June 5 Long Beach Election Update
The latest counts released by the L.A. Registrar of Voters office (as of Friday – another update is due late tomorrow) shows that 5th District Councilmember Stacy Mungo has expanded her Election Day lead and is now nearly 10 percentage points (54.8% to 45.2%) and 1,100 votes (6,125 to 5,052) ahead of challenger Rich Dines. Since Election Day, another 2,705 ballots from 5th District voters have been tabulated. It is unknown how many, if any, district ballots remain to be counted.
The results of the race for the 7th City Council District seat remained about same after another 1,544 ballots were counted last Friday. Councilmember Roberto Uranga held a 365-vote lead on Election Day and increased it to 395 votes with the latest count – 3,299 to 2,904 over challenger Jared Milrad. It is unknown how many, if any, district ballots remain to be counted.
Long Beach Measure M, a charter amendment allowing the city’s water and gas departments to transfer up to 12% of gross utility revenues to the General Fund, extended its lead to more than 3,000 votes (24,681 for and 21,618 against) after another 7,000 ballots were counted last Friday by the registrar’s office.
The November runoff for insurance commissioner between Steve Poizner, a former Republican who is now an Independent, and State Sen. Ricardo Lara, a Democrat, could have an impact on Long Beach. Lara represents nearly all of Long Beach. If he wins, expect two or more Long Beach councilmembers to go after his senate seat. Both Lena Gonzalez and Al Austin have indicated an interest in the post, and Uranga has also been mentioned as a possible candidate. Poizner served as insurance commissioner from 2007 to 2011.
Presentation of Five Proposed Charter Amendments
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and City Auditor Laura Doud are presenting five proposed charter amendments during a joint meeting of the Long Beach Charter Amendment Committee and Long Beach City Council tomorrow. The amendments include creating a redistricting commission, an ethics commission, altering term limit laws for mayor and councilmembers, defining the authority of the city auditor and consolidating the city’s utility departments. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. in the council chambers, followed by the regularly scheduled city council meeting.
Nearly Half Of Signatures Collected To Recall
2nd District Councilmember Are In Question
A preliminary analysis by the Long Beach City Clerk’s office has estimated that about 48% of signatures submitted in an effort to force a recall election for 2nd District Councilmember Jeannine Pearce are in question. To trigger a recall election, organizers would need 6,363 signatures by registered voters residing in the 2nd District, according to data provided by the city clerk. The majority of the 4,075 challenged signatures have been called into question because the signatory either is unregistered or resides out of the district. Staff in the city clerk’s office are in the process of reviewing these findings. To learn more, read the upcoming June 19 edition of the Business Journal.
Archeologist To Discuss Experiences At The Aquarium Of The Pacific
Archeologist Dominique Rissolo is speaking at the Aquarium of the Pacific about his search for Mayan artifacts in the Yucatan’s coastal sites and caves. The talk will take place tomorrow from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Ocean Theater, 100 Aquarium Way. Rissolo is an assistant researcher at the University of San Diego’s Qualcomm Institute. He applies computer science and engineering to his research on cultural heritage at underwater sites. Click here for more information.