The Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee (PAC) announced in a statement released today its endorsement of Daryl Supernaw for the open 4th District City Council seat.
“I am very pleased and appreciative for this recognition by our local business leaders. I am also grateful for the support I have received from the 4th district business community and businesses citywide,” Supernaw said in the statement. “In this challenging economic climate, it is critical for Long Beach to support existing businesses, and attract new businesses, to provide jobs for our residents. The Chamber is perfectly positioned to help drive that initiative, and I look forward to assisting in that effort. As both a community advocate and a business consultant, I am committed to maintaining quality of life issues for our residents while supporting a business-friendly environment for our economic health.”
“Daryl Supernaw brings a strong business acumen and experience to make the 4th Council District a better place to live and work,” stated LaDonna DiCamillo, Chairman of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce PAC, in today’s statement. “Supernaw is well equipped to bring both business and community together not only in the 4th District but city wide and has shown this in the past by garnering over 3,000 votes when connecting with voters during the 2012 municipal election in which he finished second to now Assembly Member Patrick O’Donnell. Businesses, residents and the entire city of Long Beach would be well served by electing Supernaw to the vacated 4th District Council seat.”
Supernaw was previously endorsed by John Watkins, a retired Long Beach police officer who dropped out of the 4th District race, who told the Press-Telegram that he was putting his support behind Supernaw, calling him “mature and stable” and the best candidate.
Supernaw, who has owned his own consulting business since 1985, told the Post in an interview last month that he plans on taking his 30 years of business consulting experience and applying it to his position on City Council. He cited his previous successes applying private sector business strategy to public sector issues, including his involvement spearheading the $3 million effort to cover and beautify the open-air Atherton ditch, as well as his role in securing $1.5 million in traffic mitigation funds as part of the year-long closure of the 7th Street bridge.
The Long Beach Area Chamber PAC recruits and trains potential candidates and funds candidates and issues which the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce sees as seeking to “improve the economic vitality of the Long Beach business community.”
Supernaw is running in the 4th District Special Election being held to fill the empty seat left by former Councilmember Patrick O’Donnell, who was elected to the State Assembly in November. The special election is scheduled for April 14, 2015, and the city estimates it will cost about $6.50 per voter, or upward of $175,000.