Forester named mayor of Signal Hill despite concerns about past conduct

Sean Belk
Staff Writer

The Signal Hill City Council selected Larry Forester as the City’s new mayor on Tuesday, March 17 though he was nearly passed over for the year-long figurehead position because of concerns about his past conduct.
Forester, who was re-elected to the Council during the March 3 municipal election and who served as vice mayor for the past year, was slated for the mayoral nomination, which, historically, has been rotated among councilmembers each year.
However, in a surprise turn of events, outgoing mayor Ed Wilson asked him to willingly “forego” the mayor position, pointing to an incident last year in which Forester made racial remarks to a resident at a local restaurant.
At a Council meeting last October, Signal Hill resident Andrea Webster said Forester confronted her at Delius Restaurant in Signal Hill because she is opposed to the Conservation Corps of Long Beach opening a charter school for adults in the city.
Webster, who is black, had claimed that Forester said she is “prejudice [sic] against [her] own kind.” The Conservation Corps of Long Beach, of which Forester is a board member, has since withdrawn its charter-school proposal after receiving criticism from residents about potential traffic and public-safety impacts.

In light of the restaurant incident, Wilson proposed moving forward with a “code of conduct” for elected and appointed city officials that now includes a “manual of procedural guidelines” for Council and commission meetings. The City has requested public comments on the document before being brought back to Council for approval.
At the Council meeting this week, Wilson asked Forester to “lead by example” and decline to take the mayoral nomination because of the incident last year.
“Though you gave an apology at the Council meeting in October regarding your inappropriate, insensitive, deeply-troubling racial-slur remarks to a resident, shortly afterwards, you were at the same restaurant making snide remarks regarding this same individual,” Wilson said. “We do not need to tarnish our repulation, our image and our legacy.”
Councilmember Lori Woods joined Wilson in his sentiments and nominated Councilmember Tina Hansen as mayor instead, stating that, while Forester welcomed her to the Council and has been a mentor, he should not be “the voice that speaks” for the City. She noted that there have been other incidents raised about his behavior in the past as well.

“I do not know how the Council has handled those past incidents, but this latest incident, in my opinion, was too volitile, too high-profile, too egregious to be ignored or explained away,” Woods said. “Any conduct by an individual that brings discredit to other elected officials and the agency they represent cannot be allowed to stand.”
Woods also noted that Forester, who has lived with HIV since 1994, has admitted that medications have likely contributed to his unpredictable behavior and temperament.
However, Hansen, who was also re-elected to another four-year term on the Council,­­­ defended Forester, stating that he has been a “mentor” and “friend” for more than 20 years.
Hansen, who is serving her sixth term on the Council, stated that the incident regarding Forester was “public,” and, if residents didn’t want Forester to be mayor, they wouldn’t have voted him into office again.
“If the residents felt as strongly as some of our councilmembers do, then, in my opinion, they would not have voted Larry back into office, but they did vote Larry back into office,” she said.
Hansen called the incident last year an “innapropriate moment” and praised Forester for his leadership qualities and accomlishments over the years while having to overcome a chronic illness. She added that Forester even picked up her children from the hospital while her husband was in surgery.
Councilmember Michael Noll sided with Hansen and stated that he has been “reassured” that Forester is learning and will be “moving forward.”
In his year-in-review for 2014, Wilson acknowledged Forester’s accomplishments, including assisting the City in obtaining state water grants and in defeating Measure U. Still, Wilson said the position is not about “friendship.” He requested that the Council consider having the mayor position be directly elected by voters, stating that other small cities in California have chosen to do so and the current rotational methodology has “outlived its significnance.” The rest of the Council, however, has so far declined to support having a directly elected mayor.
“[Forester] may be a great friend, but that’s not what this position is,” Wilson said. “That is the problem of a simple rotation!We do not allow the residents to vote on this position. We allow them to vote for a councilmember. That’s it, and that’s what they voted on. They voted on a councilmember.”
Forester, who is serving his fifth term on the Council, was selected mayor after receiving a majority vote of the Council, including himself, Noll and Hansen, while Woods and Wilson voted for Hansen. The Council then unanimously selected Woods as vice mayor.

“There has been some discussion, [and] I think we all need to think about it,” Forester said after receiving the mayor position. “But, I also think last year was last year and this year is this year, and things were very well explained last year.”
Other Council highlights:
Introductions and presentations During the Council meeting, Robert Copeland was sworn in as city clerk. Additionally, Forester and Hansen were sworn in as councilmembers while Larry Blunden, who also ran unopposed, was sworn in as city treasurer. Furthermore, Copeland recognized poll workers who volunteered during the municipal election with a gift of appreciation. Wilson presented a proclamation to Chris Campbell-Jay of the American Red Cross, recognizing March as Red Cross Month.
Election certification The Council voted unanimously (5-0) to adopt a resolution certifying the results of the March 3 general municipal election. According to the final election results, which include all provisional and mail-in ballots, a total of 868 ballots were cast in four precincts, indicating a 13.5-percent voter turnout. Out of the total number of ballots cast, 576 ballots were vote-by-mail while 289 were cast at the polls. Additionally, the final vote tally shows that Forester, who received 458 votes, defeated businessman and Planning Commission Chair Tom Benson by just 54 votes. Hansen received 540 votes, the most out of the three candidates.

General Plan progress report The Council filed and received the City’s 2014 General Plan Annual Progress Report, which is required to be submited to the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research along with the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
Annual mayor’s reception After the Council meeting was adjourned, city officials and community leaders gathered with friends and family at the Signal Hill Community Center for the annual mayor’s reception to celebrate Wilson’s accomplishments and welcome Forester as the new mayor.
During the event, attended by about 100 people, city officials unveiled a mobile nine-piece art display sponsored by Signal Hill Petroleum that shows historic photographs for every 10 years of the City’s 90-year history.
The next Signal Hill City Council meeting is scheduled for 7pm on Tuesday, April 7 at the Council Chamber. ß