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More than 12,000 responses were counted in the first LBPOST.com poll of candidates for the upcoming round of elections to the Long Beach City Council.

A tight race is expected to unfold as four candidates have emerged for the 9th District City Council seat that voters will select in April. The seat is currently held by Vice Mayor Val Lerch, who was first elected in 2000 and will be holding a write-in campaign to retain his position (councilmembers are termed out after serving two four-year terms, but may run again as write-in candidates).

The City Council elected Lerch to the position of Vice Mayor in July of 2008, a position that he had sought for some time and accepted with great enthusiasm.

In the LBPOST.com poll, which lasted for one week and ended last Wednesday, Lerch battled for the lead with Brad Shore, a psychotherapist at St. Mary’s Hospital and a visible member of many North Long Beach organizations. A board member on the North Long Beach Community Action Group (NLBCAG), Shore has received some high-profile endorsements from a wide variety of leaders such as former Councilmember Doug Drummond and former Huntington Beach mayor Debbie Cook.

Shore ended up capturing the greatest number of votes, with 42% of the 12,184 cast. Lerch received 38% of the votes, although the LBPOST.com poll is an unscientific tool meant to spark discussion and debate rather than provide concrete information.

Two other candidates tied, each with 10% of the poll votes. Steven Neal narrowly lost the 9th District race to Lerch back in 2006, and the non-profit executive director hopes to reverse his fortunes this time around. Neal is a 35-year resident of Long Beach and has worked several high profile jobs at both the state and federal levels, including stops with the Los Angeles Community Financial Resource Center Corporate Board. He told the LBPOST.com in June that he’s focused on creating alliances between the community and law enforcement.

Also receiving 10% of the votes was Dan Pressburg, a former Lerch staffer and very visible activist in the North Long Beach community. Pressburg so far has used his knowledge of Lerch to point out that the Councilmember had not held a meeting of the Public Safety Committee (which Lerch chairs) for nearly nine months. Pressburg is more well known locally for his work with several community organizations, taking the lead on projects for the NLBCAG and frequently inviting the public to his home to meet local politicians and leaders over brunch.

Plenty of time still remains before voters hit the polls, so any candidate can emerge as the frontrunner between now and April. One of the main questions is, will Lerch be able to count on strong support when his name does not appear on the ballot?

Or is it time for Neal, Pressburg or Shore to have their shot?


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