City Council District One Candidate Questionnaire: Lee R. Charley

What is your background and how does it inform your decision to run for election?

I have two college degrees. I volunteered on Al Gore’s presidential campaign, Obama’s presidential campaign, Louisiana state senator’s campaign, Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, and unfortunately volunteered on a local Long Beach City Council race. I was kicked out of the Navy for being gay, which started a life of advocating for those who do not have a voice and I still do this today. I have been talking daily with residents in District One hearing, feeling and seeing their frustrations.

Zendejas threatened to sue the commission over the redistricting maps because, “Having a White person leading District One would be bad. ” That racist comment propelled me to enter the race, along with her blatant disregard for the Houseless Community, Veteran Community in Long Beach, and has not been the LGBTQ advocate she promised to be in 2019, (She promised in 2019 that she was going to “Solve” Homelessness). Zendejas actually turned her back on the homeless by being the only City Council person to NOT vote to extend the Winter Shelter for our houseless Community.

I am a former chronically homeless, openly gay veteran and am running against Zendejas, should in itself show that Zendejas MUST GO! Zendejas is great at dividing us, not uniting us.  Her American Dream ended by winning a Special Election in 2019 getting 31 percent of the vote. Four other Candidates’ Dreams will only begin by being elected. Every Candidate running for District One will be an upgrade from Zendejas, but I feel I am the most qualified candidate. The Candidate Statement printed and mailed out to all the voters in District One (May) shows how dishonest and dangerous Zendejas is. Now, Zendejas wants Ocean Blvd, the LGBTQ Community, East Village to vote for her is preposterous!  If you want neighborhoods to fight each other, Homeless to increase, Poverty to increase, Small Businesses fighting with each other then vote for Zendejas. 

Zendejas reads her script written for her at City council meetings Tuesday nights and cannot even get that right. She is a RUBBER STAMP! Zendejas is told what to say, how to say it and how to vote and this MUST stop! I lived through four years of Trump and 2 years as Zendejas as City Councilwoman, and District One needs someone new to lead us. Attending almost all of the District One Check-ins, Zendejas always tells you “Contact her office which she NEVER responds.’  Four more years of Zendejas would be a disaster! Veterans, LGBTQ and the unhoused will matter to me as your next City Councilman.

I also teach and travel judging Collegiate Debate. I volunteer every week helping District One residents have groceries so they can pay their rent. I advocate for Veterans weekly, advocate for the houseless community while Zendejas welds the bathrooms shut. I try to do my best to help the elderly who live a few blocks down from me because our local grocery store closed. My background of service, volunteering, advocacy, education and a “lived experience” has me ready to return the voice back to District One on Day One.  

According to the city’s latest Housing Element, the City Council could take up the issue of creating a rent stabilization ordinance next year. What are your thoughts on a citywide rent stabilization ordinance in Long Beach?

A rent stabilization ordinance (RSO) limits rent increases above the allowable limit. I have seen my building use this to raise the rent to the maximum rate allowed for tenants that have paid their rent on time for ten years never seeing an increase. I have seen my personal rent jump 10 percent during the pandemic. What will the RSO cap percentage be set to? I do like tenant protections from unfair evictions. RSO passes other costs onto tenants with loopholes this ordinance will create. Landlords would now pass on costs to tenants like annual registration fees, Clean Water Act, trash pickup, security fees, and numerous other fees. All these new developments have caused everyone’s rent to drastically increase when it’s time to renew your lease, thanks Mary. Since Long Beach is a charter City, why not say, if a tenant pays their rent for an entire year, their rent cannot be raised? The current City Council District One will say and do what the developers tell her what to say and how to vote on this issue. As a City Councilperson, I would first talk to my constituents and research the Ordinance for loopholes. I am also doing legal research on Chapter XV RENT STABILIZATION ORDINANCE (Ord. No. 152,120). We need a City Council person for District One that will research, discuss and understand what’s best for our District. We currently have a RUBBER STAMP City Councilperson as seen by voting over 97 percent of the time the same as District 2.
   
My thoughts are that I would need to read and see the ordinance first, legally check for loopholes that would harm our residents, then meet with our residents and discuss if this is in the best interest of helping better our quality of life in District One.

Would you support the creation of a citywide rental data registry that would require landlords to report lengths of tenancies, rent amounts collected, and whenever they begin, alter, or end a tenancy?

No.

Tenants rights advocates across the country have called for a codified right to legal counsel for tenants facing eviction and have been successful in San Francisco and New York. Would you support a right to counsel ordinance in Long Beach?

Yes.

Is housing a human right?

Yes.

Tell us about an approach, policy, or program that has been successfully implemented in another city to reduce homelessness that you would like to introduce in Long Beach.

In Nashville, they started a street (news)paper called The Contributor. Long Beach needs a street paper. We have so many talented journalists and can teach the houseless how (to) write, produce, and sell a street paper. Every week a houseless individual tells their story, life, and how they became houseless. A street paper is written by the homeless for the homeless. It provides income, a “sense of belonging” and a way to earn income and can live life on life’s terms instead of being 100 percent dependent on our tax dollars. I have spoken multiple times at City Council, (in person) on the need for a Street Paper and had City Council turn their heads, even rolling their eyes as I spoke. I have emailed over-and-over-and-over the incumbent on the need for a Street Paper and still have not received a response. We need to provide a way that the houseless can earn money, some just want to return home. Once you are permanently housed, that is just the beginning. I encourage everyone reading to look at the data or the “recidivism rate” of our unhoused population that enter permanent Housing, how many stayed in their places and for how long? Once the houseless go back on the streets they cannot get services until they can prove they have been chronically homeless. Small Businesses can add equity to the street paper by having coupons inside the street paper. Every Street Vendor selling the Street Paper keeps all the money except the 50-cent cost to produce. Selling 50 street papers means a houseless individual is now classified as a vendor and can (earn) over 150 dollars in one day. We must find ways to employ our houseless, which no one is talking about. 

As part of a plan for all new buildings to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, the Los Angeles City Council is considering a proposal to bar all new commercial and residential construction projects from including gas line hookups in favor of all-electric appliances. Would you support a similar undertaking in Long Beach? Editors’ Note: Since the asking of this question, the Los Angeles City Council voted in favor of banning most gas appliances in new construction. 

Yes.

A recently drafted city memo proposes to end oil drilling in Long Beach by 2035, when local oil fields will no longer be financially viable. Should the city end oil drilling operations before 2035?

Yes.

Have you taken campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry and, if so, do you plan to continue taking contributions from that sector?

No.

The Long Beach Police Department currently employs approximately 800 sworn police officers. Do you think the current number of sworn police officers should:

Stay the same.

A city-hired consultant recently recommended changes to the Citizen Police Complaint Commission that would create an inspector general position to investigate the LBPD. Would you be in favor of an Inspector General position with the unfettered authority to investigate officer misconduct and use-of-force?

Yes.

Please explain what changes, if any, you would like to see implemented to better hold LBPD officers accountable for misconduct and/or excessive force?

If an officer is found guilty by committing misconduct or excessive force, they should be fired and personally responsible for the legal fees themselves. A citizen can go to jail for committing the same offenses. An officer who commits crimes against Long Beach residents should be punished. Police Officers that abuse their power should have the same consequences as civilians. In the military, these Police officers who kill innocent people, put knees on citizens’ necks would get a dishonorable discharge, but not in Long Beach. 

Long Beach has been working to implement an alternate crisis response (ACR) program that dispatches mental health professionals instead of police officers to calls for service related to mental health crises. Would you support expanding the criteria for the ACR to divert calls away from LBPD beyond mental health crises? If so, which types of calls for service?

This is NOT being done currently. I have personally seen over 50 police cars, a SWAT team, and a helicopter called a few months ago for ONE individual having a tough morning. Residents call 9-1-1 all the time if they see an unhoused individual in their neighborhoods. I have personally witnessed police cars arriving on a domestic disturbance call that had a couple arguing. 

The city’s Technology and Innovation Commission recently issued a full-throated recommendation to put a citywide moratorium on the use of Facial Recognition Technology until privacy and civil rights safeguards are put in place. Do you agree with this recommendation?

Yes.

Have you taken campaign donations from the Long Beach Police Officers Association and, if so, do you plan to continue taking their contributions? 

No, Mary Zendejas has. I had a Citizen Police Complaint Commision against the Long Beach Police Department. A Long Beach Police Officer let an uninsured, non-licensed driver total my car and my neighbors car and the Police Department laughed and let the driver walk away without even a ticket. The driver destroyed a single mother’s way of life (who) has two children, that car was their only way to get her children to school, obtain groceries and make medical appointments. We asked Mary for help, she did nothing for us! The Long Beach Police Department (has) followed me numerous times because I had an LGBTQ sticker on my bumper, the Long Beach Police Department (is) racist ! 

According to county data, accidental overdose deaths have spiked over the pandemic, especially in Long Beach. Harm reduction has become a key public health intervention in preventing overdose deaths and cities like New York and San Francisco have opened safe consumption sites to address the problem. Should Long Beach open a safe consumption site?

No.

Several cities have decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms, otherwise known as ‘magic mushrooms,’ including Detroit, Santa Cruz, and Oakland. What are your thoughts on decriminalizing magic mushrooms in Long Beach?

I personally had a friend drink “magic mushroom” tea and was rushed to the emergency room. They only had a mayoral debate with 2 candidates about this issue, they didn’t care and want to educate the City Council candidates running for office by having debates on this issue. People are intentionally not having district one debates to protect the machine candidate Zendejas. I need to know more information on this. I also have a laundry list of legal questions regarding this. I have an “open-mind” but need more information. I have been focusing on the Homeless, Parking, Veteran Issues, LGBTQIA, bringing more tourism and business to District One. 

Long Beach’s minimum wage is currently $14 an hour for businesses with 25 or fewer employees and $15 an hour for all other businesses. Los Angeles’s minimum wage, which increases annually based on the Consumer Price Index, will rise to $16.04 in July. Should Long Beach adopt an annual minimum wage increase to keep pace with cost of living?

Yes.

Fare collections accounted for 12-15% of Long Beach Transit’s operating revenue pre-pandemic, totaling roughly $14.8 million. Should Long Beach consider investing more funds into LBT in order to transition it to a fare-free transit system?

Yes.

Seeing as councilmembers are only employed part time, what would be your other area(s) of employment if (re)elected?

I have a monthly income for the rest of my life for what happened to me while I was in the Navy.