Long Beach City Council candidates square off

Candidates vying for a seat on the Long Beach City Council squared off in what was — for the most part — a civil debate last Thursday, where two incumbents running on the Republican–led coalition ticket touted the administration’s conservative fiscal policies and the passage of a $83.9 million budget that does not include a tax increase, while Democratic incumbent Len Torres called for an end to what he said is a lack of transparency and mismanagement that permeates City Hall.

Republican-led coalition council incumbents Thomas Sofield Jr. and Mona Goodman are attempting to retain their seats — and edge out Torres — by running with Marvin Weiss, a local environmentalist and medical-supply salesman who lost a City Council race two years ago. Torres has teamed up with newcomer Scott Mandel, 37, a commercial litigation attorney and Long Beach resident, along with former Library Board Trustee Fran Adelson, who ran unsuccessfully for the council in 2009.

At the Oct. 20 Candidates’ Forum at the Long Beach Public Library, hosted and moderated by the Long Beach League of Women Voters, the six candidates fielded written questions submitted by the audience. Residents crowded the room to hear the candidates address a range of issues such as taxes and spending, the aging condition of the boardwalk and the city’s infrastructure, gentrification in the North Park area, the city’s handling of the Quiksilver Pro N.Y. and traffic safety, among others.

Taxes and spending

City Council President Tom Sofield Jr., a registered Democrat who was first elected in 2003, said that under the coalition’s leadership, the city froze or cut taxes during five of the last six years with no cuts in services, and that the city’s A1 bond rating was recently reaffirmed by Moody’s. When the candidates were asked how they would cut spending without raising taxes, Sofield said that the city is in “very good” financial shape.