Long Beach’s former Business Relations Manager Erik Sund will begin a new job this Monday as Assistant City Manager for the City of San Clemente. Sund was responsible for overseeing business licenses, entertainment permits, purchasing and more, a position that most notably embroiled him in the City’s battle against medical marijuana dispensaries.
Sund oversaw all business registrations, including those for dispensaries, which for a time were supposed to be given out through a pricey lottery system that has since been ruled unconstitutional. When an all-out ban was enacted last year, Sund was a common face at raids of dispensaries that continued to operate illegally and his name has appeared as a co-defendent, along with the City of Long Beach, on several law suits.
State law prevents City officials from discussing much about employees, however according to Deputy City Manager Tom Modica, Sund left his position in Long Beach on October 25. The San Clemente Times says Sund will begin his new position November 4. Dennis Strachota, the City’s Budget Manager, has taken over his Long Beach duties in the interim.
According to the Times, Sund graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social ecology from the UC Irvine in 1993 and received a professional designation in Purchasing, Materials Management from the UCLA in 1999. He has previously worked for the cities of Downey and Irvine.
For more information on the Business Relations Bureau, visit http://www.longbeach.gov/finance/business_relations/default.asp
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