Long Beach : Clark Outlines His Goals in Campaign for Mayor

Councilman Tom Clark launched his campaign for mayor of Long Beach last week at a fund-raising dinner, proposing to establish a neighborhood council and an office of senior citizen affairs and to support the construction of a new art museum.

Clark, a veteran councilman, acknowledged that he would not be able to match the campaign funds of incumbent Mayor Ernie Kell, his opponent in next spring’s election. “We know we can’t out-spend our opponent who has made a career of raising money from special interests. But we can outwork him,” Clark said.

Outlining his concerns, Clark said he advocates increased funding for the Police Department, creation of a citizen review board to handle complaints about police conduct and establishment of a neighborhood council to represent neighborhood positions on land use and urban design issues. He also said he would give his attention to the development of child care programs and drug rehabilitation efforts.