Letting the cat out of the bag
Last week, the national No Kill Advocacy Center sent a letter to the LA County district attorney asking for an investigation into Mayor Garcia’s alleged hiding of comments by animal advocates on his Facebook page in violation of the First Amendment. The 115-page letter includes photos of more than 28 comments Mayor Garcia appears to have hidden on his Facebook pages just prior to the April election in an apparent attempt to deflect criticism about his handling of the Long Beach Animal Care Services (LBACS) animal shelter, which a recent review by City Auditor Laura Doud has shown to be chaotically managed and characterized by poor decision-making and a lack of operational protocols, resulting in the inhumane treatment of animals.
Just one day after the letter was made public, the comments on Mayor Garcia’s page were apparently unhidden, revealing 28 additional formerly hidden comments by the public, including comments on non-animal-related issues, such as crime and homelessness. Due to their critical nature, it seems reasonable to assume that the 56 comments the letter alleges Mayor Garcia to have hidden were blocked in an attempt to suppress information that could adversely affect Mayor Garcia’s bid for re-election.
The hiding of comments on Facebook is a violation of the First Amendment, which guarantees people the right to free speech. It is unconstitutional, and therefore illegal, for an elected official to deprive citizens of this constitutionally protected right.
This past May, President Trump’s practice of blocking his critics on Twitter was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in Manhattan. Mayor Garcia’s alleged practice of hiding Facebook comments parallels Mr. Trump’s actions and reflects a disturbing trend in which free-speech rights are being violated by politicians who believe they are above the law.
Based on Mayor Garcia’s willingness to get elected on the backs of shelter animals in 2014 and then wholesale abandon them almost immediately after he was elected, it has long been clear to animal advocates in Long Beach that Mayor Garcia is willing to engage in unethical behavior, but this represents a new low.
The people whose rights may have been suppressed are people who are concerned about shelter animals. They are speaking for some of the most vulnerable in society– those who are truly without a voice. People in Long Beach love their pets– they’re part of our families. LBACS should have a strong adoption and foster program, medical and behavioral programs, community outreach and volunteer programs like other progressive shelters do, and people should not be shut down when they ask for such lifesaving programs
When elected officials attempt to silence the voices of people who advocate for shelter animals, one has to wonder who they will attempt to silence next. We at No Kill Long Beach urge those who care about animals to get involved politically and stand up for Long Beach’s shelter animals. Visit No Kill Long Beach at facebook.com/NoKillLongBeach.
Patricia Turner, Ph.D.
No Kill Long Beach
Four more years?
The only additional term our [Long Beach] mayor and city council deserve is a term in jail. We have one of the most dishonest, deceptive and corrupt city governments in the state led by Robert Garcia and his nine sheep.
What do independent observers have to say about this group’s ability to actually run this city? Wallethub, a respected financial website, publishes an annual list of the best and worst managed cities in the country. Long Beach is listed as one of the 25 Worst Managed Cities in America.
State Data Lab, another financial/accounting website, revealed that between 2015 and 2016, Long Beach went from a city with positive equity to a “sunken city” (negative equity) because Dr. Garcia added $2,100 in debt to every man, woman and child in town.
One of the 25 Worst Managed Cities in America? A sunken city? This abysmal performance merits a third-term?
Oh, but there are many more reasons to deny a third term.
Start with Dr. Garcia’s many lies, like the need for a new city hall/civic center. See how he used “creative financing”– a scam/fraud called a “public-private partnership (P3)”– to fund this billion-dollar obscenity. This fraud (P3) allowed him to borrow a billion dollars without taxpayer approval. Yes, we have all, unwittingly, signed up for a billion-dollar mortgage. Payments start next year, end in 2062. You do the math.
See how our leader curates his corruption. In this city, if you need something, say a raise or a tax break, it’s quid pro quo. You donate/contribute to any of Dr. Garcia’s campaigns, and you get what you want. Why did city employee unions rush to contribute (invest) obscene amounts of money to Proposition A and Measure M? Because they knew they would be rewarded a hundred times over when it came time to (secretly) negotiate a pay raise. Which is, in fact, what happened.
But what’s truly important is discovering his real agenda, which is his own “war on poverty.” With over 100,000 Long Beach residents at or near the poverty level, it sounds like an admirable goal. But this is not a war on poverty that seeks to improve the economic circumstances of the poor.
This is a real war– a war to remove the poor from this city. By making gentrification at any cost his God, by giving the carpetbaggers/developers who have descended on this town whatever they need– City properties at fire-sale prices, tax breaks, zoning exceptions– he has abetted thousands of evictions and tens of thousands of unconscionable rent increases, and incentivized landlords to opt out of Section 8. Thousands have already left the city. But they need more time to finish removing the 100,000. That’s the true purpose of their unjustifiable third term.
We can stop this three-term insanity in its tracks. Follow Nancy Reagan’s advice and just say no!
Alex Victor
Long Beach
