Candidates square off at two forums

Eric Dunetz/Herald

Residents packed the Long Beach library for a candidates’ forum hosted by the local League of Women Voters.

Eric Dunetz/Herald

Anthony Eramo

Joseph Naham

Angelo Lomonte

Anissa Moore

Catherine Quinn

Brian Higgins

Len Torres

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Candidates vying for three seats on the City Council took part in two candidates’ forums over the past week, including one on Monday run by local civic groups and another at the Long Beach Public Library hosted by the local League of Women Voters on Oct. 22.

The candidates addressed issues ranging from the reopening of a hospital to taxes to quality-of-life issues and ways to protect the city from future storms.

In a town where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a ratio of 3 to 1, the GOP candidates have been working to unseat Democratic incumbents Len Torres and Anthony Eramo, in part by trying to persuade voters that the administration has not been open, and caters more to tourists than residents. Council Vice President Fran Adelson, a Democrat, is not seeking re-election.

Republicans Angelo Lomonte, Catherine Quinn and Brian Higgins raised a number of issues in their bid to take control of City Hall, vowing to curtail overdevelopment, “put residents and businesses first,” end party politics and bring more transparency and accountability to government.

Green Party candidate Joseph Naham, who announced his candidacy in July, focused on sustainability and creating a more diversified economy in Long Beach. “I believe that public interest cannot be supported without also a healthy and sustainable environment,” he said.

Local civic groups held their meeting at Temple Israel — where the questions were more pointed and included a “speed round,” with simple yes or no answers — after Torres and Eramo did not attend a forum earlier this month organized by the Westholme Civic Association. Torres had called for an impartial forum that represented all of the civic groups, but could not attend Monday’s event.

At both gatherings, the Republicans blasted the Democrats. “We would like to increase transparency that we feel is lacking in this community,” said Higgins, a field manager for Verizon. “We would love to have anybody go to the [city] website and with the click of a mouse, get anything you need, whether it be crime statistics, how the budgets were run or how the competitive bidding process goes.”