LB SIERRA CLUB ENDORSES LOWENTHAL, KAWASAKI FOR CITY COUNCIL
By Dave Wielenga
The Long Beach Area Group of the Sierra Club has announced its endorsements of 2nd district City Councilmember Suja Lowenthal and 8th district council candidate Lillian Kawasaki in their campaigns for seats on the Long Beach City Council.
“Our interview committee was impressed by both candidates,” said Gabrielle Weeks, chairperson of the local Sierra Club group. “Our volunteers look forward to supporting them.”
Lowenthal’s reelection in the 2nd district is opposed by Janet Ballantyne and Mike Kamer.
Kamer is a full-time student at Cal State Long Beach, where he is working on a Master’s degree in public administration, and coordinator at the YMCA of Orange, where he oversees volunteers.
Ballantyne works for a financial services firm and is a member of Downtown Homeowners United, currently fighting plans by the Downtown Long Beach Associates to assess a fee on residents.
Kawasaki, who is running for the 8th district seat, is a longtime administrator with the City of Los Angeles (since 2003, with its Department of Water and Power), and has been on the Water Replenishment District Board of Directors since she was elected in 2006. She represents District 3, which includes the cities of Artesia, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Lakewood, Long Beach and Signal Hill.
Also running in the 8th are Al Austin, endorsed this week by outgoing two-term incumbent Rae Gabelich, and Gustavo Rivera, an Army veteran and a full-time Long Beach City College student.
On Sunday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Austin, Kawasaki and Rivera will answer questions from the press—including GreaterLongBeach.com—and the public during the 8th District Candidate Forum at the Art Expo Center, 4321 Atlantic Ave. Long Beach. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m.
The Candidates Forum is presented by the North Long Beach Community Action Group. Laurie Angel, former North Project Area committee chair and community advocate, will be the moderator. Admission is free and open to everyone public. Refreshments will be available. For more information, call 562.428.7710
The Sierra Club revealed it will make no endorsements in the remaining two council races.
In the 4th district, Daryl Supernaw and John Watkins are running against the district’s termed-out councilmember, Patrick O’Donnell, who recently withdrew his candidacy for the California Assembly and decided to mount a write-in campaign.
“We did not find a candidate who was a strong and consistent voice for the environment in the [4th district] candidates we interviewed,” Weeks said in the Sierra Club statement, which did not mention which candidates were interviewed.
In the 6th district, incumbent Dee Andrews is running unopposed. The Sierra Club release said Andrews did not respond to offers to participate in the endorsement process.
The election is April 10.
12 Comments
I wonder what Suja and Lillian promised LB Sierra Club to get their endorsement. After all, promises are what it takes to get their endorsement.
This is no different than when Suja and DeLong were endorsed by the Surfrider Club during their past elections after they both promised to ban plastic bags in Long Beach.
Didn’t that turn out wonderful.
The bag ban did turn out wonderful as I’ve seen significantly less plastic bag litter around my part of town.
As for this endorsement, I’d like Gabrielle Weeks to articulate what Suja articulated to her that resulted in LB Sierra Club’s endorsement of Lowenthal.
What I would like to see is these special interest groups like POA, Sierra Club, Fire Union and others publish the results of their Q&A with each candidate. A lot of the Q&As are probably similar to subjects members of the public want to know about. Publishing the Q&A results would help identify candidate platforms and also whether they were true to their word after the election.
I believe the candidates tell these special interest groups what they want to hear in order to garner their endorsement. Then the special interest group holds it over their heads after the election and threatens to publish the results of the Q&A if the candidate doesn’t follow through on their promise.
Any candidate that chose not to participate in a Q&A to be published would immediately be suspect in my eyes.
Any special interest group that doesn’t publish the results of the candidate Q&A is also suspect in my eyes.
Full agreement, Mr. Ruehle
“Surfrider Club” sounds like the name of a new sandwich…
Since GABRIELLE WEEKS is the Long Beach Regional representitive of the Sierra Club, I look forward to her making sure the results of the candidate Q&A is published for everyone to see. Otherwise everything she says is likewise suspect.
According to Gabrielle Weeks, “Our endorsements are based on what candidates actually accomplish, not what they promise.”
Maybe that explains why Councilman Patrick O’Donnell was not endorsed by the Sierra Club. O’Donnell self proclaims to be an environmentalist, but his track record of ACTIONS is quite the opposite.
Anymore info, Mr. Ruehle?
Still waiting impatiently.
Not even members of the Sierra Club find out why candidates are endorsed!
Isn’t the Sierra Club imploding as a serious environmental group?
[EDITOR'S NOTE: This comment has been altered to remove its first 10 words, which the commenter, who chooses not to be identified, uses to put forth as fact something that cannot be proven; the remainder of the comment is published intact.]
(We) must bring (Suja Lowenthal’s) ethics into question before she is re-elected! Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal on Saturday denied knowing an executive with whom she has been romantically linked at the time he brought business before the City Council 11 months ago.
Lowenthal, 38, said she had not yet been acquainted with the president of the Long Beach Yellow Cab Cooperative when she joined in a unanimous council vote to allow the taxicab firm to raise rates in August of 2007.
Source: http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-regional/15362440-1.html#ixzz1mP3ETaQrhttp://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-regional/15362440-1.html