Vivian Malauulu
Staff Writer
On Sept. 21, 7th District Councilmember James Johnson responded to recent efforts to initiate a recall that was filed against him on Sept. 14 by a group of community activists. Johnson claims that the recall attempt is a distraction and would cost the city more than $187,000 in an unnecessary election. Recall efforts against Johnson began as a result of the recent redistricting of the city and what some refer to as “gerrymandering” by Johnson.
Redistricting directly affected the Mageo family, who had lived in the city’s 8th council district for more than 10 years, but as of Sept. 1, now lives in the 7th district. They haven’t moved, and their home address is the same. The change was required based on population data accumulated during the 2010 Census and unanimously voted upon by the City Council. Redistricting occurs at every level of government, from city council districts to state assembly districts, to ensure balanced representation.
“I don’t really care why our boundaries changed, but I do know that the demographics in my neighborhood are very different from those in other neighborhoods in this re-formed district,” said Kim Mageo. “Now that we have a new councilmember representing us, how will he fairly serve the needs of both neighborhoods considering how different our needs are?”
Indeed, the 8th district where Mageo used to live and the 7th district where she lives now represent areas of Long Beach that call for councilmembers like Johnson to address the unique needs of their respective communities. “I am proud to represent the resi- dents of the 7th District,” said Johnson. “Together, we’ve been able to accom- plish a great deal over the past 14 months. I will continue to focus on working hard to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods throughout the district and throughout the city.”
To some, Johnson is falling short of this challenge. In addition to the gerry- mandering charges, Johnson is also accused of neglecting his responsibilities to his constituents, incompetence in per- forming his duties, and misusing his office. Complaints against Johnson’s failure to live up to his campaign prom- ises climaxed with the recent redistrict- ing, which compelled a group of local activists to establish an organization that is seeking his recall.
Rage Against the Machine (RAM), founded by 8th district resident Kate Braid and other community activists who say they are fed up with city coun- cilmembers who consistently support Mayor Bob Foster and his political
agenda, initiated the recall process. “The Machine” is a euphemism for Fos- ter and his supporters. RAM backers filed the Notice of Intent to Circulate a Recall Petition with the city clerk last week in the first step of the recall process.
“Johnson’s recall campaign is not the sole mission of RAM,” said Braid. “It is the first step to derail The Machine that is currently running our city. That is our mission.” A website dedicated to the recall campaign features an article that accuses Johnson of being Mayor Fos- ter’s puppet.
“I am nobody’s puppet,” Johnson said. It is time for us to put the redistrict- ing issue behind us, let’s focus on improvement.” Johnson’s written response to the recall initiative lists all of the accomplishments he has achieved in district 7 while in office, including reduced pollution, lowered crime rates, saving taxpayers millions, and ending flooding.
One Cal Heights resident is pleased with Johnson’s achievements. “Let me be clear— I didn’t vote for Mr. Johnson,” said John Royce, an active community volunteer from Cal Heights. “But these
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past 13 months have been some of the most productive months I can recall. I’m very sad about this unfortunate waste of effort, resources and funding. Think of what we could do with nearly 200 grand in our community.”
According to Braid, keeping John- son in office will pose a much higher environmental cost to the city in the long run. Braid claims that Johnson, who was elected to the city council in June 2010, ran on an environmental platform which aimed at zero-emission strategies for all transportation-related industries affecting the 7th district.
“Since he got into office,” Braid con- tinued, “he has not done anything to pro- tect residents of his district against environmental hazards.” Braid claims that Johnson recently accepted a port- related job and that he voted for a port- expansion initiative that would increase the capacity of the existing rail yard on the west end of his district to 14 lanes with double-decker trains. “Those peo- ple living in that area have no idea what’s coming to them,” added Braid.
Asia Sagale, 19, actually does. A lifetime resident of the 7th district who has suffered from asthma since she was 5 years old, Sagale blames the ever- increasing amounts of pollutants in the air for her worsening health. Her situa- tion was compounded when she became 18 and was no longer covered by her parent’s health insurance.
“Asthma medication and emer- gency-room visits are expensive, and it’s only going to get worse for me if they allow more trains to drive through our neighborhood,” Sagale said. “Maybe our councilmember can negotiate a deal for us to get medical assistance with every train that rolls by.”
This is precisely the type of mitiga- tion that Braid suggests should be secured for area residents if port expan- sion plans continue. Braid claims that Johnson bought support for his agenda by distributing LED light bulbs to his constituents and promising to require rail companies to adhere to zero emis- sions.
“In spite of the free light bulbs he gave away, people in the 7th district are being kept in the dark,” Braid said.
“Everyone needs to become aware of what is happening on the west side of Long Beach. Johnson is a part of the machine that is selling out and taking ill- informed community members with him. By the time the machine okays all of the port and rail-expansion plans, they will see that it’s too late to do anything about it. There is no such thing as zero emissions when it comes to trains. They all have emissions, and everyone is affected. The asthma rate in kids will skyrocket.”
Pat Conradi, RN, is a school nurse for the Long Beach Unified School Dis- trict and exclusively caters to children who attend school on the west side. “So many of our students are impacted by asthma here because of the proximity of our schools to the port, rail yards, refineries, and freeways. When the wind picks up, and the weather is bad, then the air quality gets really bad and the amount of activity of our students is severely limited.”
Supporters of RAM believe that people who live and work in areas impacted by port expansion, like Con- radi and her students, deserve to know what’s coming. They claim that the only one to benefit from port expansion is the port itself, at very high environmental costs to the community.
Mike Kowal, the spokesperson of the recall campaign, and who, prior to the redistricting, planned on running for the 8th district council seat, asserts that The Machine has a political agenda of special interests for the city that is not entirely in the best interest of residents.
“Everyone has a story to tell about James Johnson,” Kowal said. “People I meet on the streets keep telling me how he failed to represent them or address their concerns.” Another one of the charges against Johnson is his failure to present to the city council a petition signed by more than 1,800 of his con- stituents against a company pushing for port expansion.
Now that Johnson’s written response to his recall has been filed with the city clerk, RAM has 120 days to publish the actual recall petition and secure some 5,000 signatures in time for the April pri- mary election. Because there is no elec-
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tion scheduled in the 7th district in 2012, the recall would be considered a special election that is not in the city’s annual budget for that year, hence the estimated cost of $187,000. City elections alter- nate annually, with even-numbered dis- tricts hosting elections during even-numbered years and odd-num- bered districts in odd-numbered years. The next scheduled election for the 7th district is not until 2013.
“Why spend city funds, that are stretched so thin, by having an unneces- sary election?” said Carol Soccio, 7th District resident. “If someone wants to run for a council seat, just wait for the next election.” Soccio added that John- son is doing a great job representing the 7th District and that a recall is not justi- fied.
“It’s reached the point where Long Beach is being run by a political machine run by Mayor Foster,” Braid said. “So much of the decision-making is going on below the surface. Our goal is not to replace one machine with another. We don’t have a pre-determined agenda. Our goal is to have people ask themselves, ‘What is the council mem- ber who represents my neighborhood actually doing for my neighborhood?’ Our goal is to have people ask their council members, ‘What are you doing for my neighborhood?’ Our goal is to demand accountability, one way or the other.”
Gizzelle Montoya plans to do exactly that in time for the next election. She and her family moved into the 7th district in August of 2010 after having lived in Riverside County all of her life. Her 17-year-old son, Ernesto, who had occasional, mild asthma prior to moving to Long Beach, is now suffering from more frequent, severe attacks. Her daughter, Ere Stephanie, who is 13 and never had an asthma attack, was diag- nosed with the respiratory disease this past June. Montoya plans on paying spe- cial attention to the recall campaign and will become more aware of candidates’ political agendas prior to the next elec- tion, which will be her first time voting in Los Angeles County.
For more information, visit long- beach.gov/district7 or recalljohnson.com.
