Long Beach City Council race may heat up early

The Democratic-led State Senate passed what was described as a series of “historic” voting reforms on Jan. 14 that could mean an earlier primary in Long Beach in the race for City Council this year.
The legislation, co-sponsored by State Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach), which passed the Assembly and is expected to be signed by Gov. Andrew Cu-omo, would change the way New Yorkers can vote and is aimed at increasing voter turnout.
Kaminsky said that New York is the only state in the country that holds separate state and federal primary elections, among other antiquated and restrictive laws that many say suppress voter turnout.
The reforms, which Kaminsky and others said had long been blocked by Senate Republicans, include early voting, same-day voter registration, voting by mail and consolidation of federal and state primaries, which would be held on June 25 in New York instead of September, “streamlining the process for all New Yorkers, in-cluding those serving the military,” Kaminsky said in a news release.
“From allowing New Yorkers to vote at a time convenient to them, to allowing same-day voter registration, these reforms are no-brainers, and I was proud to be part of the effort to reduce barriers to participation in our democracy,” he added. “By increasing voter turnout, we can jumpstart the participation our democracy deserves to ensure that government works for the people it is meant to serve.”

Nassau County Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs said the reforms were long overdue. “I think it’s a good thing for democracy,” Jacobs told the Herald. “It’s something we’ve been advocating for. The Republicans have been the problem . . . they blocked it. It’s giving us the ability to do early voting and many states already have that.”
County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Cairo did not return a call requesting comment.
This year’s elections come amid what many have said is a fracturing of the Democratic party in Long Beach into the Long Beach Democratic Committee, the Independent Democratic Club of Long Beach and a third group that includes both Democrats and Republicans.
In a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 to 1, political insiders say the groups are jockeying for control of the City Council, which consists of four Democrats — Chumi Diamond, Anthony Eramo, Scott Mandel and Anissa Moore — and one independent, John Bendo, who ran on a Democratic ticket with Diamond and Mandel in 2017 that had the support of Jacobs.
Though no challengers have announced their candidacies, Mary Volosevich, a member of the Long Beach Democratic Committee, and others said they expect a Democratic primary this year, citing the city’s recent financial woes, a state audit, the ongoing search for a permanent city manager and questions about payouts to current and former employees.
“People just don’t like the way things are going,” Volosevich said. “[The City Council members are] all from the same party, and they can’t agree on anything. I’m hoping for the best — we’re trying to get everybody to move forward. We’re trying to get people on the same page.”
Darlene Tangney, president of the Independent Democratic Club, did not immediately return a call requesting comment. Steve Kohut, a Democrat and a lifelong Long Beach resident who supports the IDC, said he also expected a primary.
“Every council election, whether it be a primary or general election, is a referendum on the administration,” Kohut said. “This is the opportunity for the party members to make a decision about the administration or incumbents, and in the general election the public at large has that opportunity.”
Some said that the voting reforms would favor incumbents this year, giving challengers less time to gather the necessary petition signatures beginning in late February — and to submit them to the Nassau County Board of Elections in about a month — in order to get on a primary ballot.
“To give no notice is absurd, because anybody who wants to run and get a primary together thought they had until June to put their petitions together [for a September primary],” said former school board President Roy Lester, a Democrat and a member of the coalition group. “It only benefits the incumbents.”
City Council President Anthony Eramo, a Democrat who is seeking re-election this year, disagreed with the claim that the primary favors incumbents or that the council is regularly at odds, saying, “Almost everything that comes before the council is voted on unanimously.”
“Everyone has to get the necessary [petition] signatures,” Eramo said. “In general, I think the reforms make it easier for more people to participate in the democratic process. I think, at first, people might be a little confused about the primary being at the beginning of the summer, but in the long run I think it will improve voter participation. I think it’s well past due that we had some voter reform done in the state — it’s embarrassing that New York has one of the lowest voter turnouts in the country. For the state and counties, it will be a huge money saver, and I think it will increase voter turnout.”
Kohut lauded the reforms, but said that the early primary “actually short-changes the local election” this year. “In reality, it’s really a dry run for the state and local elections next year,” he said, “and they’ll have the opportunity to fix the bugs in the system,” he said.
Jacobs — who is expected to speak at a Long Beach Democratic Committee meeting on Monday in what political insiders say will be an attempt to unify the local party — acknowledged the potential challenges of a June primary.
“Is the county ready? You’re never ready to have a deadline moved up so dramatically,” he said, “but I can assure you that we will be ready.”