Councilman Calls for Public Inquiry on Deco Bike Contract

Long Beach Councilman Len Torres submitted an official letter to City Manager Charles Theofan asking for an open investigation into how Deco Bike was awarded the city’s bid for a bike renting/sharing service.

In a letter dated July 14, Torres calls for the administration to look into “a possible ‘conflict of interest’ between members of the administration and the Deco Bike Company.”

At issue is an apparent filial tie between a Long Beach City employee and an advertising executive whom maintains a business relationship with Deco Bike, according to sources.

The RFP for the work included a conflict of interest clause, which required all connections between the city and the responding company to be fully disclosed.

“In the spirit of ‘open government’ and transparency, it is imperative that a sincere inquiry be made to address all of these allegations in public,” Torres’ letter states.

Torres said he hopes for an official response from Theofan or the administration by next  City Council meeting on July 19. Both Theofan and Corey Klein, corporation counsel, could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.

Deco Bike’s contract to operate in Long Beach by next spring was passed by a 3-2 margin at the city council meeting on July 5, two weeks after the council voted to table the contract to take a closer look at the proposal.

Deco Bike, which is based in Miami, responded to an RFP the city administration sent out in mid-May. Torres said he has never seen Deco Bike’s official response to the RFP, a fact he says is indicative of the city administration’s dealings with the public.

“It’s really not an open government,” Torres said. “Which is supposed to be in the spirit of transparency. This has not been the trademark of this administration. They hide things.”