The ballot is in the mail
There seems to be a problem at the city clerk’s office. Vote-by-mail ballots have been received throughout our Wrigley area, but no sample ballots. Sample ballots are always sent out first so voters can be informed. Information is being withheld, and I feel this may have been done on purpose as it may give unfair advantage to one candidate or the other. The clerk’s office has answered that they have already been sent out. Even if the sample ballots are received March 21, over a week has gone by and many people have already voted.
[Ed. note: Since Maria de la Luz Garcia, Long Beach city clerk, was copied in Hermann’s emailed letter, Garcia responded, and her email is published below, with her permission.] Dear Ms. Hermann,Lorelei Hermann
Long Beach
Sorry to hear you’ve not received your Official Sample Ballot [OSB] booklet. California Elections Code, Sections 13303, 3001, and 3003 requires election administrators to mail the OSBs no later than 21 days (i.e., March 22, 2016) and vote-by-mail [VBM] ballots be mailed no later than 29 days (i.e., March 14, 2016) preceding the election.
VBM ballots began to be mailed out on Friday, March 11, 2016 and continued to Monday, March 14, 2016. Additionally, our records show Official Sample Ballot booklets were received by the USPS Los Angeles central distribution center on March 17, 2016. Once received, the USPS has a standard processing time of three to four days before delivering to addressees. Therefore, you and others should be receiving the OSB any day this week.
If you’d like to view your Official Sample Ballot booklet, I encourage you to:
1. Go online to longbeach.gov/cityclerk and access your OSB booklet through our “Find Your Polling Place” search engine, enter your address, and both your polling place and Official Sample Ballot should populate the screen.
2. Request an OSB be mailed to you directly from our office. Simply call (562) 570-6101 and make your request.
3. Arrange to pick up an OSB in person at our front counter. Call (562) 570-6101 to make arrangements.
Should you have any questions or require further information, please feel free to contact the Office of the City Clerk at (562) 570-6101.
Sincerely,
Maria de la Luz Garcia
City Clerk
All for one?
Late last week, Metro unveiled its project list for a proposed tax measure that will go before voters on the November ballot to fund transit projects.
After reviewing the list of “Measure R2″ projects, I’m greatly concerned first and foremost about geographic equity across our region; there are 88 cities in Los Angeles County, not just one. Taxpayers across the county will be asked to pay an additional half-cent sales tax and in return, they should all see benefits.
Promises were made to taxpayers eight years ago when voters approved Measure R. Now, some of those commitments are being pushed down the road. We must not allow high-profile projects to leapfrog rail and highway improvements that can be made in all areas of the county.
Fixing congested areas across the county is not just about rail; we must have multi-modal solutions including better bus service, road improvements and more bike lanes. Metro’s highway program, for example, can have a huge effect on the quality of life in communities, often for less budget and less time.
With over 40 percent of the nation’s imports coming through our two ports, we must make infrastructure improvements to better move goods, which provide a big economic boost to our region. As the Metro Board analyzes this proposal, we must consider geographic equity and balance as top priorities. I look forward to delving into the details of this proposed program and for us to receive community input from across Los Angeles County.
Don Knabe
L.A. County Supervisor
Fourth District
A ‘developing’ story?
We are long-time residents and homeowners in Wrigley Heights. Our family has lived in this neighborhood for close to 37 years now. Our children and grandchildren grew up here. We love living in this particular neighborhood because of the quiet and peaceful environment and the friendly people in this community. Our family feels very safe and happy here.
Building an additional 275 homes here would take away from that. There is only one entrance in and out of our neighborhood, and it would make it very busy and unsafe due to the increased traffic. Additional homes and increased traffic could also lead to an increase in crimes. Also, building on top of the current dog park would take away a fun, relaxing and safe area for our pets and residents to visit and spend time in. We urge, please don’t take these things away from us and the rest of the community.
Larry, Elfrida and Alfred Perdito
Long Beach
Building a plan
Last Saturday, I stopped by the former Munro’s Furniture site to check out the progress on the construction. To my surprise, I found the crew from Engine 1 out of downtown Long Beach checking out the building. Turns out they were heading back to Station 1 from the LBFD Training Center near Stearns Park. The crew was taking advantage of the opportunity to see the open ceiling and examine the roof rafters to see how they might fight a fire in this type of vintage building. That’s some really proactive fire science research and some gained insight we hope they will never have to use.
Daryl Supernaw
Councilmember
4th District
