Democratic Team Gears Up for Transition

Fresh off their Election Day victory last week, Long Beach Democrats have assembled a transition team to replace the Republican administration and set the foundation for their early policy agenda.

It’s a process Democrats are now accustomed to since the GOP took control of City Hall for the first time in 40 years in 2003 and the City Council majority has since switched back and forth between the two parties.

“They are going to put forth an agenda that the council would like to address in the first 90 days,” said Michael Zapson, chairman of the Long Beach Democratic Committee. “Obviously at the top of the list, we have to hire a new city manager. Once the city manager is in place, the city manager will implement everything else.”

The Democrats asked Scott Nigro, a city councilman from 1999 to 2003, to head up the transition team. “It’s pretty fresh and we have to identify issues, see where we’re going and make our way,” Nigro said Wednesday.

An attorney, Nigro will help to search for a city manger who will comply with the Democrats’ campaign platform that called for the city’s chief officer to live in Long Beach. Nigro recalled that when Bruce Nyman left his position as city manager in 2001, he and his fellow council members later appointed Harold Porr III, who at the time lived upstate, to fill his seat.

But the first step in the transition process, Nigro said, is to get the incoming and outgoing administrations “on the same page,” so that the Democrats are updated on the city's status and to make the transition run as smoothly as possible.

“We really have to lay out an agenda for the first 90 days and we have to obviously interact with the current administration,” said Fran Adelson, who won a four-year term on the council in the at-large election. Incumbent Len Torres also won a four-year term, while newcomer Scott Mandel won a two-year term.

The new council must also prepare for potential resignations or retirements, particularly among department heads, before or after the new administration takes control.  

“They will be looking at people, and I’m sure the city manager will either bring people to them or people will apply for jobs, if and when those jobs are open,” Nigro said.

Torres and Adelson first ran for city council in 2009. While Torres won a two-year term, Adelson had twelve fewer votes and lost. That year Nigro also ran on the Democratic ticket in the race for City Court judge, but he lost to Republican Frank Dikranis.

“Long Beach residents want smooth and civil transition,” said Torres when asked why the Democrats chose Nigro to run their team. “We believe that Scott Nigro is the person that can get the job done.”

Adelson cited Nigro’s experience. “He’s been on the city council and we have a lot of respect for him and a lot of people in the city have a lot of respect for him,” she said.