By: Chris Munzing
Theofan was scheduled to be sworn in at City Hall on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., after the Herald went to press.
A major sticking point regarding Theofan's appointment, Remo and Kelly said, was its timing. The city's charter requires a city manager to live within the city "during his term in office." While Theofan assured the council that he was in the process of looking for a home in Long Beach, Kelly and Remo wanted a timetable. Theofan, currently a resident of Freeport, was unable to provide one.
The charter reads: "At the time of his appointment, [the city manager] need not be a resident of the city or the state, but during his term of office he shall reside within the city."
"The statute is pretty clear," Kelly said. "This [Republican] coalition has developed a pattern of circumventing the law. They're just looking the other way. It's making a mockery of the law."
As it happens, the candidate supported by the Democrats, Peter K. Greenberg, a professional administrator, lives in Rego Park, Queens.
"It's a matter of interpretation," council President Jim Hennessy said. "Charles is looking for houses here, and if he doesn't find one right away, he's going to rent an apartment. He has every intention of coming here. The city is in a financial crisis, and we don't have the luxury of time. This is just another example of [Remo and Kelly] being obstructionists."
Late Wednesday, the city announced that Theofan had signed a lease for an apartment on Shore Road.
The discussion of Theofan's appointment quickly turned into a shouting match among Kelly, Remo, Hennessy and council Vice President Tom Sofield Jr. Kelly suggested postponing the appointment and keeping Theofan on as acting city manager until he found housing, but the Republican coalition of Hennessy, Sofield and Mona Goodman approved Theofan's immediate appointment.
Hennessy expressed disbelief at the Democrats' opposition both at the public work session before the meeting and during the meeting itself. "This was not a problem when we talked about it last Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and over the weekend," he said. "I can't believe that Charles has crosshairs on his head before he even takes office. Politics is entering into this, and I think it's disgusting."
Hennessy, however, was not the only one leveling accusations of political game-playing. "I cannot endorse a candidate who was appointed not for his abilities, but for his relationship with the Republican clubhouse," Kelly said before voting no.
"You spent years as puppets dancing on the strings of the Democrats," Sofield countered. "It's time to stop playing politics and move forward."
The meeting hit bottom when Kelly, upset with Sofield's absence from a recent planning session for council members, asked if Sofield's father, Acting Police Commissioner Tom Sofield Sr., had informed him what was going on. Sofield coldly responded, "Bring it on, Denis."
Hennessy quickly came to Theofan's defense. "Nobody has questioned his experience," Hennessy said. "Nobody has questioned his abilities. This man does not take orders from anybody. That is an insult. This man stands for integrity."
Remo asked Hennessy to recuse himself from the vote, since Theofan had represented the City Council president in his suit against the city, which was later settled. Hennessy refused.
Remo said he was concerned that, because of the many roles Theofan filled as acting city manager - corporation counsel, zoning board counsel and acting tax assessor - it would slow down the workings of the city government to find new people to fill those roles. He added that for the past seven weeks, he and other members of the council had been asking Theofan to delegate many of his responsibilities, such as corporation counsel and counsel to the zoning board. Theofan did not do that, but did say on Tuesday that he would appoint Corey Klein acting corporation counsel immediately before conducting a search for a permanent replacement.
"We now run the risk of going three to four months without a corporation counsel," Remo said. "And three to four months playing catch-up with a new corporation counsel."
Remo and Kelly both advocated the hiring of Greenberg as city manager. Greenberg, along with Theofan, was one of two finalists for the position. Remo said that hiring Greenberg and keeping Theofan as corporation counsel would give the city two highly regarded professionals.
"I think we had the opportunity for the best of both candidates," Remo said. "The two of them would have been a powerhouse team working together, and the beneficiary would've been a city with a complete management team."
Sofield said that Remo and Kelly were upset that they didn't get the candidate they wanted, so they were "taking their ball and going home."
Despite the frequent, often heated arguments at the meeting, Theofan said that he was looking forward to his new position. "It is tremendously gratifying on a personal and professional level to be considered for the position of city manager," he said. "Long Beach is a vibrant city that deserves to take its rightful place as one of the best places to live in the United States. It is both an exciting and challenging period for our city, and I look forward to continued work as we move into the future."
Theofan was named acting city manager in October after the resignation of Glen Spiritis.
"Charles Theofan has served the City of Long Beach since October, and has proven himself to be exactly what the residents of our city need in a city manager," Hennessy said. "He has the right combination of outstanding experience, educational background, and communication skills to lead Long Beach during this critical period of change."
Theofan graduated from the City College of the City University of New York, and has a master's degree in public administration from Baruch College of Business and Public Administration. He earned a law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review and Moot Court Board, and was chosen for the National Labor Law Moot Court Competition.
Comments about this story? CMunzing@Liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
