Tomorrow, Long Beachers will cast their votes, not only for the President of the United States, but for two city measures as well as congresspeople for the newly redrawn 47th and 44th districts.
Democratic incumbents Janice Hahn and Laura Richardson will face off in the 44th District, which takes the place of the 37th District for North Long Beach residents living above Market St. Most recent polls show Hahn in a lead over Richardson, however Richardson is the current congresswoman for about half of the new district, which includes what her office claims is a strong base in Carson and Compton. Richardson made national headlines in August when she was reprimanded by the House Ethics Committee for misusing her staff. She raised less than $7000 during the three-month period ending September 30 while Hahn raised more than $175,000 during the same time.
The high-profile race for the rest of Long Beach is for the 47th District where State Senator Alan Lowenthal and 3rd District City Councilmember Gary DeLong have run campaigns that brought out endorsements from Washington honchos such as former Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.
The newly-drawn 47th—of what used to be entirely Orange County-based, consisting mainly of Anaheim, Garden Grove and Santa Ana—will now consist of nearly the entirety of Long Beach as well as some of west Orange County, representing some 359,000 people. The district was recreated by drawing mostly from parts of the 37th, 40th and 46th Congressional Districts, while small portions from the 39th and previous 47th districts were also used.
Though the district is Democratic-leaning—about a 36% party advantage for the Dems—the contest remains highly competitive given DeLong’s overall moderate approach to the Republican platform as well as his impressive fundraising, about $1.3 million to Lownethal’s $980,000. Poll results have fluctuated throughout the campaigns, depending on sample size, languages used and question wording.
{loadposition latestnews}All Long Beach residents will also vote on two city measures one of which, Measure N, has stirred up massive amounts of controversy. Measure N sets a minimum wage—$13/hour, $5 higher than the state minimum—for the city’s hotel workers who operate in hotels with more than 100 rooms. Supporters refer to it as a “living wage” that provides a basic living needs to families while detractors call it a power ploy by labor unions. Reactions have ranged from 2nd District Councilmember Dr. Suja Lowenthal’s op-ed in the Huffington Post supporting the measure to a joint Long Beach Chamber Area Chamber of Commerce/Downtown Long Beach Associates piece denouncing the legislation
The second city measure, Measure O, is not necessarily without its controversies either—after all, the Press-Telegram endorsed the measure while City Auditor Laura Doud wrote an editorial describing her array of problems with O.
Measure O seeks to alter the dates for primary elections for city offices, moving them to June and having a runoff in November. Detractors of the measure note that this will increase elections to three per cycle instead of just two, thereby increasing costs for the City. Supporters, however, feel the alternative dates will possibly increase voter turnout and therefore seemingly outweigh the short-term costs.
[Eds. note: Seriously, though. Regardless of your political views, everyone should go out and vote tomorrow (unless you mailed it in–we salute you!). Use the #lbvotes hashtag to tell us what you’re voting for!]