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Long Beach GOP announces mixed slate for City Council

Democrat joins two Republicans to grab three seats in November

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The Long Beach Republican Committee announced its slate of candidates for City Council last week, in what is sure to be a heated race as Democrats attempt to put on a united front to retain three seats amid a rift between the local parties.

In a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 to 1, the GOP slate — Leah Rosensweig Tozer, a Democrat, and Christopher Jones and William Haas, both Republicans — is looking in November to grab three seats that are now held by Democratic incumbents Len Torres, Scott Mandel and Chumi Diamond, in part by trying to persuade voters that the administration has not been open with the public, raised taxes and fees, and relied too heavily on borrowing.

They also oppose an $82 million tax abatement that the developer of the Superblock property, iStar Financial, is expected to request from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, and said they are committed to curbing overdevelopment in the city.

Tozer, Jones and Haas said in a statement that they are committed to “holding the line on taxes, increasing transparency, enacting a tougher new ethics law, repairing our infrastructure, and working to improve our environment.”

“We look forward to reaching out, listening to residents and talking with them about our ideas for a better Long Beach during this campaign,” they said.

When the Democrats wrested control of City Hall from a Republican-led coalition

in 2011, the new administration inherited a $14.7 million deficit, and the city was on the brink of bankruptcy. Officials approved what they called their sixth consecutive balanced budget last week, and City Manager Jack Schnirman, a Democrat running for county comptroller, noted improved financial controls and credit rating upgrades from Moody’s Investors Service.

Long Beach Republican Committee Chairman Jim Moriarty said, however, that the days of blaming the previous Republican-led coalition for the city’s troubles are over.

“At what point does the current city administration take responsibility for what it’s been doing these last six years?” Moriarty said. “They raised taxes after all these years and more than doubled the overall debt of the city since they took over.”

Nassau County Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs said the party would announce its slate before its convention next week, and accused the Republicans of engaging in scare tactics.

“The Republicans only win by scaring people or making them angry; it’s their go-to playbook,” Jacobs said. “I think the focus will be on Long Beach and its recovery from Superstorm Sandy and the turnaround of its finances since the Republicans were thrown out several years ago — when they had the government that they really messed up.”

The GOP candidates, however, contend that the council and city administration have put political interests above residents. They pledged to not only end what they described as a “toxic partisan atmosphere at City Hall,” but also to run a positive campaign. All three candidates also pledged to complete their full terms if elected.

“We all have really good relationships with a lot of people in the city and on the City Council,” said Tozer. “We just need to do things better.”

Tozer, a real estate broker who sits on the Chamber of Commerce’s executive board, supported Bernie Sanders in last year’s presidential election. She said she chose to run with the Republicans as an independent candidate because the local Democrats are “dysfunctional.”

“I’m grateful that the Republicans gave me a major party line to run on ­— the Democrats still don’t have it together,” said Tozer, a mother of two young children. “I think we need to make decisions based on what is good for Long Beach … I feel like people are more concerned with making decisions based on what it may look like for their political future. I think there are a lot of positive things that do come out of the City Council, but I don’t think there are enough people taking a position and a lot of things have been have done without public knowledge, iStar being one of them.”

Jones, a lifelong resident, former lifeguard, volunteer surf instructor, and a sheet metal worker with Local 28, said that tax and fee increases are making it unaffordable to live in town.

“I feel like my generation is being priced out, and my mother’s generation, who live on fixed incomes, are being priced out,” he said. “I feel like the citizens have gotten the short end and there has been a lack of transparency — iStar speaks for itself.”

Haas, a retired lieutenant commander in the Navy and former helicopter pilot, said that he voted Republican in the presidential election but expressed excitement about running with candidates who have different political beliefs.

“I don’t think that the national issues should get in the way of what we’re trying to accomplish here on the local level,” said Haas, now an operations manager with Verizon. “I’m running basically because I’m just a concerned citizen. I’m running because I believe I have running mates that can make a great city even greater.”

Long Beach Democratic Committee Chairman Joe Brand said that his team intends to run the better candidates.

“Leah interviewed with us, and Jones is a nice young man that I've known for years,” Brand said. “Whether or not they’re capable of running our city is an entirely different matter; we'll have to wait and see what their plan is. The city is going to be faced with some major issues through the course of the next few years and experience, or lack thereof, has to be a concern.”

Jacobs acknowledged that iStar would become an issue during the campaign.

“iStar is an important issue down in Long Beach and I think that while the project is one thing, the fact that they want massive tax breaks is quite another, and I don’t think [our] team is going to be supportive of that,” he said.