Candidates debate at Martin Luther King Center

With Election Day nearing, the eight Long Beach candidates for the City Council and the Nassau County Legislature gathered at the Martin Luther King Center to debate the issues, most related to North Park, on Monday night.

The forum, moderated by Myrnissa Stone, a former executive director of the center, was the second of three debates. It began with statements from two candidates in the 4th Legislative District race, Republican incumbent Denise Ford, who is vying for a fifth term, and Democratic challenger Darlene Tangney, a Long Beach Board of Education trustee.

Ford, who explained that she is running on a platform whose focus is on holding the line on property taxes, said she intends to streamline government and continue to work to consolidate county departments. She also noted her efforts to address problems at the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant.

“Taxes are getting out of control,” Ford said.

Of Bay Park, she added, “We immediately started addressing that and putting money into that to make sure we fixed it.”

Ford said she was prepared to hear criticism from Tangney about a 47 percent pay raise Ford voted to approve for the Legislature’s majority leader and presiding officer, Peter Schmitt. “Yes … we did give it to him, but a week later it was taken back,” she said, explaining that no legislator has received a pay raise since the Legislature was formed 16 years ago.

Tangney did mention the pay raise, and added that Ford not only voted to enact $60 million in county fees, but has also continued to ignore the issue of flooding in North Park.

“North Park doesn’t get its fair share of community development funds,” Tangney said. “We see this in the crumbling water tower.”

She also said that a “minuscule” amount of funding is directed to the MLK center. “When elected, I will work with the city government to get the necessary funds, no excuses,” she pledged.

Following Ford and Tangney, the six candidates running in this year’s City Council race took center stage. Republican-led coalition council incumbents Thomas Sofield Jr. and Mona Goodman, along with Marvin Weiss, a local environmentalist and medical-supply salesman who has previously run for City Council, debated Democratic incumbent Len Torres and candidates Fran Adelson, a former library board trustee who has also run for the council in the past, and newcomer Scott Mandel, a commercial litigation attorney.

The candidates addressed written questions submitted by the audience regarding the North Park neighborhood and city government, covering issues ranging from street flooding to the request to form a civilian complaint review board to racial diversity on the city police force. Other questions focused on educational and employment opportunities, the Civil Service Commission and City Council pay.

Goodman said she understands the community’s request for a civilian complaint review board, but added that it requires studying and more community input. “It is being looked into, and hopefully we will have some type of determination shortly,” she said.

Torres cited his experience with review boards in the South Bronx, and emphasized that resident concerns must be heard. “I am in full support of it,” he said.

Mandel agreed that residents must have a forum for their concerns, but asked why the matter hadn’t been addressed. “If this is something that has been raised,” he said, “asking for a community meeting now seems a little after the fact.”

But Sofield said that the city had been working with Mindy Williams, a member of the Concerned Citizens of North Park, to gather information from other municipalities about review boards. “The only municipality in this general area that has a civilian complaint review board is New York City,” he said. “The next closest is Ithaca, New York. We’ve reached out to them,” he said, noting that Ithaca is comparable to Long Beach in terms of its diverse makeup and population.

One audience member’s question focused on flooding in North Park, and why a type of valve that was to be installed on Riverside Boulevard, just south of the bay, to remedy the issue has not been.

Adelson described the flooding as unbearable for residents. “I’ve been hearing about the valve for over a year since going to City Council meetings,” she said. “I don’t know when it’s going to go in … I don’t feel straight answers have ever been given.”

But Sofield contended that the city has been addressing the matter, and that installation work would begin shortly. “We signed a contract for the installation of … the valve on July 29. That contract required that it be installed within 90 days. That’s Oct. 29. The contractor plans on starting the work on Oct. 31.”

Another question focused on a member of the North Park community who was removed from his job as Civil Service Commissioner for violating his oath of office. The candidates were asked what an oath of office meant to them.

“It shows your integrity, your ability to be lawful, and it shows your ability to be truthful,” Adelson said.

Weiss, who said he intends to work closely with residents if elected, said his interpretation of an oath was to obey the law and to be open and honest with the people. “If you discard the trust of the people … [you] don’t belong working for the people,” he said.

Mandel, a first-time candidate, declared that an oath is a complete commitment to the city and community, something he has sworn to uphold. “It’s a pledge to the community, and one that should be held above all else,” he said. “It’s something that should be respected.”