November 8, 2018

Dear People of Long Beach,

Here we are, two days after the election. The result of our most important objective, the defeat of Measure BBB is clear, we lost by 11 points. The numbers game went towards the Garcia/Doud campaign, which is not unexpected. We fought the good fight and we accomplished an important part of what we set out to do, expose the corruption in City Hall.

This was a David and Goliath battle, one that we the people took on against the corporate and special interest funders of the Garcia/Doud campaign. A battle that we felt compelled to take on as our civic responsibility on behalf of the people of Long Beach. We did not go it alone, we had the support of 44% of the voters, and we had the support of a diverse array of real grass roots organizations and activists that were able to see past the deceptive smoke screen of the proposed measures.

Winning the vote was never our sole objective; if it were, we’d have been more disappointed. But we’re not. We’re optimistic that with 44% of the vote – and less than 10% of the funding (all paid for with small, local donations), the people have demonstrated that government transparency and accountability matters to them. We’re encouraged that people of all parties find in our objective a common ground, have come forth expressing a need to expose corruption, and are asking us to assist them.

To have accomplished what we did, in such little time and with such few resources, is nothing short of a miracle. We gave the mayor and supporters a run for their money in spite of being hugely outspent. The big corporations and special interests that financed him won’t be disappointed, I’m sure. If we compare dollars to votes, we did a fantastic job. If we compare local dollars to votes, we did an absolutely superb job!

As the elections grew near we said on social media that we wouldn’t lose and that we’d explain why, here it is. You see, in the course of this process, each one of us met close to a thousand people who adamantly opposed the measures. People from all walks of life, different incomes, professions, political parties, religions, ethnicity, council districts, etc. who all worked together towards a shared goal of safeguarding democracy and exposing the mayor’s deception.

Armed with our success and the encouragement of the thousands of people of Long Beach that we now call our friends, know that we are not disappearing just because this small battle is over. There’s a long struggle ahead, it’s one that we will meet head on with your support as People of Long Beach and as part of a broader coalition.

As we move forward we hope to achieve bigger and better things in the form of a larger and more inclusive organization. We will learn from the successes and our failures in these last few months. We’re looking forward to serving Long Beach in the future in every way we can. Among our objectives:

• Drive home the point that civic duty is not just elections every couple of years but becoming informed and involved all the time.
• Educate the segments of the population that are notoriously absent at the polls, in particular young adults 18-35.
• Become advocates for things that neighborhood groups (organized or not) need assistance with. For example, the request of neighbors to turn the Oil Operators land into open space.
• Become watchdogs for the things that city hall does in stealth mode that affect our communities, help others to become watchdogs, alert the affected communities and become the link or the source for direction.
• Push for passage of legislation that places more power in the hands of the people and away from corporations and special interests.
• Work with sympathetic council members to propose ordinances.
• Pressure city hall to be more inclusive of under-served limited-English speakers.
• Possibly running candidates in various districts.

With your support we will make Long Beach government transparent and accountable to the people. We look forward to meeting you!

Cheers!

The People of Long Beach team

[If you’d like print a copy this page, we have prepared a PDF file you can access HERE]