By JOSEPH KELLARD
But two committeemen nominated Remo anyway, and he reconsidered. Then, after a talk outside Democratic headquarters on West Park Avenue with former party leaders, Remo agreed to step aside rather than run in a primary that might divide the party.
“I appreciate the consideration,” Remo told his supporters at the June 1 convention. “A wise man ... told me that if eight years was enough for George Washington, right now they should be enough for Lenny Remo.”
The Democrats headed in a new direction, nominating three first-time candidates, Fran Adelson, Mike Fagen and Len Torres, for the three council seats up for grabs in the at-large November election. Two weeks earlier, Republicans had announced a slate that includes incumbent John McLaughlin and newcomers Maureen Doherty and Marvin Weiss.
Along with Remo’s and McLaughlin’s seats, Democrat Denise Tangney’s seat is also available, because Tangney, a one-term incumbent, has said she is retiring, citing family matters and health issues as grounds to retire.
While Democrats seek to recapture the majority in an election in which the two top vote-getters win four-year terms and the third-place finisher gets a two-year term, the Republicans need to win just one seat to retain their control.
“I’m used to dealing with people all day long with all kinds of different issues,” said Adelson, a Long Beach Public Library trustee who has been a real estate broker in the city for 21 years. “… So I feel like without being political, I’ve been involved in many other ways.”
As she accepted her nomination, Adelson noted that she was once a hospital administrator who developed programs and budgets. She highlighted parking, “overdevelopment” and management of the growing city as issues she would tackle as a council member.
Torres said his decades of experiences as a teacher and administrator in Long Beach and New York City schools taught him the importance of identifying the culture of an area or organization to be able to make needed improvements. “That’s the formula I followed in actually bringing close to 12 schools around in the South Bronx,” said Torres, who, after he retired in 2003, helped to overhaul the Roosevelt School District.
Fagen, a West End resident, called for transparency in city government. “The problem is some people think they rule this town,” said Fagen, whose business background landed him jobs with Prudential Securities, the Yankees, WFAN sports radio and, currently, Major League Baseball, where he works in stadium TV networking.
Having worked directly for Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and others that he described as “tough bosses,” as well as kids and coaches in local basketball and baseball leagues, Fagen said, “I’ve managed to navigate all of the difficult personalities, and the one constant in all of this is that you can get things done.”
Long Beach Democrat Committee leader Michael Zapson announced a four-point party platform that ranges from changing the law so that the city manager must live in Long Beach to fixing the city’s merit system. “The council and the city have been run by a group that believes that they have carte blanche to anything,” Zapson said, pointing to the Civil Service Commission, which is under investigation by the state.
The Democrats hope to regain the majority that they first lost to the newly created Republican coalition in 2003. Two years later, the Democrats took control again, but let it slip away in 2007. The Republican majority consists of Mona Goodman, Thomas Sofield Jr. and McLaughlin, a long-time Democrat who ran on the coalition ticket two years ago, garnering the third-highest vote total.
A retired FDNY lieutenant, McLaughlin is working on a degree in fine arts, so he carefully weighed running for the council again. “It’s a tough job, but I really feel that we’re doing a good job with lowering the taxes and quality-of-life issues that a lot of people may not realize are being done,” said McLaughlin, a West Bay Drive resident.
If he is re-elected, he said, he will continue to work on improving the city’s roads and infrastructure, and look into renovating the Recreation Center.
Doherty, another Democrat running on the Republican coalition ticket, said she never imagined a career in politics, but agreed to run when Republican leader Jim Moriarty asked her to try for a council seat. A phys. ed. teacher and union member at a Bayside middle school, Doherty said that as a council member she could make the most of her experience during city contract negotiations.
She has long been involved with the Long Beach CYO, the Rec Center, beach programs and Catholic schools. Her vision, she said, is to make Long Beach as affordable, clean and safe as possible. “I’m looking to invest in the city but not go over the top,” Doherty said.
Weiss, the coalition’s lone Republican candidate, said that he had been asked to run by both parties in years past but had declined each time. “This time I decided I was interested, because of my love for the town,” Weiss explained. “I want to do my best for the town. Among the things I’d like to see happen is for it to continue to be an affordable place to live.”
A salesman for 28 years who works in the medical industry, Weiss said that as a council member he would focus on continuing to rebuild the city’s infrastructure and on parking and environmental issues. “If I have any platform that I want to stand on, it’s definitely a green platform,” he said.
Moriarty called the coalition ticket “excellent,” one that blends experience with new faces. “They’re running to both continue the responsible financial planning that has occurred — including tax cuts in the past two years — but also to bring a fresh perspective to the council,” he said.
Moriarty said that the coalition seeks to renew an emphasis on rebuilding the city’s infrastructure and continuing to overhaul the Civil Service Commission. “It was considered the worst in the state before — before -— the coalition took over,” he said.
With City Court Judge Stanley retiring, the coalition nominated Frank Dikranis, a former Nassau County assistant district attorney, to run for his seat. The Democrats nominated Scott Nigro, a former City Council member who has 30 years of experience as an attorney.
Comments about this story? JKellard@lilherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
