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Long Beach City Council Splits On Vice Mayor Vote

9:00am | The Long Beach City Council gathered Tuesday night to swear in the city's new elected officials and to select a new Vice-Mayor.
  
The swearing-ins were straightforward. The selection of Vice-Mayor... not so much.
  
The eight Councilmembers in attendance split 4-4 on a motion to wait until the next Council meeting to select the Vice-Mayor and also split by the same vote on naming Councilmember Patrick O'Donnell as Vice-Mayor. With both motions failing -- a tie-vote fails -- the selection of Vice-Mayor was automatically held over to the next meeting. 
  
Councilmembers Suja Lowenthal and Patrick O'Donnell have both expressed an interest in the position.
  
The Vice-Mayor attends many public functions as a representative face of the Council and officiates Council meetings when the Mayor is absent. It is worth noting that since the start of 2009, Mayor Foster has an 85 percent attendance rate at City Council meetings, missing only nine out of the 60 Council meetings held.
  
Prior to the meeting, Lowenthal had support from three Councilmembers (Garcia, DeLong, and Andrews) and O'Donnell from two (Schipske and Gabelich). However,  Lowenthal-supporter DeLong is out of the country on vacation and chose not to vote via teleconference.
  
The two remaining Councilmembers, newly-elected freshmen James Johnson and Steve Neal, had, prior to last night, not indicated who they would support for Vice-Mayor.
  
Here is how the issue was handled last night by the Council, in their own words:

Councilmember Garcia started the discussion by asking for a clarification from Chief Assistant City Attorney Heather Mahood on the Council's options concerning the Vice-Mayor selection.

Mahood: Councilmembers, the Charter requires that you consider this issue on the third Tuesday of July, therefore you are required to take an action on it. You can nominate someone. You could also make a motion to continue it over to the next meeting, because it is going to have to keep being on your agenda until you choose a Vice-Mayor. So those are your options.

Foster: Can you continue it to a [certain] date?

Mahood: It would have to be the next meeting. Because it is a Charter requirement, it has to be on your agenda each meeting.

Foster [To Council]: You can either make a motion to continue this to the next meeting. Someone can place a name in nomination. Obviously we are not at full strength. I think it would be appropriate if we had everybody here, but we don't. And, we probably will not on the third as well.

[Unknown female voice]: Or the tenth.

Foster: Or, maybe not the tenth. So, we'll just keep rolling it along, I imagine. Or maybe something else will happen. So, that's where we are. If someone would like to make a motion to continue it to the next meeting I would be happy to entertain that.

Garcia: And, with that I would just like to make a motion to continue the item to the next meeting, please.

Foster: Is there a second?

Johnson: Second.

Foster: Alright, moved and seconded. Any member of the public wish to address the Council on this item?

Harvey Cochran: My name is Harvey Cochran, my address is on file. Last week, the Council had difficulty making a decision on this issue...[cut off by Foster]

Foster: Mr. Cochran, it wasn't even discussed last week.

Cochran: Well, it didn't get discussed because...[cut off by Foster]

Foster: It did not get discussed last week because it was not there last week. Let's deal with this issue, please.

[Editor's Note: Last week, the Council discussed and voted on a resolution calling for the Vice-Mayor title to go to the Councilmember with the most seniority. The motion failed with a split 4-4 vote. Councilmember Gabelich was absent.]

Cochran: Well, alright. Obviously next week is the last time you have to pick a Vice-Mayor. Maybe you can work it out among yourselves privately and put the best person in that's possible -- not necessarily the one that's been there the longest.

Foster: That's not the case, but I thank you for the encouragement.

Cochran: Well, like Ms. Mahood said, you can't hide from it.

Foster: Yeah. I don't think...We're not hiding from anything.

Cochran: [Walking away from the podium] Unless you want to flip a coin over it.

Foster: Thank you, Mr. Cochran. I think it's really... that's inappropriate testimony, to tell you the truth. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Members cast your votes on the motion to continue.
 
[Vote on motion to continue by Garcia - Yes: Garcia, Lowenthal, Andrews, Johnson. No: O'Donnell, Schipske, Gabelich, Neal. Absent: DeLong.]

[Laughter from the audience when vote flashes on overhead screen.]

Mahood: Motion fails.

Foster: Well, that motion fails. Ms. Mahood, what would be the status now?

Mahood: The status now is that we need to have an election for Vice-Mayor, so someone should be nominated.

Foster: Okay, somebody make a motion. [Momentary pause] Well, if we don't have a motion, I would urge that this just be moved to the next meeting if we are not going to do that.

[Grumbling from audience. Someone in the audience says "You can't".]

Foster: Excuse me. Please. You're not part of the Council. I'm not going to allow catcalls from the audience. That's not decorum and it's not appropriate. We'll work this out with our City Attorney. So let's stop it. Ms. Mahood?

Mahood: Sir, I would entertain another motion to continue this item for the next meeting.

Foster: Councilmember Schipske.

Schipske: Mr. Mayor, I would like to place the name of Councilman O'Donnell in nomination for Vice-Mayor.

Gabelich: Second.

Foster: Moved and seconded. Any member of the public wishing to address this issue? [Momentary pause] Members cast your votes on that motion.

[Vote on motion to name Patrick O'Donnell Vice-Mayor by Schipske - No: Garcia, Lowenthal, Andrews, Johnson. Yes: O'Donnell, Schipske, Gabelich, Neal. Absent: DeLong.]

[Unknown male voice]: Motion fails.

Foster: Ms. Mahood?

Mahood: Are there any other nominations to...[cut off by Foster].

Foster: I suspect if there were it would be the same result.

Mahood: So, if you can ask for that [another nomination]. If not, we will automatically continue it to the next meeting.

Foster: That's what I thought. Thank you very much, Ms. Mahood. That's where we are.