Signal Tribune Newspaper

By Nick Diamantides
Staff Writer

With no sharp differences on policy issues, the four candidates running for election to the 7th District seat of the Long Beach City Council seemed to be focusing primarily on which one is most trustworthy and which one would be more effective in improving the quality of life in the district and in the city. The four spoke at a candidates forum Monday, Feb. 1 that was sponsored by the Wrigley Association and the Californian Heights Neighborhood Association. The event at the recreation center of Veterans Park was attended by about 100 people, including present and former local elected officials, appointed officials, candidates for other offices, and a bevy of community activists.
The four candidates– Assistant City Auditor James Johnson, Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance President Jill Hill, Incumbent 7th District City Councilwoman Tonia Reyes-Uranga, and Jack Smith, co-founder of Better Balance for Long Beach– each asserted that their background and experience made them the most qualified person to represent the district on the city council.
In her opening comments, Reyes-Uranga noted that many working families in the district are still suffering from the effects of the economic recession. She stressed that her eight years of experience on the city council made her the most qualified person to get things done for the district. “I promised and have succeeded in getting hard fought resources to the district,” she said. “But it promises to get even more difficult as our state takes out local dollars in a futile attempt to balance their own budget.”
Reyes-Uranga insisted that for the past eight years she had been a strong, independent voice on the city council, representing the entire district, not just one neighborhood. “The 7th District now has a greater voice in appointments, and we now have a 7th District representative on every charter commission,” she said. “My commitment to maintain and improve the quality of life in the district has earned me the police rank-and-file support.” She added that her focus on the environment was instrumental in ensuring the responsible growth of the Long Beach Airport and the Port of Long Beach.
Reyes-Uranga stressed that learning how to stand up to the pressure of the City Hall bureaucracy was the hardest part of the job of being a councilmember and learning how to do that takes a long time. “Until a councilmember learns (how to do that), districts get lip service instead of real service,” she said.
The city’s term-limits law prohibits Reyes-Uranga’s name from appearing on the ballot. She is waging a write-in campaign.
Johnson spoke next. He said his primary reason for running is to make Long Beach as great as it could possibly be. “I am so excited to live here,” he said, noting that he was born and reared here. “When I grew up, I got a lot of great breaks in this town,” he noted. “I went to Poly High and got a world-class education, learned to read in our libraries and grew up feeling safe.” He said that after graduating from college and law school, he wanted to return to Long Beach and give back to the city that had given him so much.
Johnson explained that all four candidates had ideas on what should be done to enhance public safety and promote clean air and parks in the city. “The real question is ‘Who is best equipped to get the job done?’” he said.
When it was his turn to speak, Smith insisted he was the one best equipped to get the job done. “I am a rocket scientist with an Academy Award in budget management,” Smith said. He explained that he had a degree in astronautical engineering and worked for a time in that capacity for McDonnell-Douglas “For the last 30-plus years, I have been making movies and television shows,” he added. “Along the way, I invented software to prepare and manage budgets, and a few years ago I received a technical achievement award for that invention.”
Smith noted that he had spent his entire life challenging the status quo and successfully pioneering solutions to urban problems. “I am an outspoken community activist seeking office to provide effective leadership on matters of importance to the 7th District,” he said. Smith added that his leadership abilities are evidenced in the fact that Better Balance for Long Beach was named the best multi-neighborhood group in the nation two years ago by the Neighborhoods USA Conference. He also noted that for years he has served on city commissions and boards “initiating important changes in the city to protect our neighborhoods and communities.”
In her opening comments, Hill noted that she had spent more than 600 hours attending or running the meetings of the Wrigley Association. “I am excited to be here on the other end as a candidate now,” Hill said. She stressed that her overarching purpose for running for the 7th District seat was to move Long Beach toward the goal of becoming a sustainable city. “Sustainability equals neighborhoods,” she said, explaining that her three-point approach– focusing on the environment, economics and social aspects– would improve the quality of life in all Long Beach neighborhoods.
“I have advocated for air, water, and land issues for many years,” Hill said. “The economics engine is small business, and I have had a small business for 13 years and I have advocated for businesses.” She noted that while she was a member of the Wrigley Association she was instrumental in bringing forward the development of the now successful Wrigley Marketplace Shopping Center.
“Long Beach is a city of neighborhoods. There are about 150 of them out there,” Hill added. “I have worked in the trenches for the past 15 years to improve this district and my neighborhood.”
During the approximately 90-miniute question-and-answer period that followed, the candidates seemed to agree in principle on every issue presented to them. They all agreed that improving public safety, cleaning up the environment and enhancing economic growth need to be the city’s top priorities. All four said they opposed making the 710 Freeway a “double-decker” with the upper level reserved for truck traffic. All four said they opposed the tall electronic billboard proposed by Cabe Toyota to give the dealership freeway visibility.
Toward the end of the forum, an audience member asked the candidates how they could be trusted to not use election to the city council as a stepping-stone to a higher office. Hill and Smith insisted that they had no aspirations for higher office and their years of community activism proved their dedication to the city and to the 7th District. Reyes-Uranga referred to her failed attempt to win election to the state assembly in 2008 and now her only goal was to serve the residents of the district and to improve the quality of life for the entire city. Johnson, who was elected to California Democratic State Central Committee (the body that determines the state party’s platform and policies) in January 2009 and currently receives $155,214 in annual salary as assistant city auditor, insisted that his only motivation for running was to give back to the city he loves. The annual salary of city council members is $31,320. The Signal Tribune obtained the salary figures from the City of Long Beach Department of Human Resources.