Long Beach Democrats win in clean sweep

In a stunning upset, the Democratic candidates for three City Council seats took back control of the city from the Republican-led coalition on Tuesday.

Ultimately, the coalition candidates’ platform — fiscal responsibility and holding the line on taxes — proved unpersuasive, and each of them, including council President Thomas Sofield Jr. and Vice President Mona Goodman, who had both served on the council for eight years, lost by several hundred votes. In a clean sweep, Democrats Fran Adelson, Scott Mandel and incumbent Len Torres — who pledged to bring greater transparency and fiscal responsibility to City Hall during their campaign — clinched the majority of votes in most of the 24 precincts and gained a solid footing in the West End, traditionally a Republican stronghold.

With all election districts reporting, Torres had the most votes — 3,798 — while Adelson, who lost by 12 votes in a 2009 bid for City Council, picked up 3,796 votes and newcomer Scott Mandel had 3,708.

The coalition candidates ran a campaign in which they touted a solid bond rating by Moody’s and the recent passage of an $83.9 million budget that did not raise taxes.

The Board of Elections reported that Sofield trailed Torres by 474 votes — ultimately garnering 3,324 — while Goodman received 3,321 votes and their running mate, Marvin Weiss, had 3,333.

Long Beach Democratic Committee Chairman Mike Zapson noted the closeness of the race, but added that the vote showed that most residents were ready for a change. “It looks as if our hard work paid off,” Zapson told a room full of supporters at Democratic headquarters on Park Avenue. “This campaign was about a lot of things — it was between putting the community where we wanted to see it and not taking care of people’s own personal agendas.”

With the two highest vote totals, Torres and Adelson will serve four-year terms, while Mandel’s term will be two years. The council, currently split along party lines at 3-2, with the coalition in the majority, will now have a 4-1 Democratic majority. John McLaughlin, a Republican, and Democrat Mike Fagen won four-year terms in 2009.

“I’m very humbled by the support we’ve received,” said Torres, who was first elected to a two-year term in 2009. “Folks in the North Park, in the Canals and all parts of Long Beach said, ‘This is enough; we’ve had enough.’ And we’re going to move this city forward now. The Democrats can lead this city in the next decade.”

Adelson said that the show of support for the Democrats was overwhelming. “So many people worked to say, ‘Enough is enough,’” she said. “We needed the change and we got the change.”

Adelson added, “The win means to me that the people of Long Beach really got to see the difference between the campaigns, between the way the Republican coalition has been and the way we ran our campaign — clean and for all the people of Long Beach. People were tired of a lack of transparency, a lack of openness and a lack of a connection between the government and the people.”

“I could not have asked for a better team …,” said Mandel, who, before he joined the race four months ago, was a relative unknown. “It was incredible.”

Mandel said that the new team would begin working on its transition and initiate the process of finding a new city manager, though he said it was too early to name any potential candidates.

“I think a lot of people were tired of intimidation, they wanted a change and they were receptive to our ideals,” he said. “The numbers show me clearly that the city is behind us and that it was time for a needed change.”

“I feel that Long Beach has been really held hostage by the Republicans for a lot of years,” said Dolores Miller, a pastor at Evangel Revival Community Church.

Ray Ellmer, a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and a Long Beach lifeguard, expressed concern over the final outcome, noting that the city works better with a two-party balance. “John [McLaughlin] will still be there, but you need a two-party system for checks and balances,” Ellmer said. “Even though it was a sweep … the Republicans have made this a two-party town, and that’s healthy for the city.”

He added that there are a few things the new City Council will have to focus on. “They have to try to not raise taxes, to address city infrastructure — the boardwalk — [and] they should attempt to reach out to Quiksilver to bring them back to Long Beach,” Ellmer said. “What’s important is that though it’s a sweep, they shouldn’t feel they have the overall support of the community to do whatever they want. We need open government. We need informed decisions.”

Long Beach Republican Chairman Jim Moriarty thanked coalition supporters, and, after the results were announced at Republican headquarters on Long Beach Boulevard, he said, “We still have [Councilman] John McLaughlin. He’ll have to be our watchdog.”

Throughout the race, Moriarty said, there was an “anti-incumbent fervor.”

“It was a great run,” said Weiss, noting, however, that the race brought out a lot of negativity. “I’d rather see positive things. Let’s bring positive forward.”

Goodman said that despite the sweep, she remained proud to have served the community and thanked her supporters. “I can never thank everyone in this room enough — you worked hard to put yourself on the line for us,” she said. “I’m sorry tonight was a disappointment. I’m really surprised. But you never know how things are going to go.”

“I’m disappointed,” Sofield said. “I want to thank everyone for working so hard and believing in me and my team. I’m not going away forever. I’ll get to see my wife a bit more. It was truly my honor to be able to serve you. It was always about how can we help to better serve this place.”