LB
Mayoral Contenders Convene Carpenter
Center
By
Dylana Foy
Daily Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Candidates for the Long Beach Mayoral race are coming to Cal State Long Beach
today for a debate hosted by Associated Students Inc. ASI is putting on
the event in an effort to keep students informed and involved in what is
happening in their local community.
The debate will take place in the Carpenter Performing Arts Center at 5 p.m.,
with the doors opening at 4:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Students are encouraged to attend.
The five candidates — John P. Stolpe, Ronnie Rephan, Frank Colonna, Bob
Foster and Douglas Drummond — will share their views on improving local
education, the possible renovation of the Long Beach Airport, and the proposed
tax increases related to libraries and safety agencies.
John P. Stolpe has been a police officer for 26 years, all of which was served
in the Long Beach area. This police corporal is currently stationed at the
Field Support Division, a substation near Long Beach Airport. He occasionally
works with the Police Athletic League by taking children to various events.
He said he is concerned with ethics and is “fresh blood looking in.”
Ronnie Rephan said he is running independently so he won’t have to be
apart of a party. His platform calls for an LNG terminal in Long Beach because
it would create jobs and a possibility of revenue. He is also concerned with
getting help for the homeless.
Frank Colonna, the current councilmember of the 3rd District for the city of
Long Beach also served as vice mayor of Long Beach from July 2002 to July 2004.
He graduated from CSULB with a bachelor’s degree, and received his master’s
degree in environmental health from, Northridge.
Bob Foster is the former President of Southern California Edison. He currently
serves on the board of the CSULB Public Library Foundation and Friends of the
Long Beach Library. He is also active on the board of the Long Beach Aquarium
of the Pacific and the Advisory Board of Long Beach Memorial Miller Children’s
Hospital.
Douglas Drummond served for over 29 years as a Long Beach Police Officer. He
also has taught criminal justice and management classes’ at USC, CSULB
and August Vollmer University. He was a Long Beach City Council Member from
1990-98, and served two years as vice mayor from 1994-96.
The debate will begin with opening statements from the candidates, who will
then field questions from a group of five student moderators, and end the debate
by giving closing statements. Most of the questions for the candidates are
expected to come from students.
|
