The retirement of outgoing City Attorney Robert Shannon in July is more than just a matter of it being time to move on. In an interview with the Press-Telegram published Monday, Shannon said that part of the reason he is stepping down before his term is up next year is “absolutely” to give his chosen successor a chance to take the position.
Shannon was forthright in saying that that he will be campaigning for Assistant City Attorney Charles Parkin to replace him, just as his predecessor John Calhoun did to get him the position 15 years ago.
Instead of serving the entirety of his four-year term–which ends in April 2014–Shannon is strategically stepping down so that the decision of who becomes the next city attorney falls upon a City Council vote. If Shannon had served his full term, the voters of Long Beach would choose the next city attorney in April 2014.
Regardless, whoever City Council chooses will then have the opportunity to run for the position again next year.
In the exit profile on the former litigator–who has been with Long Beach’s City Attorney’s Office for 39 years–the Press-Telegram also noted Shannon’s pugnacious nature, an example of which was apparent in his stance on the city’s medical marijuana ban.
Former City Councilwoman Rae Gabelich was the sole dissenting vote when the council voted to ban collectives using zoning codes last year. The ban has since been upheld by another case the California Supreme Court decided this month.
“He was accurate in that regard, but is that the way we wanted to take it?” Gabelich asked.
She said that many of her colleagues expressed support for medicinal marijuana, but claimed they grew weary of courting controversy and were swayed by the relentlessness of Shannon’s arguments.
“I don’t believe that you stop talking about something just because you’re tired of talking about it,” Gabelich said.
Despite his retirement, Shannon says he will not be disappearing from City Hall.
“I’ll be around,” Shannon told the Press-Telegram. “How active I am at any given time will depend on how I feel.”