Vote for new Long Beach City Council member sparks charged meeting

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The City Council’s vote on Friday to appoint a new member to a vacant seat led to a charged meeting at City Hall, and some residents accused council members of making a backroom deal and choosing a candidate that they alleged was selected by Democratic Party leaders.

At a special meeting, the council voted unanimously to appoint Chumi Diamond, a 37-year-old Long Beach resident and law clerk for Nassau Supreme Court Justice Leonard Steinman. Council President Len Torres did not attend the meeting.

Former Councilwoman Eileen Goggin was elected a Nassau County District Court judge in November, and the remaining four council members, all Democrats, had received more than 20 resumes over the past month after they announced that they were seeking a replacement.

“We did an exhaustive search, and we interviewed quite a few folks and we narrowed it down collectively together,” City Council Vice President Anthony Eramo said. “I think we came up with a great process and found someone who was well qualified and someone to work with us and be part of our team that has a great passion for the city and certainly our community.”

But Martin Luther King Jr. Center board Chairman James Hodge and former Council President Jim Hennessy — a Republican who was among those seeking a council appointment — and some others criticized the council for not providing enough notice about the meeting and for not allowing public comments.

Unless residents were allowed to speak, Hodge said that he would only be removed from the podium if he were arrested.

“Take me out in handcuffs, this is not right!” Hodge said. “If someone were going to get appointed, what deals were made? Something was made because obviously there was another candidate who was told that he was going to get in.”

Hodge was referring to Marvin McMoore, the 23-year-old national president of the College Democrats of America, who grew up in the North Park community. Hodge said that he supported McMoore, who is also vice president of the Independent Democratic Club of Long Beach, and said he disagreed with the selection process that led to Diamond’s appointment.

Saying that he was out of order, Eramo ordered Hodge’s microphone turned off.

“You’re not allowing the community to speak — it would have been wonderful to do this at a public meeting,” Hodge shouted. “Chumi Diamond is wonderful, she’s done a lot of great things for the community … we had a lot of great candidates … but I’m here to support McMoore. We have this great young man who is outstanding.”

Eramo said that Friday’s session was held in order to discuss city business with Diamond ahead of the Feb. 7 council meeting, and that the council was not required to open up the meeting to public comments because there was no legislative business, which led to a debate between city officials and Hodge and Hennessy, who called for the vote to be tabled.

Council members had met on Wednesday to decide on the final candidate; political insiders said that Torres did not intend to vote for Diamond.

Hours before Friday’s meeting, Councilwoman Anissa Moore posted a comment on Facebook to dismiss claims made by others on social media that she had intended to vote for McMoore, who would have become the second African-American to serve on the council.

Moore lauded McMoore but said that there were several highly qualified candidates who were considered and said that the vetting process was fair.

“The process revealed that party politics … has no place in important positions such as this, but we know in reality that they do,” Moore said. “But the search process allows us to look beyond and find what is the best decision to move the city forward in a time of transition. You may say that there’s no change here, it’s business as usual, but it’s not.”

Hodge and Hennessey alleged that Democratic Party leaders such as county Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs promised council members deals in return for voting for Diamond — a judgeship for Mandel and the council presidency for Eramo. Both strongly denied those claims.

“This is not about sour grapes, about me being up there — I just know that you people are dishonest,” Hennessy said. “This was a decision that was made behind closed doors, of the political self interest of Mr. Mandel and Mr. Eramo taking precedent over the interests of the residents. By appointing Ms. Diamond, you’re letting go of political control of the city and giving the power of control to not only the local party leader, but also the county leader, Mr. Jay Jacobs.”

Hennessy also questioned Diamond’s residency — he held up her campaign disclosure forms and cited a Woodmere address — and said that she was ineligible to serve on the council. According to the forms, obtained by the Herald on Wednesday, Diamond donated to the Nassau County Democratic Committee and high-profile Democratic candidates as recently as last year from an address on West Broadway in Woodmere.

Diamond told the Herald after the meeting that she had written the checks from a bank account that listed an old address, and insisted that she has lived in Long Beach since 2009. Eramo said that Diamond met the residency requirement.

Eramo and Mandel dismissed claims of party influence, and said after the meeting that Hennessy was disgruntled. Mandel said that council members conducted the same vetting process for Diamond as they did in 2013 when they appointed Goggin.

“No deals were made — the council was elected to make tough decisions, and this is one of them,” Eramo said. “We vetted all of our candidates.”

"We were lobbied by individuals, organizations, neighbors — everyone reached out to us," he added after the meeting. "But at the end of the day it's the council's decision and Chumi got the majority vote."

Diamond, who previously worked as an attorney in private practice and is a vice president of the Five Towns-based Marion and Aaron Gural JCC's executive board, said that she submitted her resume like everyone else.

She pledged to bridge any divides on the council and in the community, while also working with officials to address the city’s ongoing recovery from Hurricane Sandy, as well as overdevelopment, parking and safety issues.

“There were a number of qualified candidates and the council made a decision … I didn’t create the process,” said Diamond, who will serve the remainder of Goggin's term and run for election in November. “Obviously, I’m thankful and I’m happy that I was selected.”