City Council incumbents elected with little or no opposition. Budget woes with the possibility of bringing Long Beach to its knees. A populace generally asleep or uninterested to the problems the budget may create.
Sound like 2008?
Wrong. It was 2002.
In a year that led to serious financial repercussions that we still feel today, the pressing issue of the structurally imbalanced budget deficit was not felt at all, and Councilmembers voted unanimously for a new pension plan that would bring the City close to bankruptcy.
That same year, three incumbents went unopposed for reelection (Shannon, Burroughs, and Bonnie Lowenthal), three incumbents faced little opposition (Colonna, Kell, and Reeves), and one newcomer crushed his opponent (Lerch). Only two races saw any action (O’Neill write-in, and Uranga vs. Donelon run-off).
The similarities to this year are uncanny though.
Mayor Foster announced earlier this year in his State of the City message: “Let me be blunt. We do not yet have a structurally balanced budget.” That same week, the candidate filing period closed and only one out of four City Council races was contested. The one, Dee Andrews vs. Ahmed Saafir, was a blowout with a 76% victory.
Seeing as how the City Council staked $100,000 of taxpayers’ money on the Breakwater Study gamble (see column from last week), the urgency needed to get the City’s financial ship back on track is hardly present.
This summer, our Mayor and City Council members will face some hard decisions—from extreme cuts, to lay offs, to possible tax raises. Given the coverage in much of the press, and the actions of the City Council, it hardly seems like anybody knows.
Just like 2002.
There were repercussions for the mistakes made in 2002; could the same things happen for any decisions made in 2008?
In 2004, the repercussions were pronounced. Two City Council incumbents were thrown out of office—Carroll and Webb.
The repercussions of 2002 likely ended with the election of City Auditor Laura Doud in 2006, who beat out Gary Burroughs after 14 years of inadequate financial oversight.
Of course, the City of Long Beach’s financial problems aren’t nearly as bad as they were in 2002. The current budget deficit has been estimated to be around 16 million dollars; back then it was over 70 million dollars.
The last major budget deficit started somewhere though. The City Council still has time to avert the impacts of 2002—the impacts that are still haunting us today.
Disclosure: Former Councilman Rob Webb is my step dad, and I consulted on the campaign of City Auditor Laura Doud.