CJ Dablo
Staff Writer
On April 14, Long Beach residents in the 4th District elected Daryl Supernaw (above) to represent them on City Council. Supernaw won the seat with more than 51 percent of the vote, according to the official fusion-cumulative report updated on April 21 by the Long Beach City clerk’s office. The position was vacated by Patrick O’Donnell shortly after he won a seat on the State Assembly. Supernaw is scheduled to take office on Tuesday, May 5.
There are no details available yet about who will staff either of these two offices. Prior to the election, Sharon Weissman was appointed to serve as the acting chief of staff for the 4th District. She also serves as an adviser to Mayor Robert Garcia.
Supernaw will take over the seat vacated by Patrick O’Donnell, who left his office shortly after winning his bid for a seat on the State Assembly. Although the two had worked together on a community project to cover the Atherton Street ditch a few years ago, O’Donnell and Supernaw were both opponents in the race to represent the 4th District in 2012. O’Donnell eventually won the election, securing a third term in office.
Throughout his recent campaign, facing challengers Herlinda Chico and Richard Lindemann, Supernaw emphasized both his business experience and his roots in neighborhood advocacy. He particularly focused on the City’s finances. In a phone interview Wednesday, he underscored his desire to scrutinize the municipal budget and determine the City’s efficiencies. He also acknowledged that he wanted to explore the possibility of partnerships with the business world.
“Corporate sponsorships is one area to start with,” he said. “It’s not going to solve all of our economic woes, but it’s a good starting point, and that’s just to maximize any type of revenues available out there.”
Former 3rd District Councilmember Gary DeLong endorsed Supernaw’s run for office. In a phone interview Tuesday, he praised Supernaw’s experience in the business world.
“Well, I think one of the strongest benefits of being a business person is that you know how to budget, how to manage a budget, how to generate more revenue, how to cut expenses!in the right places,” DeLong said. “And I think his business background will assist the City in that endeavor.”
While Supernaw enjoyed the support of key business groups like the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce PAC (Political Action Committee) and the Los Angeles County Business Federation— BizFed PAC, friends like Joe Sopo, a real-estate agent and community advocate, emphasized Supernaw’s reputation as a champion for the residents.
Sopo worked with Supernaw a few years ago on a community project that advocated against a facility for the mentally ill and homeless. The project was proposed to be located near Schroeder Hall on Willow Street. It was eventually approved to relocate from the controversial site in the 5th District and move to the 6th District, according to Sopo.
This time, Sopo is deeply involved with LB HUSH2, a neighborhood organization that has strongly opposed a proposal by JetBlue Airways to create a customs facility at the Long Beach Airport that would enable the airport to accommodate international flights.
There is a long history of Long Beach neighborhood advocacy against major airport expansion that dates back to the 1980s. Supernaw acknowledged that his wife, Cheryl Supernaw, was deeply involved in the original HUSH group, but he and his family are not affiliated with Sopo’s LB HUSH2 group nor the affiliated neighborhood association called Long Beach Neighborhoods First.
Supernaw will be a key vote on the Council dais. The City Council earlier this year voted to wait 60 days until after the Council has full representation from all the districts before it takes any action on directing staff on the airport issue. Since Supernaw will take office next Tuesday, the Council is expected to take the matter up in July.
Supernaw acknowledged that 60-day waiting period.
“[I] want to respect that moratorium we’re having, so I don’t think I’ll comment on that [until]! something comes before Council,” he said in his interview. “We don’t have any new information. I’ve met with some of the stakeholders, not all of them, and I’m doing that!Since we do have a 60-day window, I want to use that period to gather as much information as possible, and I’ll do the legwork on that and meet with everyone involved, but I don’t want to say anything premature.”
His friend Sopo, a 5th District resident who says he spends much of his daytime hours in the 4th District, expressed confidence in Supernaw’s ability to make the right decision when it came to the airport matter.
“I think the neighborhoods are very important to Daryl,” Sopo said in a phone interview, praising Supernaw’s reputation as a community advocate. “Unless he’s had a brain transplant or something, I would totally expect him to look out for the quality of life in the neighborhoods. And those people who put him into office— he won overwhelmingly in the 4th District— I would bet if we took a poll of those people, they wouldn’t be for international flights.”
While Supernaw couldn’t comment very much on the customs facility, he did say that any meeting in the 4th District on the airport matter will take place at the Council office and that he will likely either host or moderate it.
