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Light Rain Primary race heats up at forum
Candidates discuss firefighter layoffs, iStar and overdevelopment
An unprecedented eight candidates vying for three open seats on the Long Beach City Council squared off at a candidates’ forum hosted by the local League of Women Voters at the Long Beach Public Library on Aug. 25. Many are calling this election key to the future of the city, as a schism within the Democratic Party has resulted in two slates of candidates facing off in a Sept. 10 primary.
The standing-room-only forum was held amid a feud between the leaders of the Long Beach and Nassau County Democratic committees, Mike Zapson and Jay Jacobs.
Incumbent City Council President Len Torres, Councilman Anthony Eramo and Karen Adamo — the city committee’s nominees, who are also running on the Independence Party line — defended their record in office, citing a major economic turnaround after the previous Republican administration left the city on the verge of bankruptcy, they said, as well as the ongoing efforts to rebuild and revitalize the city after Hurricane Sandy.
Candidates Dave Yolinsky and Anissa Moore, members of the New Democrats of Long Beach, who have the support of the county Democratic Committee, said they are running on a platform of change and more transparency at City Hall.
The forum also served as a platform for other Independence Party candidates, including Republican challengers Catherine Quinn, Brian Higgins and Angelo Lomonte — a former Zoning Board of Appeals trustee — who also cited a need for more transparency as well as ethics reform, and vowed to address quality-of-life concerns such as overdevelopment.
The candidates discussed issues ranging from the proposed iStar development of two luxury apartment towers on the vacant Superblock property, to city finances, to the recent restructuring of the Fire Department in which four firefighters, including Yolinsky, were laid off.
City finances and iStar
