City to appoint new member to the Zoning Board

Two months after the City Council tapped former Zoning Board of Appeals trustee Eileen Goggin to replace ousted councilman Mike Fagen, the council is expected to appoint a former Zoning Board trustee to fill Goggin's vacant seat at Tuesday's meeting.

City Manager Jack Schnirman is expected to ask the council to appoint Stuart Banschick to an unpaid, three-year term on the board. Banschick — a Democratic supporter whose wife, Ruth, is an attorney, volunteer for the Long Beach Democratic Committee and a vocal critic of the previous administration — was also appointed to the city's Ethics Board last August.

The Ethics Board appointments drew some heat when Fagen argued that most of the appointees are Democratic supporters who donated thousands to the Long Beach Democratic Committee and could not serve objectively. Council members at the time argued that while most of the panel’s new members are Democrats, it does include a few Republicans.

In January, the council voted unanimously to reappoint David Bythewood to a three-year term to the Zoning Board. Goggin, an attorney and a Democrat, was a newcomer to the Zoning Board and served only a short-stint after she replaced trustee Ray Ellmer, an attorney, volunteer firefighter, city lifeguard and a member of the Republican-led coalition.

Fagen was removed from office when he was convicted in February on charges that arose from his collection of more than $15,000 in unemployment benefits while he was a member of the council. A jury convicted Fagen, 56, of 18 counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing and one misdemeanor count of petit larceny. He faces up to four years in prison at his sentencing on Wednesday.

Click on the link to see Tuesday's full agenda: http://www.longbeachny.gov/vertical/sites/%7BC3C1054A-3D3A-41B3-8896-814D00B86D2A%7D/uploads/April_16_2013.pdf