What do you hope the group will achieve? I hope that the LBRC can awaken residents to the need for involvement and becoming a unified voice where we can. Through our PAC fundraising, we can help less-monied candidates run for office, as well as educate residents on issues that will affect them and future residents. We want to create and maintain the quality of life we desire in our city for years to come.

Robert Fox

  • Robert Fox

    Executive Director of the Council of Neighborhood Organizations, among many other title and memberships

  • Lives in the 2nd District
  • Why did you join the Long Beach Reform Coalition? It is clear that this City has taken the wrong path, and has stepped away from community engagement and neighborhood inclusion-style management we had for so many years. As was so eloquently spoken by Former Development Services Director Amy Bodek, they prefer an “invisible government,” where you wake up and all is done without your input. This is not the form of government this country was built upon.
  • What do you hope the group will achieve? We hope to accomplish a unification of opinion regarding the restoration of our government back to an inclusive, accountable, streamlined, cost effective, and prioritized form of management and governance. If we are to have a decent civil engagement, we need responsive electeds, honest management, and open discussion with real results, not just bogus agreement. We hope to achieve that binding agreement of the governed with the governing.

Rae Gabelich

  • Rae Gabelich

    Member of LB HUSH2, Long Beach Neighborhoods First, and Sleepy Hollow Neighborhood Assn. Former City Councilwoman and City Commissioner

  • Lives in the 8th District
  • Why did you join the Long Beach Reform Coalition? After many years of advocating for quality of life issues here in Long Beach it was time to come together with other city organizations. There is power in numbers. This current city leadership does not seem to acknowledge that their constituents want to be heard. This latest move to ask the voters to approve charter changes was done in a vacuum and should not win its proponents another four years in office.
  • What do you hope the group will achieve? My hope for LBRC is to educate Long Beach residents on why they should vote NO on BBB. After that, we’ll see! Grassroots efforts can be successful, but also difficult when going up against City and special interest monies.

Corliss Lee

  • Corliss Lee

    President of Eastside Voice and Secretary of CARP (Citizens About Responsible Planning)

  • Lives in the 5th District
  • Why did you join the Long Beach Reform Coalition? The Coalition was formed to protect residents and business owners. Measure BBB is framed in a way that is deceptive, but it is only one issue in a string of recent City proposals that were problematic. We need to join forces, get organized, and raise funds to work the issues and get the word out.
  • What do you hope the group will achieve? Long Beach residents need to be alerted when the City makes moves like the proposal for an international airport, excessive density associated with the Land Use Element, taxes being raised under Measure M, and the loss of protections for residents under the Charter Amendments. The Coalition intends to provide insight and education on the downside of such proposals that are being sold to the public with less than full disclosure of possible negative impacts.

Joe Mello

  • Member of Los Altos Center Adjacent Neighborhoods
  • Lives in the 4th District
  • Why did you join with the Long Beach Reform Coalition? The lies about the Term Limits measure, specifically calling them “strengthening” term limits.
  • What do you hope the group will achieve? Defeat of Measure BBB.

Carlos Ovalle

Carlos Ovalle
  • Executive Director of the People of Long Beach
  • Lives in the 7th District
  • Why did you join the Long Beach Reform Coalition? It wasn’t a coalition when we got involved, just a group of Long Beach residents united under the recognition that our city needs a transparent, responsive, and accountable government. As it evolved, we as the People of Long Beach enthusiastically joined this effort.
  • What do you hope the group will achieve? The immediate task is defeating Measure BBB along with the other measures: AAA, CCC, and DDD. Beyond that I hope we can tackle various other issues related to our mission statement and hopefully field candidates who share our values for the next election.

Juan Ovalle

  • Juan Ovalle

    Communications Director of People of Long Beach

  • Lives in the 8th District
  • Why did you join the Long Beach Reform Coalition? It was a necessary process to ensure that we are people united under a common umbrella to address issues of importance to all residents of Long Beach.
  • What do you hope the group will achieve? First and foremost, create a movement based on mutual respect of our diverse backgrounds and aspirations. With a long-term goal of defending the pillars of democracy such as equity, representation, freedom, and justice. We want a city where all residents are engaged and civically active in bringing issues to light when we feel that our democracy is being jeopardized. Finally, I am confident we will achieve the goal of defeating the four charter amendments in the name of democracy.

Linda Scholl

  • Representative of the downtown area
  • Lives in the 2nd District
  • Why did you decide join the Long Beach Reform Coalition? The City disregards resident input and the harm it causes residents by circumventing its noise regulations for all special events. We need a local government that listens to people and responds to residents’ needs on that and many other issues.
  • What do you hope the group will achieve? We want our City Planning Process to incorporate community recommendations with transparency. We want integrated goals for housing, clean air, ample roads and parking, acceptable noise levels, and more. Democracy at the City Council level should allow additional time for resident comments and discussion with the council. The current process of limiting resident comments and then voting 9-0 in opposition to those comments, is viewed as a sham by all and should not be tolerated.

Joe Sopo

Joe Sopo
  • President of Long Beach Neighborhoods First and member of LBHUSH2 and CONO
  • Lives in the 5th District
  • Why did you join the Long Beach Reform Coalition? All politics are local. What happens downtown on a Tuesday night can negatively affect my life much more than anything in Washington D.C. LBRC members came from all over the city, and we all want government transparency and politicians to represent the citizens who voted them into office. Not politicians looking for their next position.
  • What do you hope the group will achieve? We will shine a light on political double-speak and misinformation that benefits elected officials at the expense of the citizen/taxpayer. The charter reforms being propelled by our Mayor and City Auditor are perfect examples. Mayor, why are you spending over $700,000 of taxpayers money to keep yourself in office for over 12 years? LBRC is not going away!

Joe Weinstein

Joe Weinstein

Source: Haley Munguia ~ PressTelegram

  • President of Citizens About Responsible Planning (CARP)
  • Lives in the 8th District
  • Why did you join the Long Beach Reform Coalition? To stop and reverse the perverse and destructive course of Long Beach city government. In recent years City Hall has increasingly pursued policies to aggrandize their own interests, at the expense of responsible planning, life-quality, and a sustainable and safe city. Their decisions — including the so-called ‘Civic Center’ — repeatedly exemplify calculated arrogance, fiscal irresponsibility and disdain of basic state-mandated measures for open government. Their attitude is à la Marie Antoinette: all legitimate ideas for the city will emanate from their ‘brilliant intellects,’ and residents’ role is to give the career politicians ever more power.
  • What do you hope the group will achieve? We the people of Long Beach will arise and act to save and improve our city. We look forward to a time when this city’s public decisions will be well-deliberated – rationally and democratically – so as to respond to our responsible concerns and incorporate our creative (and common-sense) ideas.

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