Sean Belk
Staff Writer
In Long Beach’s winner-takes-all special election scheduled for April 14, voters in the 4th Council District will choose one of three candidates to fill a one-year term left by former councilmember Patrick O’Donnell, who was elected to the State Assembly last year.
The three candidates, who filed nomination papers by the City’s Jan. 16 deadline, are: Herlinda Chico, a public-affairs specialist; Richard Lindemann, a retired retail-sales manager; and Daryl Supernaw, a business consultant.
The 4th District, which has approximately 27,000 registered voters, is considered one of the most diverse areas in the city, stretching from Los Altos on the east to Cambodia Town on the west, encompassing portions of Pacific Coast Highway and Anaheim Street, which includes the Zafaria business corridor.
The winning candidate will serve a one-year term, from May 2015 to July 2016. The special election will not include a runoff and is expected to cost the City about $200,000, according to the city clerk’s office.
Herlinda Chico
Chico, a 41-year-old public-affairs specialist who currently works for the City of Commerce, where she grew up, and who once worked as an aid for former Long Beach councilmember Tonia Reyes Uranga, was the first candidate to file nomination papers and has already amassed a handful of endorsements and launched fundraising campaign.
According to her campaign website, Chico has received endorsements from 1st District Councilmember Lena Gonzalez and 9th District Councilmember Rex Richardson in addition to Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) Boardmember Megan Kerr, former LBUSD boardmember John McGinnis and Long Beach Community College District Trustee Sunny Zia.
In a phone interview with the Signal Tribune, Chico, a 15-year resident of Long Beach, said it was her friends, neighbors and family who encouraged her to run, noting that she has a “diverse background” with 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors.
“I’ve worked for five different cities, so I know city government pretty well,” Chico said. “I’ve worked for one of the largest business-improvement districts in downtown L.A., so that has helped me as well. And then my community involvementÂ. I’ve made connections all over Long Beach. So I think that I have a lot to bring to the table. I think I’d be a great representative for the diverse community of the 4th District.”
Addressing claims made by opponents that she moved to the 4th District just to run for Council as O’Donnell was anticipating running for state office, Chico said she didn’t expect to become a candidate before buying her first home near the traffic circle, which she said is considered the “center” of the district. Though she has thought about running previously, it was after becoming involved in the neighborhood that Chico actually decided to run for Council, she said.
“I’ve lived in the 4th District for four years,” Chico said. “I bought my first home in the 4th District, so if I just wanted to move into a district just to run, I probably would have been a little bit smarter and rented an apartment. That’s not the type of investment you make to gamble on a Council seat, at least that’s not one that I make ! It was very serendipitous the way the timing of the events happened.”
When asked about the most important issues that the 4th District faces, Chico said supporting law-enforcement with adequate funding is a top priority to address crime, particularly property crimes, which she said have increased and affect the entire district.
“There are challenges that are happening on the west side that are ultimately affecting the east side,” she said. “Whether or not the east side of the district sees any of the blight or any of the challenges, it will ultimately affect everybody in the district.”
Chico also said that, if elected, she would make efforts to increase community engagement by hosting meetings in the west side of the district, such as at Orizaba Park, while focusing on economic development to “engage the business community.”
Richard Lindemann
Lindemann, a 62-year-old retired retail-sales manager, said he is a life-long resident of Long Beach and was compelled to run for the 4th District Council seat as a way to address what he sees as a “disconnect” between the east and west sides of the district.
“I think I bring a different perspective than the other candidates because, for one thing, all of the recent Council people that we’ve had for about the last 40 years have all come from the [east] side of the district,” he said in a phone interview. “I think we have a lot of the same problems, but we also have different problems too on the west side that really haven’t been answered, and so that’s how I got into the race.”
Lindemann, who has lived on the west side of the 4th District on Ohio Avenue for 35 years, said a top priority for the 4th District is increasing police presence in the west side to combat gang activity and property crimes.
“We have a number of different gangs over on this side,” he said. “They have been a little quieter recently, but they’re still there. We’ve had stabbings and shootings and things like that on this street just a little ways south of me. This is unnerving for the whole area here, and I think we need to have a little more police patrol over here. I rarely see police coming down my street.”
Lindemann said that traffic issues in the area, specifically on Pacific Coast Highway, should be addressed as well, adding that traffic lights aren’t synchronized properly.
“We have a lot of traffic in the area,” he said. “In the last six months or so, Pacific Coast Highway appears to be a major problem. I live just off of Temple [Avenue], and many times I can’t get out of my housing area because Pacific Coast Highway is backed up.”
Though he considers himself a champion for his neighborhood on the west side of the district as a member of the Zafaria Triangle Neighborhood Group, which he said helped to force out a ring of drug dealing and prostitution in the community, Lindemann also noted that he is regularly aware of issues on the east side of the district as well, adding that he grew up in the 5th District and graduated from Millikan High School.
Lindemann said, if he were elected, he would run again in 2016 for a full four-year term, but he wouldn’t go further than that.
“I don’t think in one year you can get a whole lot done, so if I was elected I probably would run for the same office again,” he said. “But after that, that’s as far as I would go.”
Lindemann said his campaign strategy is to go door to door to get the word out, adding that he doesn’t plan to do any fundraising and is paying for his campaign on his own.
“I’m under a fixed budget, and I’m doing this with my money because I tdon’t want to have anyone really saying, ‘Oh, well, he owes his vote to so-and-so,'” Lindemann said. “That’s just not me.”
Daryl Supernaw
Supernaw, a 62-year-old business consultant, is running for the 4th District Council seat for a second time. In 2012, he won the primary election, beating retired police officer John Watkins to enter a runoff with O’Donnell.
Though Supernaw lost to O’Donnell by 690 votes, according to the City’s election results, the life-long 4th District resident said in an email that he was able to win the primary solely based on his experience as a well-known community leader.
“In 2012, I was able to win the April primary without using much money, a single mailer or endorsements,” Supernaw said. “This was against two opponents with tons of money, slick mailers and high-profile endorsements. My support came from residents who appreciated my community-advocacy track record and knew that I would always put neighborhood concerns first.”
This time around, Supernaw plans to maintain his identity as a community leader but will have to adjust his campaign strategy to include endorsements, mailers and fundraising events since there will be no runoff election.
“In marketing terms, my brand identity has not changed,” he said. “I will always be an independent voice for the neighborhood. The difference is that April 2012 proved that an independent candidate who demonstrates honesty and integrity can win an election. I believe I will receive a lot more support and endorsements in 2015 because people know I can win, and I am the best choice to represent the 4th Council District.”
Supernaw said his reason for running for the open Council seat is the same as it was when he ran for office three years ago.
“As a lifelong resident of the 4th District and community advocate for many years, I cannot remain on the sidelines while our council district and entire city face such tough budget challenges,” he said. “I believe I have both the business acumen and leadership ability to help return our city to economic health and a sustainable future.”
He reiterated that a primary concern for the 4th District is the City’s economic health. In addition, he said, specific to the east side of the 4th District (east of Lakewood Boulevard), residents are most concerned with property crimes and maintaining the airport noise ordinance. On the west side of the district, property crimes and violent crimes are the most important issues, Supernaw said.
In addition, the businessman said he is the most “business-friendly and business-knowledgeable” candidate on the ballot.
“I have the most institution knowledge of the district as a lifelong resident and 35-year community advocate,” Supernaw said. “I have the most accomplishments as a neighborhood leader, from the $3-million Atherton ditch beautification and safety project to successfully advocating for the neighborhood on Schroeder Hall.”
Supernaw, a charter member of the Long Beach Sustainable City Commission who currently serves as commission chair, said that, if elected, he would make efforts to bring new businesses to the city, adding that, in his 30-year career, he has advised clients in a variety of industries, from port-related logistics to hospitality, providing services in operations, training, communications, management and strategic marketing
“I will use my many years of private-sector experience to bring new businesses and jobs to Long Beach and fill our many retail vacancies,” he said.
As the son of a former Long Beach firefighter, Supernaw also said he has a “keen understanding of our public safety systems,” adding that he will work to “restore critical public safety services” and continue the work on pension reform.
“I believe I have both the business acumen and leadership ability to help return our city to economic health and a sustainable future.” ß 
