Long Beach City Councilwoman calls for special election

Charging that party politics continue to permeate City Hall, outgoing City Councilwoman Eileen Goggin has called for a special election after her term ends this month to let residents vote on a replacement instead of the council voting to fill her seat with a potential political appointee.

Goggin, a Democrat who was elected as a Nassau County District Court judge in November, was to appear at her last City Council meeting on Tuesday, where she had intended to raise the issue of a special election to fill her spot on the five-member council, to which she herself was appointed in 2013 before she was elected to a four-year term.

The meeting, however, was canceled after City Manager Jack Schnirman, City Council President Len Torres, Vice President Anthony Eramo and Councilman Scott Mandel, all Democrats, agreed that there was no new business and decided to hold the next meeting on Jan. 3, at which point they could appoint Goggin’s replacement.

Council meetings are scheduled for the first and third Tuesdays of the month, and the move sparked criticism by Goggin, Councilwoman Anissa Moore and a number of residents who questioned the decision. Recent meetings were contentious, as Goggin and Moore clashed with the other three members when they called for the council to resume its practice of rotating the presidency and name Moore president.

Moore, the first African American to serve on the council, received the most votes when she was elected to a four-year term last year amid a bitter divide between the Democratic Party.

“I think there was a concern from the city manager — and also from council members Eramo, Torres and Mandel — concerning what I would be saying at the last meeting,” Goggin said. “Whether it was calling for a special election — which is what I was going to do to ensure that there is transparency and that the person who is selected is not a political appointee — or the rotation of the presidency. I was going to raise how my concern is that politics are still involved in the workings of the administration.”

But Torres, Eramo, Mandel and other city officials disputed those claims. In an email obtained by the Herald, Schnirman reached out to council members on Dec. 14 to inform them that other than a potential request for an off-street parking variance, there was nothing on the agenda for the Dec. 20 meeting.

“Since her own appointment to the council in 2013, Councilwoman Goggin has had multiple opportunities to share her views and concerns,” Torres, Eramo and Mandel wrote in a joint statement. “It’s disappointing that she, or anyone, would believe that a meeting would be canceled out of any claimed ‘fear’ of anything she may now choose to say.”

Goggin said she called for a special election because she's concerned that a political appointee would toe the party line and not listen to residents' concerns.

“What I’ve been looking for is leadership that represents the people, and not [someone] influenced by financial concerns or power, or getting jobs,” she said. 

A special election would have to be approved by Governor Cuomo if the vacancy is not filled in the case of a tie vote on the council or if trustees neglect to fill the seat for any other reason, according to state Public Officers Law, though Torres and other city officials said such a move is highly unlikely.

“If we go for a special election, we have to wait for special permission from the governor and that could take a while and he may not approve it,” Torres said. “The real priority is filling the vacant council seat.”

Torres disputed claims of party influence, and said that the council often disagreed with party leaders, including former Long Beach Democratic Committee Chairman Mike Zapson. He added that the council would conduct an interview and vetting process when searching for Goggin’s successor.

"Mike Zapson is no longer the party leader and he’s not influencing any one of us,” Torres said. “We need to fill the position between now and the end of her term. We don’t really have to, but we’d like to be able to do that.”

Goggin said the decision to cancel the meeting was “flippant” and lacked transparency, and called for the meeting to go forward. She said that there were a number of important issues that needed to be discussed, including the presidency, which the council declined to include on agendas for the past six months.

“To wait until January to address issues affecting the city and the residents is a dereliction of our responsibilities — this includes the council and city manager,” Goggin responded. "By cancelling the meeting, we will also be cancelling our good and welfare session and depriving our residents of their opportunity to be heard before the end of the year."

She had also intended to call for health benefits for part-time employees who have worked for the city for decades, and wanted to thank residents and the city’s workforce before she left office.

“I’m most proud of the recovery efforts and what was accomplished after Hurricane Sandy,” she said. “I really wanted the opportunity to thank the residents and everyone, from the professional and volunteer firefighters to the police, CSEA and all the workers for the tremendous work they do to make this city what it is.”

“I was disappointed that the community or the council didn’t have the opportunity to thank [Goggin] for her four years of service,” Moore added.

At the Dec. 6 meeting, Mandel said that there were concerns about naming Moore president, after an independent investigation into her allegations of sexism and racism against Deputy City Manager Mike Robinson determined that there was no evidence to support the claims and questioned the credibility of her account.

“Councilwoman Goggin’s email response the following day only specified her interest in the presidency, despite being silent on the issue of the discrimination report and its implications,” the council members said in the statement, adding that Moore did not respond. “Therefore, with no pressing city business and the upcoming holidays, it was determined best to not waste city resources.”

Goggin challenged the explanation over the presidency, saying that the members had expressed support for Moore before Eramo lost his election bid for a State Assembly seat in November.

Some residents have also questioned whether the recent report into Moore’s claims was truly independent, since the law firm that conducted the investigation has represented the city as outside legal counsel in the past.

“I think they want to maintain control, and if Anissa is president, it would be more difficult for them,” she said.