Debate • Mayoral candidates Frank Colonna, Douglas Drummond, Bob
Foster, Ronnie Rephan and John P. Stolpe answer questions presented by the Cal
State Long Beach speech and debate team. Election day for Long Beach mayor is
Apr. 11. Tracey Roman / Online Forty-Niner.
Candidates give various solutions
during debate
By Mario Burciaga
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
The five mayoral candidates for the city of Long Beach came to the Carpenter
Performing Arts Center and debated over current and future issues affecting the
city and Cal State Long Beach.
Associated Students Inc. President Jamie Pollock introduced the candidates — current
Long Beach City Councilmember Frank Colonna; former two-term Long Beach City
Councilmember Douglas Drummond; former Southern California Edison President Bob
Foster; independent candidate Ronnie Rephan; and 26-year-veteran Long Beach police
officer John P. Stolpe.
When asked what should be done to improve the safety of community, all candidates
seemed to agree more cops should be added to the Long Beach Police Department.
“ As citizens of Long Beach you should be protecting your neighborhood.
It’s going to take an effort by the entire city to make it safer and we
must get the community involved because you are our extra pair of eyes,” Stolpe
said.
The candidates also agreed the Long Beach Port and the Los Angeles Port are the
reason pollution is such a big problem in the city. Drummond said, like motor
vehicles, ships docking at the port should also be inspected because the diesel
used is some of the dirtiest in its class.
Colonna, who believes the lack of traffic efficiency and the need for hybrid
public transportation is the reason for pollution, said, “If we put man
on the moon in 1969, it’s time we clean up the pollution in the air.”
Supporting the need for improved education was also a unanimous decision by the
candidates.
“ The key to providing excellent education is excellent after-school programs
and
technical training,” Foster said.
While president at SCE, Foster initiated a $500,000 teacher-training program
that aided teachers in the development of their careers.
The only question that resulted in different answers by the candidates concerned
the expansion of the Long Beach Airport. Unlike Drummond who said the airport
should not be expanded, Rephan said expansion is necessary for the city to grow.
Colonna, Foster and Stolpe said expansion should be modest and the city should
focus more on maintaining the airport.
“ Airlines have to be more responsible and make sure that they work with
the community,” Stolpe said. “Expansion should be kept to a minimum
because taxes should not have to increase for Long Beach residents.”
ASI Chief of Staff Bobby Godina organized the mayoral debate.
“ I wanted to get students involved in local politics,” he said. “I
wish we could have had a better turn-out but as long as a few students learned
something then that’s great.”
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