COVER STORY : Which Way Long Beach? : Mayor’s Race Is a Study in Contrasts : Candidates Have Different Views of Best Way to do Mayor’s Job

Question: Both of you have said that Long Beach needs a new style of leadership. Define that style.

Ray Grabinski: There’s a number of different ways to do the right thing, and I wouldn’t suggest there is any one style that is best for our community. I have a record of being goal-oriented and attaining the goal. That tenacity is seen as table-pounding or any number of things, but what I think we’re talking about is passion.

Beverly O’Neill: We need to have the Information Age style of leadership where we share information, work cooperatively and try to bring people together. I’m talking about coalitions, partnerships and consensus. My style of management is one of working through people for the best ideas.

The style that I’ve seen happening in the past is the “industrial-era” style of management, which is authority figures pointing fingers, guarding information, working competitively. The style needs to change so that people start to develop confidence in the decisions that are made.

Q. What would be your top priority in your first year as mayor?

Grabinski: I think establishing a clear public safety program is at the top of the list. The public safety program I’m talking about is not just law enforcement, but laying out a rather extensive prevention program incorporating all the neighborhood groups and associations as part of a community congress (that would) help form the public safety agenda for the next year.

O’Neill: I think we have to address the escalating crime problem we have and show that we are making some headway. Even though some of the minor crimes went down in number last year, the murder rate was the highest it’s ever been in Long Beach. It’s just not an acceptable direction for the city.

Q. Are more police officers the answer to crime?

Grabinski: Police are the simple solution to a lot of people’s perception of crime. And

police are the first to tell you that unless you start looking at the roots and causes of crime, you can’t hire enough police officers. If more cops were the equation to solving the crime problem, then Washington, D.C., would be the safest place on the planet. They have four cops per 1,000 (people). We’ve got 1.8. But we do need, continually, to add more officers as the community’s needs change.

The best way to pay for them is to tighten down on what we have now. We need to be more creative on how we do governmental business. There is no simple fix. I don’t think the public will support more taxes, even though they support the police.

O’Neill: More police will not stop crime but will be a deterrent, especially if they are visible. Community-based policing seems to be the beginning of an answer: You actually know the police in your communities. If our long-term objectives are more visible police, the money has to come out of the existing budget and by raising our tax revenue base.

Right now we are at 1.8 police per thousand (residents), which is a small ratio compared with Los Angeles. I am proposing we get to at least 2.1 or 2.2, which would be around 150 more visible on-the-street officers over three years. I’m talking about making sure we have civilianized as many positions within the department as we can so that more (officers) are out on the street.

Q. Do you think the mayor needs more power?

Grabinski: I think this whole issue is overrated. The mayor has influence. Whether or not the mayor has a vote, that doesn’t make the office that much more successful. What’s important is that the mayor can pick up his phone and call the President of the United States, call senators, call people who are experts in their fields.

I voted against the last proposal (to give the mayor a vote on the City Council) because they were trying to rush it through. But I do support a mayoral vote, so long as the number of council members is changed to eight or 10, plus the mayor. That’s for the people to decide.

O’Neill: I think the mayor should have a (council) vote, if only for accountability. However, I think there is a great deal of power in the mayor’s position just because you are the chief spokesperson for the city of Long Beach.

The mayor should depend on coalitions to be effective. I think that has been lost--building coalitions within the council so that people learn to give and take, to compromise and to understand how we have strength if we are working together.

Q. How would you improve the city’s business climate?

Grabinski: The first thing that needs to be established is a business council . . . made up of business people picked by the council and mayor. That council would not only talk about what we need to change right now, but also how we shape our regulations. We would be looking to develop rules and regulations that don’t hinder business, but don’t give away the store at the same time.

I want to go on the record as being someone who is more worried about existing businesses than new businesses coming to Long Beach. It is absolutely critical that businesses here now know they are the No. 1 priority. My commitment to small business is primary. We take care of big business, like most cities do, but we do an absolute poor job of reaching out and making small business feel we’re part of their team.

O’Neill: I would be the most visible person marketing the city. If I knew of a business in Arizona or Texas that was looking to relocate in Southern California, I’d be there trying to get them here. We have probably five to six

different groups marketing the city--(among them) the Convention & Visitors Council, the Chamber of Commerce. I don’t think there’s been coordination of the groups. We need to have a comprehensive plan of exactly what we need for the different areas of the city.

We also need a different attitude in dealing with existing businesses, so that we are friendly to them from the counter level up. I would propose streamlining the permit process. Businesses feel neglected. They have not received encouragement or consistent answers (at City Hall). We have let businesses go that should still be in Long Beach.