L.B. Democrats to square off at candidates' forum

The race for three open seats on the City Council has been heating up in the weeks leading up to the Sept. 10 Democratic primary, amid an imbroglio between the leaders of the Long Beach and Nassau County Democratic committees — and a recent State Supreme Court ruling that allowed the primary to move forward, after the Long Beach committee challenged the validity of petition signatures gathered by the county committee’s slate.

On Tuesday, incumbent City Council President Len Torres, Councilman Anthony Eramo and Karen Adamo — the city committee’s nominees — will answer questions at a candidates’ forum hosted by the local League of Women Voters at the Long Beach Public Library. They will be joined by candidates Dave Yolinsky and Anissa Moore, two local Democrats who are also running in the primary, the first to be held in the city in recent memory.

“I can’t remember this many candidates running for the City Council,” said Eileen Lilly, co-director of voter services for the League of Women Voters of Long Beach. “And someone did stop me on the street and said, ‘I hope you’re having a forum because I want to hear what they have to say.’”

The forum, scheduled for 7:30 to 9 p.m., will also serve as a platform for candidates running on the Independence Party line. To date, Lilly said, she has commitments from all five Democrats to attend the forum, at which candidates will make opening and closing remarks and respond to questions submitted to a moderator.

In May, the Long Beach Democrats selected Torres, Eramo and Adamo to run against Republican challengers Angelo Lomonte, Catherine Quinn and Brian Higgins, all of whom are also running on the Independence line. Council Vice President Fran Adelson is not seeking re-election.